An early 40-1 tip for the Coral Scottish Grand National

The presence of looms large over the Coral Scottish at on Saturday.

Fresh from his remarkable 1-2-3-5-7 in the Grand National at Aintree, Mullins is responsible for 11 of the 33 left in the £200,000 showpiece and you would imagine plenty will run as his trainers’ title defence goes into all-action mode. William Hill make him 2-1 to train the winner.

Eight of his team are novices, like his narrow victor last year, Macdermott, and several have had the minimum three minimum runs over fences to needed qualify for a run. That’s one run less than required to take part in handicap chases worth less money over much shorter distances almost a month ago at the Cheltenham Festival. Go figure.

Chosen Witness, one of those with the bare three runs over the larger obstacles (and only two completions), has been the big ante-post favourite and is now no bigger than 9-2.

You can see why, because he won over hurdles at the meeting last year and was going well in Grade Two company over 3m at Navan last time only to blunder away Paul Townend four out.

It was too far out to be certain where the eight-year-old might finish, but he still looked to have plenty left in the tank and the first two home (both rated 154) went on to be placed in the Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase. Chosen Witness will run off 137 switched to handicap ranks, so it goes without saying he could be on a lenient mark, for all that he’s short of experience.

The Mullins challenger who interests me even more at this stage is O’Moore Park, a general 12-1 chance. He stuck to his task when third to all-the-way winner Caldwell Porter in the Jack Richards’ Novices’ Chase over 2m 4f at Cheltenham, and the winner did not let the form down when following up in a Grade One at Aintree last week.

O’Moore Park can race off the same mark and, while he’s unproven over such a marathon trip, there is stamina on the dam’s side of his pedigree. He’s also proven on goodish ground, and such conditions look a certainty with more dry, sunny weather forecast for Scotland over the days ahead.

However, it could pay to look away from Mullins altogether, not least because thorough stayer

MAGNA SAM

will be running from the foot of the weights and is quoted at 40-1 by William Hill, who are offering five places for each-way players.

The Alastair Ralph-trained 11-year-old is low mileage for his age (just 23 runs) and has unfinished business with the Scottish National after his creditable fifth to Kitty’s Light two years ago when he paid for a wide dash that swept him into the lead four out. He traded just over Evens in-running that day but paid for what was an overly attacking move.

Last season was something of a write-off, when he was below-par in each of his four runs and clearly had issues, but he’s shown the benefit of wind surgery in his two starts this term, shaping well on his return at Doncaster before bolting up in the Edinburgh National last time, when first-time cheekpieces also seemed to add an edge.

That was Magna Sam’s second success in that 4m affair, and it wasn’t in doubt from some way out. He won easing up by almost ten lengths, with Surrey Quest, touched off in last year’s Scottish National, and Manothepeople, who subsequently ran well in the Kim Muir, among those ran into submission.

Magna Sam has been pushed 8lb back up the ratings, but he’s still 6lb lower than when running so well in the 2023 edition of this race, and he’s got plenty of form on decent going.

Eleven-year-olds have not been represented in the race for the past couple of years but they had landed three of the previous 13 editions. And, as previously stated, it's not as if he's had a plethora of racing.

Brendan Powell clicked with him at the first time of asking at Musselburgh but will no doubt be required to ride National Hut Cjase runner-up Rock My Way, for Joe Tizzard, should that horse line up.

However, Ralph should not be short of suitors if Powell is not available, with Johnny Burke and Sean Bowen having been among others to ride Magna Sam in the past.

He could also go further and snap up a conditional, to ease his burden even more. Four “claimers’ have ridden the winner of the race since 2005.