Coral Scottish Champion Hurdle
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Grade 2, Limited Handicap,
Ayr 14:15
£100,000 guaranteed, 4yo plus,
2m, Class 1   
Saturday 12th April 2025

QuinnBet

1 Cracking Rhapsody 10/1
2 Kabral Du Mathan 9/4F
3 Ooh Betty 12/1
12 ran Distances: nk, shd, 1l
Time: 3m 51.72s (slow by 10.72s)

In a finish that wouldn’t have looked out of place in a photo booth, it was Cracking Rhapsody who dug deepest of all to provide Ewan Whillans with the biggest win of his career to date.

Already a dual Morebattle Hurdle winner and a gallant third in this contest last year, the seven-year-old returned with 9lb more on his back and the weight of expectation just beginning to grow—but rose to the challenge like an old pro.

As the tapes went up, it was Ooh Betty who set the tempo, keen to lay down a marker before Welsh Charger took over at the head of affairs. But lurking just behind, poised and tracking throughout, were Kabral Du Mathan, Dysart Enos, and the ever-consistent Cracking Rhapsody, who never let the leaders out of sight.

Turning for home, the race built to a crescendo. Four in line at the last, it became a battle of wills and lungs, and just as Cracking Rhapsody looked to be running on empty, his reserves of grit came into play. Ooh Betty rallied again on the far side, flying home after her earlier exertions, while Dysart Enos was plugging on in behind—but the line couldn’t have come a stride too soon for Craig Nichol, who clung on to win by a neck, with a short head splitting second and third.

There was late drama, too—Nichol parted company with his partner after the line, tripping in the pull-up, but thankfully both horse and rider were quickly on their feet.

“He’s made a fool of me,” Nichol laughed with ITV Racing. “He tripped and I came off! But he’s a gem. He’s won two Morebattles, ran at Cheltenham, and now wins this—there’s just no bottom to him. If you could bottle his heart, it’d be priceless.”

For Whillans, the win was a deeply satisfying moment—one built on patience, planning, and a paddock-dwelling warrior who thrives on routine.

“It’s all down to the team,” he said. “This horse is unbelievable—he lives half the year in the paddock. I thought he was too high in the weights, but then I said that after he won the Morebattle too! He just keeps finding more.”

Of the others, Valgrand departed early, and the much-vaunted Willie Mullins quartet—Bunting, Batman Girac, Karafon, and Ethical Diamond—all failed to land a blow, a rare blank for the Irish powerhouse in a British feature.

But none of that mattered to Whillans and Nichol, who now have a Scottish Champion to celebrate. A gritty, tenacious display from a horse with more heart than hype—and this time, the song ended on the perfect note.

Boylesports

Coral Scottish Champion Hurdle
£100,000 guaranteed, 4yo plus, 2m, Class 1
12 ran
Going: Good to Soft, Good in places

POS. DIST HORSE AGE WGT TRAINER JOCKEY SP
1     Cracking Rhapsody 6 11-5 Ewan Whillans Craig Nichol 10/1
2 nk Kabral Du Mathan 5 11-7 Paul Nicholls Harry Cobden 9/4F
3 shd Ooh Betty 7 11-0 Ben Clarke Ben Jones 12/1
4 1 Dysart Enos 7 11-5 Fergal O'Brien Jonathan Burke 7/1
5 ½ Welsh Charger 7 10-12 Alastair Ralph David Noonan 22/1
6 2¼ Bunting 5 11-7 W P Mullins Danny Mullins 9/1
7 2¾ Ethical Diamond 5 11-12 W P Mullins Mr P W Mullins 5/1
8 nk Batman Girac 5 11-2 W P Mullins Brian Hayes 40/1
9 5½ Kihavah 8 11-7 Adrian Paul Keatley Brian Hughes 16/1
FELL Karafon 5 11-1 W P Mullins J J Slevin 22/1
FELL Valgrand 6 11-0 Dan Skelton Harry Skelton 10/1
PU Under Control 6 11-2 Nicky Henderson Nico de Boinville 12/1

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