Horse Racing: Winning jockey out for a double at Musselburgh

Published on Wednesday 12 January 2011 11:26

The Arctic weather has relented and racing looks set to go ahead at Musselburgh tomorrow when Graham Lee should be the man to follow with several fancied rides.

The Yorkshire-based rider has a 15 per cent strike rate here over the past five seasons with many of those winners coming for his boss Ferdy Murphy and they can team up to take the Country Refreshments Handicap Chase (1.50pm) with Cybora.

The gelding has three victories on his CV, one over hurdles and two over the larger obstacles, and was returning from almost a year on the sidelines when fourth on his reappearance at Hexham in November before scoring on this track the following month when he made all the running. That was over two-and-a-half miles and he tackles the same trip tomorrow when he can initiate a double for Lee who can also score on board Lockstown in the Country Refreshments Kilmany Cup (3.20pm). The eight-year-old is a point-to-point winner who won over hurdles at Ayr early in 2009, but was then sidelined through injury for 17 months. He ran well when third on his reappearance at Cartmel last August and has since made the frame twice in novice chases at Kelso. He jumps well for one with so little experience and it's worth noting that he is likely to run here in preference to the novice chase earlier on the card.

King o' the Gypsies cost 240,000 guineas and won and was placed several times on the level before being bought for 120,000gns to go jumping for Howard Johnson and his millionaire owner Graham Wyllie.

The gelding was placed in his first races over hurdles before winning at Kelso last March and ended last term by taking the runner-up spot at Hexham three weeks later. He made a successful return to action over the smaller obstacles at Sedgefield in November and is reported to have been schooling well at home over fences, so can make a successful chasing debut in the Country Refreshments Novices Chase (1.20pm). Thurnham was noted making late progress when fourth on his racecourse debut in a bumper at Kelso last term, but flopped badly subsequently when favourite on his reappearance at Newcastle in November.

But the five-year-old showed much more of his real self when third in a competitive bumper on this track at the end of November and Keith Reveley's gelding can take the concluding Country Refreshments Intermediate National Hunt flat race (3.50pm) before embarking on a career over hurdles.

Joe Rowntree's Musselburgh selections: 1.20 King o' the Gypsies; 1.50 Cybora; 3.20 Lockstown; 3.50 Thurnham.