Crawford hoping Yes answers National call Stuart Crawford's nine-year-old Yes Tom heads a two-pronged attack from Northern Ireland on the Coral Scottish Grand National at Ayr on Saturday. Joining him on the journey is the Colin McBratney-trained Sole Witness, who is likely to be among the outsiders for the marathon four-mile contest. Yes Tom won twice and placed six times from nine starts at Ayr when trained by Crawford's fellow County Antrim-based Roy Wilson, and he made a winning debut for his new handler at Down Royal last month. Crawford, whose charge will be ridden by Paul Carberry, said: "He's a relatively new horse to us as he only arrived at the start of the year, although being a locally owned horse, I've always followed him. "He had a great start for us in Down Royal, it was a nice confidence booster for the horse and we've been very happy with him since. "I think the step up in trip should suit him, the drying ground will suit him and he's run well at Ayr in the past. He's crept in with 10 stone and I think he's the last horse in the race on his correct weight, so there are a few things in his favour. "He went to Down Royal nice and fresh and we haven't done too much with him since as I think he might just be at his best that way. We're quite excited about his chances." Sole Witness is a much bigger price, but McBratney is hopeful of a bold show. He said: "He has a low weight and is going four miles for the first time, so fingers crossed he gets the trip. He's in good form and hopefully he'll give a good account of himself."
