HUE BEAUTY!
Let’s hear it for the Boy in Scottish Grand National cracker
CROSSHUE BOY is fancied to end the 150-year wait for an Irish-trained winner of the Coral Scottish Grand National (3.35, ITV) by beating 27 rivals at Ayr today.
It was in 1869, just two years after the race had been run for the first time, that Huntsman triumphed at the now-defunct Bogside racecourse.
Co Wexford trainer Sean Doyle is better known for
training point-to -pointers, who then go on to make a name for themselves in the professional ranks.
But a leg injury meant that Crosshue Boy remained at his stable near Enniscorthy, and the son of Brian Boru produced a personal best to land a three-mile novices’ handicap chase from Dingo Dollar at this fixture 12 months ago.
Doyle opted to aim Crosshue Boy at Scotland’s west coast rather than the Grand National after a so-so 10th to Walk In The Mill in the Becher Chase last December, and two spins over hurdles at Wexford will have kept my selection ticking over.
Drying ground is a big plus for Sean Flanagan’s mount, who gives the impression a marathon trip will see him in his best light, and a handicap mark of 142 looks within range. Beware The Bear led
home Vintage Clouds, a faller at the first fence behind Tiger Roll at Aintree last Saturday, and Big River in the Ultima Handicap Chase at the Cheltenham Festival last month.
It is no surprise to see all three horses prominent in the market, and those looking for an each-way poke at around 25-1 could do worse than Brian Boranha.
Peter Niven’s eightyear-old has to take a big step forward to win but looks the type to appreciate a stern test of staying power.