There’s a stunning day of top quality National Hunt action at Ayr on Saturday afternoon with the Scottish Grand National the feature race. However, there’s a hugely competitive renewal of the Scottish Champion Hurdle at 2:15pm and our in-house tipster Steve Chambers previews the contest and picks out his 1-2-3 for the event.
ETHICAL DIAMOND
(Patrick Mullins/Willie Mullins)
Fourth in the Duke Of Edinburgh Stakes at Royal Ascot back in June, Ethical Diamond showed he would be a top notch dual performer when he landed victory in a Punchestown maiden hurdle in February. Well fancied for the Country Hurdle at last month’s Cheltenham Festival, the Willie Mullins-trained raider put up a fine effort to finish fourth in that event and he’s likely to go close again here. He was given a 1lb rise for that run last month, so he will need to improve again to land the spoils off a mark of 144, and off top weight it’s going to be a test, but he’s a class act and is the one to beat.
KABRAL DU MATHAN
(Harry Cobden/Paul Nicholls)
One of the shining lights of the Paul Nicholls yard this season, Kabral Du Mathan kicked off his career with three wins out of three over hurdles. The five-year-old was narrowly touched off in a red-hot Kempton handicap hurdle back in Friday, while he then ran another fine race to finish second to Secret Squirrel at Windsor at the end of January. He bypassed Cheltenham last month, which could be a big blessing in disguise as he will head to Ayr a fresh horse and off the same mark of 139 he has to be a major player. Sure to run a solid race, he could be capable of continuing his progression over timber and is entitled to be at the forefront of the betting.
VALGRAND
(Harry Skelton/Dan Skelton)
Hugely impressive when running away with a Cheltenham race back in October, Valgrand has failed to get his head in front on his last five outings, but he’s one that could relish the quicker ground at Ayr and is a leading player for the Skelton team. He was well fancied for the County Hurdle at Cheltenham last month, but ran no sort of race at all when finishing 15th of 16, so he’s definitely on a comeback mission here. The handicapper has given him a chance having dropped him 2lbs to a mark of 132, but he will need to recapture his early season form to figure in the finish.
THE FIELD
A really smart novice hurdler, Dysart Enos has struggled outside of that company, but Fergal O’Brien still holds the mare in high regard and she’s entitled to take her chance here. A distant eighth in the Mares’ Hurdle at Cheltenham, she’s one that will relish a return to the handicap sphere and is of interest. Bunting was heavily backed in the lead-up to the County Hurdle, but the Mullins-trained five-year-old was far too keen and was pulled-up. He still possesses a lot of ability, but he will need to settle to stand any chance here. Adrian Keatley’s Kihavah has an excellent recent record at Ayr having won on his last two outings at the Scottish track, so has to be given a second look, while Nicky Henderson’s Under Control and Alastair Ralph’s bottom weight Welsh Charger add more depth to the contest.
VERDICT
It’s a fascinating renewal of the Scottish Champion Hurdle and it’s a clash of yesteryear with Willie Mullins and Paul Nicholls locking horns. While all eyes will be on the Mullins battalion it’s KABRAL DU MATHAN that can continue his improvement over hurdles and get the better of Ethical Diamond with Kihavah running another fine race at Ayr and finishing third.
2025 Scottish Champion Hurdle 1-2-3
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