We're all bit players in Willie's World - but spare a thought for the man who would be king in any other era

Rarely has the result of a photo-finish been as crucial to so many people as the one that decided the outcome of Saturday's Scottish Grand National.

Mathematically speaking, the race to be crowned champion jumps trainer in Britain might not be over, but with days rather than weeks to go until the end of the season, Macdermott's victory at Ayr was surely the moment Willie Mullins landed the knockout blow to title rivals Dan Skelton and Paul Nicholls.  

Yet while marvelling at the might of Mullins or even contemplating Nicholls and Skelton exchanging expletives in the owners' and trainers' bar as the judge called Macdermott the winner by a nose, spare a thought too for Gordon Elliott.