AS THE poor chap lumbered with the thankless task of bus convener for various sporting functions in the past, I can only wish Ayr the best of luck with their latest crowd-pulling idea for the Scottish Grand National.
The Craigie course is to operate a special coach service for the big event on 19 April, with punters being offered the chance to buy an all-inclusive package that covers admission, travel and a racecard.
There will be five pick-up points in Glasgo
w city centre, Hamilton, East Kilbride, Kilmarnock and Irvine, with the various charabancs set to arrive at the track a couple of hours before the first race.
Departure is also timed for two hours after the finale to allow racegoers the chance to enjoy the post-race entertainment that will be laid on.
Tickets for this innovative and welcome service can be booked on the Ayr website or by calling the course
.
Further good news is that sorting out the seven winners on today's card at Ayr is not too difficult. It never is, of course, until racing actually starts and then, sadly, events tend to prove otherwise.
Snowy is getting as long in the tooth as the rest of us, but the Ray Green-owned grey might still be sprightly enough to see off his rivals in the opener, while Companero, Lockstockandbarrel and Midnight Diamond are others worth considering later on the card.
Alistair Whillans's Dallas Bell made an encouraging debut when second at Newcastle, and coming from the same family as the yard's Great Yorkshire Chase winner, and Cheltenham Festival runner-up, Major Bell, that could be just the start.
Quicuyo and Stand On Me can complete a double for Peter Monteith, with the 10lb claim of his young rider Ryan Mania making the latter look particularly nicely treated against Jefertiti and Something Silver, who finished in front of the selection the last time the trio met.
Given that the five runners who contest Wolverhampton's Dine In Style Handicap this evening all won last time out, deciding which of the quintet is likely to come out on top this time is slightly tricky.
A couple, Al Samha and Dream Desert, both boast 100 per cent records from their one racecourse appearance and coming from the stables of Mark Johnston and Mick Channon, it's likely the pair have plenty more to offer.
The field Grand Strategy beat on his latest start, however, was packed full of previous and subsequent winners so with form as solid as that, Philip Robinson's mount has to be the nap.
The full article contains 435 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
