Part of one of Perth’s extremely popular meetings staged outside of the traditional National Hunt season, this time in late April, the Highland National is an important handicap chase event for the stayers.
Run over three miles and six-and-a-half furlongs, the Highland National is run for the Julian Llewellyn Palmer Memorial Trophy and is worth some £25,000 in total, the winner collecting around £15,000 of that.
While this race is competitive and very definitely is the biggest betting event of the afternoon, naturally promoting the biggest roars from the crowd, it is actually the second most valuable event on the schedule after the £35,000 Fair Maid of Perth Mares’ Chase.
A Listed event over three miles, the Mares’ Chase more than ably backs up the Highland National on what is a very fine day of racing in the shadow of the Scone Palace, these races and the subsequent entertainment very much going a long way keeping up Perth’s reputation as one of the most popular National Hunt tracks anywhere in the country.