'That's one photograph I'll be taking home with me!' - Macdermott puts Willie Mullins in pole position for trainers' title

Never doubt a champion. And a British champion is precisely what Willie Mullins looks after a Coral Scottish Grand National of contrasting fortunes.

A week on from landing a second Grand National with the impressive I Am Maximus, things were rather more dicey here.

Mr Incredible, backed down from 10-1 into 7-1, proved reluctant and pulled himself up before the first fence where stablemate We'llhavewan unseated. But running six in the race, on a track where he had only had five runners in total before this day, paid off for the Closutton master.

Macdermott, who had been the sponsor's favourite in midweek but drifted out to 18-1 at the off, was always handy under Danny Mullins and hit the front after the fourth-last fence.

The 20-1 shot Surrey Quest pushed him hard from there, and it was stride for stride up the run-in as they went past the post in unison. But the photo – eventually – showed Mullins had triumphed again, while also taking fourth place with Klarc Kent, and fifth and sixth with Ontheropes and Spanish Harlem for good measure.

"That's one photograph I'll be taking home with me!" the trainer said. "I thought he had it won then in the last stride I thought we were done. I was disappointed, but I knew we had a nice bit of place money. Then one of my owners in the box put up the betting on the photo and our fellow was 13-1 on."

The winning rider had been deliberately pessimistic before the verdict, and said: “I always think I'm beat. When I was younger, I thought I had won one and I didn’t, so ever since I tell myself I am beat until I get my number called.

“It’s great. I have run well a couple of times in the race before for Pat Fahy, and to get the bob in a tight finish when Willie really needs the prize-money is fantastic."

Macdermott (orange cap) on his way to Scottish Grand National gloryCredit: John Grossick (racingpost.com/photos)

Macdermott was only the second Irish-trained winner of the Scottish National — and a first since 1869 — and Mullins said: "It's fantastic for Danny and I'm delighted for [owner] Pat Gallagher, too, because it's taken this horse a long while. He's only six and, with his pedigree, his best years will be seven, eight and nine.

"He has Aintree written all over him. The way he jumped today I'd love to bring him to Paris for the Grand Steeplechase — when you win, you have all sorts of plans!"

The plan hatched in the wake of Aintree last weekend was to send numerous runners to Britain in an all-out bid for the title, which meant Macdermott was one of the yard's four winners on the card.

"I said to David Casey, enter anything that's qualified for everything," Mullins said. "It gives a bit of sparkle to the end of the season. You need things like that to create a bit of atmosphere and bring people racing and have racing go outside the sports pages, so I'm delighted to be helping out.

"I can enjoy it because of the support I'm getting from my owners. There might be bigger prizes at home at Punchestown, but they're willing to sacrifice it. That's tremendous and I thank them for it."

"Today has gone way better than I expected. There's fantastic sunshine, a fantastic crowd and it's working out a fantastic day."

Mullins is still planning on sending out runners across Britain this week to try to maintain his championship lead, and said: "We have one hand on it, but there's £675,000 prize-money at Sandown next weekend so we can't stop, we'll keep going." 

Deflated rival Dan Skelton fears the leader will not be caught, and said: “It’s not completely over, but he's got us on the ropes. In sport, all you can do is your best and sometimes you have to accept your best isn’t good enough."

Clive Hadingham of Surrey Racing was just as gutted that Kevin Brogan's mount Surrey Quest had failed to poop the Mullins party by just a nose.

"I thought we had it," he said. "I'd wanted to come in the first seven, but then you see a finish like that. But it's brilliant, he's run a brilliant race and Kevin has ridden a brilliant race as well. Toby Lawes had him spot on for this and we got beaten only by Willie Mullins.

"It's not the end of the world, he's unexposed, he'll move on from there and we're going to have some good fun next year, maybe in the Grand National."

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