Nigel Twiston-Davies’ Hello Bud ran away with the honours at the 2009 Scottish Grand National at Ayr on Saturday.

The 12-1 priced runner, piloted by Paddy Brennan, led the race virtually from start to finish, and was good enough to hold out a determined late run by Tony McCoy on Gone To Lunch.

Out the Black and Chiaro rounded off the places in the race.

The win handed Nigel Twiston-Davies his third Scottish Grand National title, and the trainer was delighted with his entry’s performance against a quality field.

“He’s won all of his races from the front and he did it beautifully,” Twiston-Davies told the Press Association. “It’s a great effort and I’m absolutely chuffed to bits.”

Following the race Paddy Brennan credit Twiston-Davies for his win, telling reporters: “He loves it. I’ve not won on him before so David England takes a lot of credit. I’ve got the best boss in the world and he keeps on producing big winners.”

Hello Bud’s performance is likely to see him aimed at Aintree for the 2009/2010 national hunt season.

“We’ll look at the Becher Chase and things like that, but we’ve got to think about the Grand National, the English one, next year,” Twiston Davies said. “We’ve got great riches in that department and it’s so exciting.”

Trainer Jimmy Moffat believes that Scottish Grand National antepost favourite, Chief Dan George, will reward his backers at Ayr on Sunday.

Chief Dan George has been priced 13/2 by William Hill for the Scottish Grand National, just ahead of Tricky Trickster at 7/1. Chief Dan George’s popularity in the betting markets is based on recent form, with two wins in his last two races.

“He has trained well, it’s gone without a blip this last month or so and we’re looking forward to it,” Moffatt told the Press Association. “He’s battle hardened. He’s only had five runs over fences but he has jumped well every time and the last time he was pretty impressive.”

“We keep our fingers crossed and hope everything goes well. He’s a spring horse and this year he has come good again, but with all the talk in the world you have still to race over four miles.”

Moffat also believes that the faster ground at Ayr will suit his Scottish Grand National entry.

“I’m happy with the ground as long as it’s good and maybe the quicker side of good, that would be absolutely fine,” Moffat said. “He wants better ground, it helps him jump out of the fences. He springs off it.”

Race officials are likely to water Ayr Racecourse ahead of this weekend’s Scottish Grand National.

The decision comes after a dry spell at the racecourse, and following a brutal Irish Grand National that saw two entries killed on the fast ground of Fairyhouse.

“The going is currently good. We had a dry weekend and the rain we were expecting on Tuesday is now going to amount to about three millimetres at the most,” said course clerk Katherine Self.

“We’ll look at the forecast on Wednesday and make a decision regarding watering. There is good grass cover as we are about a month ahead of where we normally are with the track because of the dry warmer weather we’ve been having recently.”

Notre Pere, who was wisely defected from the Irish National by trainer Jim Dreaper, heads the weight tables for the Scottish Grand National.

Chief Dan George heads the Scottish Grand National betting markets, and is receiving strong backing based on two recent wins at Catterick and Kelso.

Welsh National winner Mike de Beauchene is joined in the field by this year’s Midlands National winner, Russian Trigger.

The final field for the 2008 Scottish Grand National has been confirmed, with Alan King’s Halcon Genelardais set to carry top weight in one of the biggest national hunt races of the year. Despite carrying 11st 12lbs, Halcon Genelardais is a strong contender for the title, having won the Welsh National in 2006.

Only two other horses are weighted to participate in the handicap proper. The first is Alan King’s National Hunt Chase winner Old Benny, and the second is Opera Mundi, representing Paul Nicholls in the race.

Only two Irish racehorses have made it into the field of 24 that will run at Ayr on Sunday. Tony Martin is represented by Patsy Hall while In The Loop runs for Roy Wilson.

A notable omission from the field is Butler’s Cabin, who was not declared, possibly as a result of his fall during the 2008 Grand National at Aintree.

With two days to go before the 2008 Scottish Grand National is run, two horses are tied at the top of the odds tables, with both Miko de Beauchene and Old Benny priced at 11/2 to William Hill. Halcon Genelardais is second lowest priced at 2008 Scottish Grand National odds of 13/2.

Tipsters are out in full force in the build up to the 2008 Scottish Grand National race. With many attempting to point punters in the direction of the likely race winner, Scottish National Betting will instead provide some cues that can be used to detect which horses have a real chance in Sunday’s race.

The first thing to take into consideration at the 2008 Scottish National race is that weight does not play as significant a role in this handicap as it does in other top national hunt races. Recent race history shows that wins have been achieved at the top weight of 11st 12lbs, as well as much lighter loads.

With weight not a major determining factor in the race, punters need to consider the age of the runners. Seven seems to be the magic age for winning the Scottish National race, with eight year olds also doing well over the last decade. Only three horses outside the 7-8 year old age range have won the Scottish National in the last ten years.

Finally turf conditions and race distance are crucial for determining winners. The going is likely to be soft come Sunday, so punters are advised to seek out horses who excel in softer conditions. At 4 miles and 11 yards the race is clearly one for stayers, and punters are advised to restrict bets to horses that have performed well over distances greater than 3 miles.

Dozens of the runners who participated in the 2008 Grand National will be heading to Ayr in Scotland next weekend to take part in the 2008 Scottish National race.

Amongst the runners expected to race over fences at Ayr are 2008 Grand National winner Comply or Die along with Grand National runners Cloudy Lane, Bewley’s Berry, Butler’s Cabin and Hedgehunter.

Whether or not the runners from the Grand National will make an impact at the 2008 Scottish National race remains to be seen, as a legion of powerful jumpers who did not compete in the 2008 Grand National presently dominate the Scottish National odds tables.

At present Miko de De Beauchene is the odds leader, priced at 7/1 by William Hill. Noir et Vert is slightly off the pace at Scottish National odds of 9/1. Long running favourite Himalayan Trail has slipped to a price of 10/1 on the odds table, joined by Old Benny and Lothians Falcon.

With Ayr exposed to a sustained period of wet weather, a number of trainers have indicate that they may pull their entries from the 2008 Scottish National race if a dry spell doesn’t give the course sufficient time to dry out. Amongst the horses likely to be withdrawn if the turf conditions remain soft is 16/1 priced Burntoakboy.

The 2008 Scottish Grand National is set to boast a powerful field of top national hunt runners this year. A massive 110 entries have been submitted to the 2008 Scottish Grand National, due to be run at Ayr on April 19th.

The talent participating in the 2008 renewal of the Scottish Grand National includes 2008 Grand National favourites Cloudy Lane and Mr. Pointment, Welsh National winner Miko De Beauchene and last week’s winner of the Midlands Grand National, Himalayan Trail.

The profile and popularity of the Scottish Grand National has soared in recent years, and at present the Ayr spectacular ranks as the fifth most popular national hunt race of the season. Interest in the event has seen a bustle of activity in the Scottish Grand National betting markets.

Miko De Beauchene heads the Scottish Grand National betting markets at odds of 8/1. Noir et Vert is second best priced at 11-1, with Cheltenham Festival winner Albertas Run third in the 2008 Scottish Grand National betting odds table at 13/1, a price shared by Grand National favourite Cloudy Lane.