Sam Winner out of Aintree National Sam Winner is to miss the Crabbie's Grand National at Aintree to wait for the Scottish equivalent at Ayr a week later. The eight-year-old was pulled up at Cheltenham in the Gold Cup won by Coneygree, and trainer Paul Nicholls had warned he was not a certain runner in the world's greatest steeplechase, for which he had been a general 33-1 chance. The Ditcheat trainer tweeted this morning: "Sam Winner is not running in the Grand National Saturday but going to Ayr on (the) 18th for Scottish Grand National." Nicholls still has a number of leading chances for the Aintree spectacular, including Rocky Creek and Unioniste. Mon Parrain and Rebel Rebellion are others expected to be in the Nicholls squad on Saturday.
