Silver By Nature carries Scots hopes and bets into National

Published on Friday 8 April 2011 15:30

GEOFF Brown helped deliver Silver By Nature as a foal and today at Aintree he hopes his giant grey can deliver Scotland a first Grand National success since Rubstic made the nation proud by romping to glory at Aintree in 1979.

The St Johnstone Football Club chairman and his wife Joyce have the strongest of emotional ties to their charge, and while victory in the world's most famous horse race would be a dream come true, simply seeing their treasured nine-year-old - nicknamed Tonto - come back safely after the 30-fence, four-and-a-half mile marathon is their overriding concern.

Brown will take a rare Saturday off from watching St Johnstone - at home to Dundee United today - and will squeeze in among 71,000 racegoers at Aintree as the 40 runners go to post for the 4.15pm contest. Just having a runner in the field is a big enough thrill for the Browns, but they can afford grounds for optimism too. On the back of an impressive prep success at Haydock, the gelding trained at Milnathort by Lucinda Russell, has been whittled down from 25-1 to 12-1.

"The horse is in great shape. We have been keeping a close eye on conditions down south all week and it's looking promising," said Brown. "It will be exciting for me but there's no way I will be able to relax. There are 40 horses going under starter's orders and it's into the unknown for many of them, including my horse." The distance is the main unknown to Silver By Nature, who began his racing career in a National Hunt Flat race at Ayr four years ago, finishing fourth. Since then, he has run 23 times, winning seven, and excelled in stamina tests. "You never know how a horse will react to the huge crowds at Aintree and they are going over 30 fences which are totally new to them," added Brown. "There are just so many unknown quantities but that is what makes the Grand National so special."

No grey has won the National since Nicolaus Silver triumphed in 1961, and there would be neat symmetry to the Scottish runner joining the illustrious roll of honour 50 years on. Greys - always easy to pick out in a big field - always seem to hold a special affinity with fans, and in Brown's case it has become a family affair. "We go back three generations with Silver By Nature," said Brown, who helped deliver the horse into the world at stables in Kinfauns. "So sentiment does come into it."

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Brown, whose yellow and black racing colours fly the flag for St Madoes Primary School near his Perthshire building firm, revealed the background to nicknaming his grey Tonto. "His sire was a horse called Silver Patriarch. When I thought of Silver the name of the Lone Ranger's horse sprang to mind," he explained. "The first foal was called Ranger so we went with Tonto for the next.My grandfather had a television before we did and, as a kid, I remember going to his wee farm during the school holidays and we got to watch the Lone Ranger. I still remember the 'Hi Ho Silver' away shout."

The gallant grey will no Lone Ranger today, though, as he carries Scottish hopes along with jockey Peter Buchanan on his broad back.

The tip, however is Donald McCain's Ballabriggs.

The ground shouldn't be as much as incovenience to him as a lot of his rivals, and the McCain family - famous for Red Rum - know what it takes to produce a Grand National winner.x