Rum Ayr's spirit

Published on Sunday 16 April 2006 00:12

A NOTABLE spirit known as McKibbin's Dark could be quaffed as the toast at Ayr on Saturday - should Another Rum win the Scottish Grand National. The horse, which was third in the race last year and a late withdrawal from last weekend's Grand National at Aintree, is trained by Ian Duncan in the village of Crumlin, County Antrim.

Another Rum was a 33-1 outsider until his trainer decided to bypass the world's greatest steeplechase for a tilt at the Scottish version. At which point his odds plummeted, a phenomenon that has not altogether surprised Duncan. "It's been a bit topsy-turvy really," said the Ulsterman. "Two weeks before the Aintree race we were favouring running in the Scottish National, but as time went on, the owner thought he might like to go for the big race.

"However, as it turned out, conditions weren't right. We were set back with the weather and our gallops were flooded. Things weren't in place - there were too many hurdles in the way.

"We had arranged to go for a racecourse gallop at Downpatrick, but it too was waterlogged, and we just couldn't get the work into the horse. We then thought we'd abandon plans for the Aintree race and focus on the Scottish National, in the hope for some better weather."

Another Rum, which was bred by Duncan's wife, Hilary, was sold to businessman Ronnie Lilley as a two-year-old. Duncan recalled: "The first racehorse Ronnie bought from me was a lovely type, and the first time it ran, in a bumper, it broke its leg and had to be destroyed. Ronnie named the horse Mr McKibbin after his favourite tipple, McKibbin's Dark Rum.

"He then came back to me two weeks later and asked if I had another horse which he could buy. I said I had the very one, but he was only a two-year-old at the time, and would have to wait at least two years before the horse could run. Ronnie seemed to be happy with this, and that's when he purchased and named the horse Another Rum."

Lilley was born in Inverlochy, near Fort William, but has spent long enough in Northern Ireland to class himself as an Ulsterman. He retains a close affinity with Scotland and loves to visit Ayr, where he has a holiday home.

Another Rum boasts three career wins to his name, two claimed at Ayr, and he was the first horse to carry Lilley's colours at the Scottish course. "This was about two years ago, and he won," said Duncan. "This was a great day for Ronnie, as he likes to have a little bet too. Ayr seems to be his lucky track, as I don't think he's been out of the first four when he's run there."

In February, he finished fourth behind the Len Lungo-trained Bajan Bandit and Sue Smith-trained Royal Emperor, who both hold entries in Saturday's showpiece, but the trainer felt that the ground was on the soft side for him that day, and if the trip had been an extra three furlongs, he might have finished a lot closer to the winner, The Bajan Bandit.

Jockey Tony Ross was on board for two of his three wins and also when the horse came third in the Scottish National last year, and he will renew the partnership on Saturday: he too will be looking for his first win in the big race.

To win the Scottish National with Another Rum would be a special achievement for Duncan, as the eight-year-old gelding was bred out of a mare, Sharp Fashion VII, which he owns.

"Sharp Fashion was sold to me by one of my owners. She never actually won a race herself, and when she got injured, I bought her from the owner. Everything she has bred has won or is currently showing promise.

"I also have a full sister to him and a half-sister, which I sold to one of my neighbours."

Duncan, 48, is a qualified vet who concentrates on equine duties these days. As well as breeding and training around 25 racehorses, he farms sheep and cattle on the 100-acre family farm, which is situated 16 miles from Belfast.

"My father trained horses as well as being a farmer. I rode in point-to-points for three or four years whilst I was at vet college; I rode a few winners, but got a bit too heavy."

After qualifying as a vet, Duncan worked in practice at Barnard Castle in County Durham and at Epsom. His father moved to a farm in Dumfries-shire 18 years ago, and he decided to return home, and that is when he started training.

As a trainer the biggest triumph in Duncan's career came when Another Rum won at the Cheltenham Festival in 2005. Was it a surprise when he landed the National Hunt Chase at 40-1? "This was only my second runner at the festival, but I thought we had a sound chance. His previous run before Cheltenham had been at Navan, where he finished a close-up fourth. And that day the horse that just beat him for third was Numbersixvalverde [winner of the Grand National last weekend] off level weights."

If that form is anything to go by, a distinctive brand of rum could be flowing at Ayr come Saturday.

The two-day Scottish Grand National Festival will get under way on Friday - with 450,000 on offer. The Scottish Grand National itself carries 160,000 in prize-money, making it the richest race to be run north of the Border; 91,232 will go to the winner of the four-mile, one-furlong handicap chase.

The supporting races on the Saturday are also lucrative affairs, including the 40,000 Ashleybank Investments Future Champions Chase over two and a half miles, in which spectators are likely to see the Nicky Richards-trained Monet's Garden, which was runner-up to Voy Por Ustedes in the Arkle at Cheltenham.

Richards also aims to run Faasel in the 60,000 Samsung Electronics Scottish Champion Hurdle over two miles, which is expected to be his last race before he goes novice chasing.

The first of the seven races on Friday will be off at 2.20pm, and on Saturday the eight-race card will get under way at 1.45pm.