Scottish Grand National Tips: Recommended Bet And Preview For Ayr Showpiece

One of the most intriguing renewals of the Scottish Grand National in recent memories takes place on Saturday afternoon, with Willie Mullins sending a deep squad over and plenty in here who will fancy their chances. Here we detail our tip for the race and preview the marathon contest...

The obvious place to start in this race is the new favourite Spanish Harlem, who was double figures but now leads the market after being chosen as the best of the Mullins sextet by Paul Townend. He is one of the more unexposed runners we've ever seen in this race, still only six and never being asked for much effort in any of his maiden runs over fences over what are evidently inadequate trips. He can run here off 10st10 which will be a lovely racing weight one suspects and he must be doing something right at home for Townend to side with him over the other five.

Mr Incredible has been luckless in both Aintree attempts in his career but is the top weighted runner for Mullins here. He does look the type who will relish the test Ayr has to offer, but is a tricky customer and as such it is not hard to see why Townend gave him the cold shoulder. One suspects it was more difficult for the top Closutton rider to dismiss Macdermott when choosing his mount, as he has a similar profile to Spanish Harlem yet does actually have a wide margin win on his record. It would be surprising were he to not be in the mix providing he meets no misfortune.

Stay Away Fay looks destined for a career in this sort of race now he has been dismissed at Grade 1 level and the horse looks tailormade to bully his way to National titles in years to come. He will have the burden of top weight in here but he is a huge brute of a horse and that shouldn't bother Harry Cobden's mount too much> Paul Nicholls desperately needs this prize to retain his trainers' title, but I fear Stay Away Fay may find one or two too good for him in here.

Anglers Crag is has been reborn this season, racking up a string of four consecutive wins and he must be respected bouncing into Ayr off a low weight for Brian Ellison. The team have been at pains to point out what a quirky character this lad is, but they seem to have found the key to him and his stamina reserves are yet to be properly tested so he cannot be ruled out. Inis Oirr was a tough one to leave off the staking plan as he romped to the Edinburgh National by 21 lengths, proving his liking for these testing trips. 

He will be a hugely popular winner for Lucinda Russell should he complete the double on home turf, and seems to have all the tools in his arsenal to do it. I may well end up having a saver on him if truth be told as I'd hate to lose in the race if he wins as I can see no real negatives. Nevertheless, the one I am sweetest on for this race is definitely GIT MAKER for Jamie Snowden.

It can be too simplistic to follow form lines literally in racing, but sometimes things smack you in the face and force you to take note. Inothewayurthinkin romped to Kim Muir glory and was backed as if he was the reincarnation of Kauto Star. He has since come out and won a Grade 1 at Aintree so the money was clearly spot on, as he proved in winning the Kim Muir in facile fashion by eight lengths. If you take him out of the field, however, Git Maker is a clear winner.

He has been hit with just a pound rise for that near career best effort, which looks incredibly lenient. Snowden has no chance in the trainers' title race, but he can bag this massive pot and frustrate the bigger names like Nicholls, Mullins and Skelton. I'm surprised Git Maker isn't clear favourite and recommend a strong each-way bet on him.