Findlay family have one more hurrah in Ayr showpiece

JUST when it looked as though the name of Findlay would disappear entirely from racing, a very brave performance by 15-2 shot Beshabar gave the clan a massive boost in winning the £180,000 Coral Scottish Grand National at Ayr yesterday.

Legendary Scottish gambler and owner Harry Findlay had decided that the game was no longer worth the candle after disputes with officialdom yet he possibly did not tell his redoubtable mother Margaret that their time in racing was finished.

Their horses, such as the mighty Cheltenham Gold Cup winner Denman, were usually owned in partnership, and Mrs Findlay seemed to consent when her son sold off most of his string last year and announced that he would soon be selling the remainder.

But no sooner had Beshabar crossed the line ahead of last year's winner Merigo, a 20-1 chance, at the end of the gruelling four mile 110 yard marathon than Mrs Findlay was happily pronouncing that she was far from finished with racing.

The 79-year-old from Perth had a host of co-owners from the Middleham Park Racing consortium around her as she said: "That was absolutely fabulous. From beginning to end there was no point where we had any worries.

"That is not my last, not at all. Of course I am going to keep going racing. My friend Anne and I go everywhere. The others just go to the big races. This is up there with my biggest successes, especially on my home ground."

It was a win for the four corners of these isles - the Irish-bred horse part-owned by a Scotswoman, trained in Wales by Tim Vaughan, and superbly ridden by Englishman Richard Johnson. It was Johnson, who would be the greatest jumps jockey of them all had it not been for AP McCoy, who gave Beshabar an absolute peach of a ride.

"The plan was always to lie up handy," said Johnson, "but we ended up going head-to-head with Merigo."

That's exactly how the race panned out for the best part of two circuits, with Beshabar making most of the running. Mrs Findlay may not have worried, but trainer Vaughan and Johnson certainly did. In the home straight, Timmy Murphy conjured a fresh attempt from Merigo, while James Reveley on Always Right came from behind to challenge both. Over the last, Johnson spurred Beshabar ahead, and he had left just enough in the tank to hold off Merigo by just under a length after the Andrew Parker-trained horse had battled back to pass Always Right, the 15-2 shot finishing third ahead of gallant 33-1 outsider Lothian Falcon. "He will be aimed at the Aintree National next year," was Vaughan's immediate verdict on Beshabar.

Arguably the best performance in the race was put in by Merigo.

He and ran above expectations considering that he was carrying much more weight than he would have if top weight Neptune Collonges had not stayed in the field.

Sadly, it was revealed afterwards that, just like in last week's Aintree Grand National, two horses died as a result of the race. In neither case was the fatality due to a fall, Minella Four Star and Regal Heights both collapsing and dying of internal problems rather than injuries sustained from falling. There had been pots of money for favourite Chicago Grey, but the horse ran flat after his gruelling win over Beshabar in the National Hunt chase at the Cheltenham Festival, eventually trailing home a well-beaten eighth. Mindful that he was a well-backed favourite, the stewards looked into the running of Chicago Grey and accepted Elliott and Carberry's explanation that the horse ran flat. The two men promptly showed that Chicago Grey's run had been an aberration in the race after the National, the Ayrshire Hospice Handicap Hurdle, which saw Carberry give yet another exhibition of his "head waitership" tactics. Just as he did with 14-1 winner Aibrean on Friday, Carberry sat still aboard Elliott's Russian War until they were over the last flight at which point he kicked on and kept the 2-1 favourite up to his work to beat Attaglance.

The main supporting event on a tasty bill of fare was the 50,000 Isle of Skye Blended Whisky Champion Hurdle. This turned out to be a master class in jockeyship from Ruby Walsh aboard Paul Nicholl's Sanctuaire, the horse waiting until the last moment when Walsh pressed the button and the well-backed 9-2 joint favourite won cosily from 14-1 shot Bygones of Brid.

Favourite backers knew their fate a long way from home in The Scottish Sun Future Champion Novices Steeplechase in which the well-backed Georgio Quercus smashed through the final fence in the home straight on the first circuit, Barry Geraghty somehow staying aboard. Their chances were gone, however, and 8-1 shot Gilbarry jumped almost impeccably and stayed every yard of the 2m 4f distance for a good victory.

The Scotty Brand Handicap Chase provided the best finish of the day. Over the last, Tony McCoy drove 4-1 favourite I'msingingtheblues from the David Pipe stable into what looked like a winning lead, but Ferdy Murphy's Beggars Cap fought back under Graham Lee and the 14-1 shot put his head in front at the line, the official winning distance being a neck.

The opening race, the Purvis Marquees Racing Excellence "Hands and Heels" Final Handicap Hurdle was won by 14-1 chance Knight Valiant, well-ridden without the aid of a whip by Lizzie Butterworth, the horse being trained by her mother Barbara. On His Own won the Wetherbys Bloodstock Insurance Novices Handicap Chase, before the closing Ashleybank Investments bumper went to Fourth Estate who won comfortably at the odds of 5-4 and sent favourite fanciers home happy.There were some final trophies to be presented at Ayr, namely that of top Scottish trainer and top trainer at Ayr for the 2010-11 jumps season both of which went to Jim Goldie. Isle of Skye Blended Scotch Whisky also presented trophies to Ayr's top jumps jockey Graham Lee, while top owner was Raymond Anderson Green which was some small consolation for missing out on a second Scottish National.

Meanwhile at Newbury, Frankel confirmed that Henry Cecil has not lost the skill of taking a star colt from two to three-years-old. He took a while to settle down to his task but Frankel eventually powered away from his rivals in the Group 3 Totesport.com Greenham Stakes.

The son of Galileo was not overwhelmingly impressive, but was well clear of the opposition in extending his unbeaten run to five. All the major bookmakers now have Frankel as odds-on favourite for the Qipco 2,000 Guineas next month.

"Whatever he did today he'll improve," said Cecil. "Hopefully this will put him spot on for the Guineas."

If he can canter away from a decent field while only 80 per cent fit, what will Frankel do when he's fully tuned up and ready to go? He really could be the superstar Cecil felt he might be.