LADY luck was surely smiling on Paddy's Return at Aintree a fortnight ago where remarkably he emerged unscathed after inadvertently causing one of the biggest pile-ups witnessed in post-war Grand National history.

Following such a daunting experience some trainers would have drawn stumps for the season, but not Ferdy Murphy, who boldly sends Paddy's Return up to Ayr this afternoon seeking to capture the £100,000 Scottish National for the second successive year.

Twelve months ago Murphy's Paris Pike was the hero of the hour, striding purposefully away from his rivals on the long home run-in. And while Paddy's Return might not quite be in the same league as Paris Pike, his credentials for today's big race are perfectly adequate.

"He's none the worse for his mishap at Liverpool, in fact he's absolutely bouncing," said Murphy, who thinks the uncharacteristic mistake made by his charge was perhaps the result of being a little too fresh.

"We looked after his handicap mark last term," added Murphy, delighted that Paddy's Return has got into the showpiece with such a low weight, plus on his favoured fast ground.

Other leading contenders to include on the short-list are Noble Lord, runner-up in the contest last year, Ad Hoc, pick of the Paul Nicholls quartet, and potential long-shot Honey Mount, a former winner of the Kim Muir Chase.

The abandonment of the Cheltenham Festival has certainly ensured a fabulous field for the earlier Doubleprint Novices' Chase.

Any one of the top ten in the market could prevail, although on no account will this columnist desert former Racing North ten-to-follow representative, Carbury Cross (2.20). Jonjo O'Neill's classy seven-year-old remains unbeaten over fences following victories at both Musselburgh and Doncaster.

The Flat action at Newbury is no less spectacular, featuring the much-awaited reappearance of Richard Hannon's Tamburlaine (3.00) in the Group 3 Greenham Stakes.

The selection is widely regarded within the stable as being superior to the yard's Craven Stakes scorer, King's Ironbridge, who lowered the colours of the winter 2000 favourite Nayef at Newmarket on Thursday.

If Tamburlaine is as good as his sparkling homework on the gallops suggests, then it'll likely turn into a procession. However, such bubbles have been burst many times before, and a watching brief is therefore advised.

Should Hannon's budding star live up to expectations, both the English and Irish Guineas are the natural targets for the much-hyped colt.

Barring the Scottish National, the biggest betting race of the day looks sure to be the one-mile Spring Cup.

It's always instructive to examine past trends in such events, which reveals four-year-olds have a tremendous record in the race, winning eight of the last ten.

Forgiving an individual for one bad run is one of the golden rules of successful punting, giving rise to the possibility of another course win for Vintage Premium (3.30).

He simply did not fire when flopping miserably in the Lincoln at Doncaster in March. John Reid was in the saddle that day, no disrespect to him but the booking of Kieren Fallon for Richard Fahey's Yorkshire-based challenger adds considerable weight to the theory that Vintage Premium might be about to bounce back in some style.

Winner-finding at Kempton appears to be particularly tough, the degree of difficulty amply demonstrated by the hugely-competitive 22-runner extended three-mile Web Handicap Hurdle.

Once again the much quicker ground is bound to influence the result, perhaps in favour of Mithak (2.05), upon whom a substantial gamble went astray at Ascot at the beginning of the month.

Injury has kept the Richard Phillips-trained gelding on the sidelines for considerable periods over the last couple of years, but on the evidence of his form when trained by David Nicholson, he's in with more than a squeak at potential odds of 10-1 or better.

In the following two-mile Handicap Chase, ex-track and trip winner Super Tactics (2.35) has the sheer strength to shoulder top-weight and claim the £12,000 contest.

Robert Alner's 13-year-old veteran returns to his optimum trip having succumbed to the progressive young Eau de Cologne over 19 furlongs at Ascot last time out.