BETFAIR 2009 SCOTTISH NATIONAL FAVOURITES

After an extremely eventful and exciting Irish Grand National running at Fairyhouse, we've got punters lining up for the 2009 Scottish National at Ayr this weekend. As it currently stands, the Jimmy Moffatt-trained Chief Dan George is the slim favourite in the Betfair market at 9.0. The widely-regarded Nine De Sivola is just behind at 10.0. A very interesting punt, in my opinion, is Tricky Trickster who scored at Cheltenham this year in the National Hunt Chase Challenge Cup. He finished a very respectable second to Ping Pong Sivola at the Timeform Novices Chase back in January at Cheltenham as well. Ping Pong Sivola is a grade above this race and finishing second to him is an achievement for the six year-old with a mere six lifetime races under his belt. For the record, he has two wins and three places from six. West End Rocker has been widely-tipped and was set to be the top weighted horse until Notre Pere came in carrying 11st 11lb. For me, this one comes down to a real battle between Chief Dan George and Tricky Trickster. Chief Dan George is in incredible form, having struck gold at Kelso and Catterick in recent outings and his partnership with Paddy Aspell is well-regarded. What I think undoes Chief Dan George's strong challenge here is his lack of experience against top-notch runners. While the Scottish National doesn't attract the Kauto Stars and the Denmans, it always takes something special to win the race. While I believe that Chief Dan George is a great horse, I don't see a track-record that indicates he's a sure bet here. 9.0 isn't a bad price, but I like Tricky Tricksters' proven form and recent Cheltenham victory. Drop a reverse forecast on Chief Dan George and Tricky Trickster and you're looking at 9.0 x 10.5 each-way. That's good value, and we've seen two grand nationals won by longer-odds runners. We're due for a favourite to come in, and this will be the one. I guess now it's just a question of who. On a parting note, Russian Trigger has been given a lot of attention over the last 24 hours.