Fitting tribute to much-missed trainer Monteith

There will be a poignant air at Kelso racecourse today when the Monteith Memorial Champion Chase is run at 2pm. It is just over a year since the tragic death of Peter Monteith, the Midlothian trainer who was such a fixture on the Scottish racing scene. He has been much missed, especially at Musselburgh and Kelso, where he was usually at the centre of high jinks.

His widow, Doreen, and his family and friends have decided to sponsor today’s race in his memory, with the trophy named after Peter and his father, Colonel William Monteith, also a big contributor to Scottish racing.

Doreen and Peter’s sister, Sheila, will be on hand to present the Monteith Cup after the race, and I do hope this chase can become an annual event in memory of a much loved personality.

Run over two miles six-and-a-half furlongs, it should be a cracking race with Scottish trainers Lucinda Russell, Andrew Parker, James Ewart, George Bewley and Stuart Coltherd all trying to win the prize in tribute to their former colleague.

They face tough opposition from down south with Nicky Richards being double handed with former Len Lungo inmate Skipper’s Brig and Premier Sagas, while champion trainer Paul Nicholls is sending the useful Take The Breeze up from Somerset to participate.

I like the chances of the John Wade-trained Always Right, who was third, beaten by only a length, in the Scottish Grand National in April. The nine-year-old is a course and distance winner, handles soft ground and goes well fresh.

If 2010 Cheltenham Festival hero Chief Dan George is back to his best, he would take all the beating on a course he likes, but he’s getting on a bit and Always Right strikes me as a likely contender even at 10lbs higher than his last win.

The race after the Monteith event will be well worth viewing, too, as it is the John Smith’s Scottish Borders National over the marathon four-mile trip.

There are some serious steeplechasers going, including former Cheltenham Festival Pertemps Hurdle winner Ballyfitz, from Nigel Twiston-Davies’ stable, who will stay every yard.

Lucinda Russell looks to have found a long-distance specialist in Outlaw Tom, the seven-year-old owned by the Milnathort Racing Club. With his trainer in fine form, he has to have a good chance.