Playboy gets serious

TOM SCUDAMORE has the rides on both the Gold Cup and Grand National favourites after (above left) steering Vieux Lion Rouge to victory in the Betfred Grand National Trial at Haydock.

David Pipe’s eight-year-old is 14-1 market leader for the big race at Aintree on April 8, three weeks after Scudamore partners 7-4 favourite Thistlecrack in his bid for Gold at Cheltenham.

Vieux Lion Rouge finished seventh to Rule The World in last year’s Grand National before winning the Becher Chase over the Aintree fences in December.

And after digging in to beat Blaklion by three-and-a-quarter lengths yesterday, Scudamore said: ‘Last year he wasn’t really finishing his races but he has really battled that out.

‘We ran him as a novice in the Grand National and that was the making of him. Before, he was a bit of a playboy. He was foot-perfect today and is now the finished article.’