New £100k chase is boost for Ayr

A brand new £100,000 race will be staged at the Coral Scottish Grand National Festival at Ayr Racecourse next April bringing prize-money on the day to more than £550,000.

Alongside the £215,000 Scottish National and the £105,000 QTS Scottish Champion Hurdle, the three-mile open novices’ handicap chase will further enhance the meeting which is already Scotland’s richest.

The race will be a championship final for novice chasers who, to qualify, must have finished in the first eight in at least one weight for age novices’ or beginners chase during the 2017-2018 season and will be supported by the BHA’S Development Fund as part of the Fund’s 2018 expenditure.

Ayr Racecourse Managing Director David Brown said: “This is terrific news and boosts further what already is an outstanding Festival. To have three races all carrying six-figure prize money underlines the quality of racing and to have such a valuable novice chase alongside the Scottish Grand National and QTS Scottish Champion Hurdle is sure to put us on the radar of even more trainers than before. We look forward to next April with real anticipation.”

Leading northern jumps trainer Nicky Richard added: “Its excellent news for racing in general and particularly in the north that a race of this calibre is being added to an already quality card. Hopefully I’ll have a horse good enough to run in it.”

At Newcastle, this evening, there are good signs for Economic Crisis, who was beaten six lengths at Catterick on her latest start.

However, she deserves a bit more credit for that run than first appears.

Alan Berry’s charge hardly helped herself when she unshipped her rider in the preliminaries and perhaps the excitement of that mishap just told a bit as she got a bit left behind before making up ground in the finish.

Economic Crisis will be joining the 100 club in the 32Red. com Fillies’ Handicap and while her return of 11 wins in 99 starts is hardly breathtaking, she certainly is capable of decent efforts on her day.