CORAL SCOTTISH

GRAND NATIONAL

IT is sometimes hard to believe that horses can be separated by inches at the end of four gruelling miles over fences, yet that was the way of it at a warm and sunny Ayr on Saturday.

The 33/1 shot Joe Farrell, trained by Rebecca Curtis and ridden by Adam Wedge, held Ballyoptic by a nose in the Coral Scottish Grand National as the latter all but wore him down in the dying strides. They were followed by Vintage Clouds, who was up there all the way and made a bold bid for glory after taking it up at the 18th fence. Doing Fine came next, with Paul Nicholls’ dual winner of the race Vicente a highly respectable fifth after looking dangerous on the turn for home.

Joe Farrell took over when Vintage Clouds started feeling the strain three out and it looked as if he might come clear. However, Ballyoptic had made steady progress from the back and was on terms as they approached the last. He answered Tom Bellamy’s calls and it took the judge a while to decide that Joe Farrell had prevailed by the minimum distance.

The winner matched one or two modern-day requirements when it comes to the major Nationals. Indeed, a nine-year-old with 10st 6lb to carry would have been of considerable interest at Aintree, where the task is admittedly very different. He was allowed to start at 33/1 because a recent victory at Newbury had seen him raised 11lb by the handicapper, which would have made the difference in most cases, while he was also taking on an extra mile. Against that, this was only his sixth outing over fences and he almost certainly had a little more improvement in him than most of the opposition.

Nigel Twiston-Davies has a superb record in the race, having won with Captain Dibble and Earth Summit, and Ballyoptic, another novice, all but improved it still further.

He finished fourth in the RSA Chase but is clearly an out-and-out stayer and, still only eight, will be of major interest at Aintree next year. The same remark applies to Vintage Clouds, who ran his heart out but has no secrets where the handicapper is concerned.

Pembrokeshire-based Curtis has sometimes looked like joining the front rank of trainers – J P McManus has supported her – but this has been a wretched campaign with only eight winners before last week.

“I lost half the horses I had and a lot of things happened in my personal life, as well,” she said. “But I’ll build for next season and start again, hopefully. It’s great for Mark Sherwood as he was the first owner I had in the yard. Co-owner Nigel Morris is also very supportive.

“Joe Farrell has always jumped like an old handicapper but we knew we had to give him cover. I knew he’d appreciate this better ground. I know it sounds bad but I’ve never actually been to Scotland before. It’s a long way but it’s great that it’s paid off.”

Adam Wedge has also had an upturn in fortunes, given he started the year with a three-week ban for taking the wrong course at Exeter. Travelling long distances for occasional rides has paid off, with trainer Evan Williams among those staying loyal. He won the Midlands Grand National on Firebird Flyer for Williams two years ago to follow his victory, as a claimer, on the stable’s Court Minstrel in the Scottish Champion Hurdle in 2013. Wedge knew he’d won those races but it took the tannoy announcement to convince him on Saturday.

“I thought we’d got chinned but the horse has the heart of a lion and stuck his head out towards the line,” he said.

On a very unfortunate note, Tony Mullins lost the talented Glencairn View, who was pulled up sharply after breaking down between the sixth and seventh fences.