Deaths of Macdermott and The Kniphand overshadow Scottish Grand National

  • Last year’s winner Macdermott suffers fatal injury
  • Race won for Willie Mullins by stablemate Captain Cody

Last year’s winner, Macdermott, was one of two fatalities in the Scottish Grand National at Ayr, casting a shadow over the triumph of his stablemate Captain Cody.

Sent off at 16-1 in his bid to repeat his win of 12 months ago, the Willie Mullins-trained Macdermott was once again ridden by Danny Mullins, but was pulled up sharply before the 10th fence. In what was an incident-packed race with only eight finishers from 23 runners, Nigel Twiston‑Davies’s The Kniphand fell at the second-last and like Macdermott suffered a fatal injury.

Continue reading…