Mighty Thunder's national win a dream come true for Fife owners

Sunday’s winner is owned by St Andrews-based Colin and his wife Nicola, bosses of Glenrothes company Allson Wholesale, a supplier to pubs, hotels and clubs.

In a thrilling end to the race, Midlands Grand National runner-up Mighty Thunder, trained by Lucinda Russell in Kinross, raced home at 8/1 under Tom Scudamore to nab Dingo Dollar at the final fence before winning by three-quarters of a length.

It was the horse’s second win in his last three races and Colin couldn’t be happier.

He said: “It’s a situation you only dream of.

“Everybody involved in national hunt racing has this dream that one day you can maybe get a horse to Cheltenham or to a national.

“In reality, it’s only a dream, so to get there and actually win one of the big races is terrific.”

Scudamore took the ride on Mighty Thunder, with regular partner Blair Campbell injured.

The 38-year-old was forced to pull up the much-fancied Cloth Cap in Aintree’s Grand National the week before but put that disappointment behind him at Ayr.

“It was a riding masterclass,” added Colin, 55. “He timed it to perfection.

“We know how it feels to get mugged on the line because the exact same happened to us at Uttoxeter at the Midlands Grand National a month ago when we thought we were home and dry, so it was nice to turn the tables.”

There was an air of fate around the circumstances that saw Mighty Thunder come into the ownership of Colin and Nicola.

Following the death of their previous horse, Selkirk’s Island, the couple were put off racing for a while, but eventually Nicola went to visit a horse on her own and mentioned to Colin that she had been impressed.

Some weeks later, Colin too went looking and told his wife about a horse he also liked the look of, and it turned out they had both been to see Mighty Thunder.

The victory certainly created a buzz around Allson Wholesale on Monday morning.

“The staff have been absolutely first class and look at the horses as being their own, which they are,” said Colin.