Trainer Willie Mullins will be mob-handed in Saturday’s Scottish Grand National at Ayr and one of his fancied runners will be Chosen Witness. However, there are THREE key Scottish Grand National stats that this 8 year-old will need to overcome.
Willie Mullins Eyes ÂŁ112k Scottish Grand National Prize In Trainers’ Title Race
We can expect an army of runners at Ayr this weekend for trainer Willie Mullins has after his Grand National 1-2-3 heroics of last week the Closutton handler is right back in the mix to defend his British Trainers’ Jumps title.
Having trailed Dan Skelton by over ÂŁ1.3m before Aintree, Willie Mullins is now just over ÂŁ1ook adrift of Skelton – which is pretty much what the Scottish National prize money is on Saturday.
Therefore, it’s no shock to see Mullins with multiple entries for the Scottish Grand National – a race he also won 12 months ago with Macdermott, who also looks like being one of his army of runners.
However, the Mullins horse that is shortest in the market with the best horse racing betting sites in the UK is CHOSEN WITNESS – but, despite having a solid-looking profile the Scottish Grand National trends suggest he’s got THREE huge stats to overcome.
1. ALL Of The Last 21 Scottish Grand National Winners Ran In The Last 57 Days
The first key trend against Chosen Witness is not having had a recent run.
He was last seen in action at Navan back in 9th February, when unseating Paul Townend when still in contention.
However, ALL of the last 21 winners of the Scottish National had run within the last 57 days – Chosen Witness falls just outside this on 62 days, so it depends how lenient you want to be here.
Other possible runners that would fall down here include last year’s runner-up Surrey Quest (69 days) and Edinburgh National winner Magna Sam (69).
2. 90% Of The Last 21 Winners Finished In The Top Six Last Time Out
Next up is to look for recent form – as 19 of the last 21 winners had finished in the top six in their most recent run.
With eight of the last 21 winners coming here having won last time out too.
Therefore, as mentioned, with Chosen Witness unseating at Navan last time out – this is the second big stat that this Willie Mullins Scottish Grand National runner will need to overcome.
Some of the other main runners that fall down here are – two of Lucinda Russell’s horses – Whistle Stop Tour and Apple Away, plus last year’s winner Macdermott.
3. The Last Outright Scottish Grand National Favourite Was In 1999
The final of the Scottish Grand National stats that Chosen Witness falls down on hinges on if he’ll go off as favourite – which he’s looking like doing.
This is because we’ve not seen an outright winning favourite of this race since Paris Pike won at 5/2 in 1999.
Yes, since then we’ve had three co or joint-winning favourites – which were Vicente (2017), Win My Wings (2022) and Kitty’s Light (2023). However, none were market leaders in their own right.
The average winning SP in the last ten runnings is 18/1 and with winners that returned 40/1, 33/1 and 25/1 since 2014, then don’t be put off if your fancy is a bigger-priced runner.
We even had a 66/1 winner in 2008 called Iris De Balme.
Better News – As Chosen Witness Does Have TWO Stats In His Corner
Finally, if you are still going to side with Chosen Witness then the better news is that there are a few trends in his favour.
These include 86% of the last 21 winners carrying 11st 1lb or less – and this 8 year-old is bang-on this weight with 11st 1lb.
While 17 of the last 21 winners (81%) were aged 8+. Which is another plus for Chosen Witness.
With 14 of the last 21 winners aged between 8-10.
Chosen Witness is also a proven winner at Ayr – having won a novice handicap hurdle at this meeting last year.
Good Luck 🤞
Willie Mullins Scottish Grand National Runners (age in brackets)
- Chosen Mate (8)
- High Class Hero (8)
- A Penny A Hundred (6)
- Captain Cody (7)
- Judicieuse Allen (6)
- Klarc Kent (9)
- Loughglynn (7)
- Macdermott (7)
- O’Moore Park (8)
- Olympic Man (8)
- Spanish Harlem (7)
2025 Scottish Grand National Race Details
đź“…Date: Saturday 12th April 2025
⌚Time: 3:35pm
🏇Racecourse: Ayr
🔄Trip: 4m
đź’·Winner: ÂŁ112,540
đź“ş TV: ITV / Racing TV
Recent Scottish Grand National Winners
- 2024 – MACDERMOTT (18/1)
- 2023 – KITTY’S LIGHT (4/1 jfav)
- 2022 – WIN MY WINGS (13/2 cfav)
- 2021 – MIGHTY THUNDER (8/1)
- 2020 – No Race
- 2019 – TAKINGRISKS (25/1)
- 2018 – JOE FARRELL (33/1)
- 2017 – VICENTE (9/1 jfav)
- 2016 – VICENTE (14/1)
- 2015 – WAYWARD PRINCE (25/1)
- 2014 – AL CO (40/1)
