Horse Racing: Popular Musselburgh event attracts 8,000

MUSSELBURGH will welcome its biggest crowd of the season this afternoon as the annual Ladies Day adds a touch of glamour to the East Lothian venue.

The event has grown each year to become one of the hottest tickets in the social calendar and, while the racing is not of the calibre it once was after Musselburgh took the wise decision to move the Scottish Sprint Cup to an alternative slot so as not to deprive its regular racegoers, you won't hear many complaints among the estimated 8,000 capacity crowd. Apprentice Dale Swift is fancied in two of the seven races, using his 5lb claim in both cases to lighten the load of top-weights. He is taken to score on the Ann Duffield-trained Regimental in the mile handicap, and again on Powerful Pierre later in the card in the TurfTV in Betting Shops For Royal Ascot Handicap.

The feature race, the 12,000 HJB Claim Solutions Handicap, may go to Jackday from Tim Easterby's in-form yard, ridden by Scottish jockey David Allan.

Other fancied runners on the card are Jim Goldie's improving Rothesay Chancer, Linda Perratt's Future Star and Mark Johnston's Maastricht in the opener. Several of the jockeys involved in the action at Musselburgh, and possibly a smattering of punters, will head straight for Ayr after the action on the east coast, as the Craigie course hosts the second leg of a Scottish double header this evening and Goldie is tipped to enjoy another winner with Daring Dream.

Meanwhile, Aidan O'Brien plans to have three big contenders in the Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby as he goes for a sixth successive win in the Classic at the Curragh on Sunday week.

The Ballydoyle trainer is looking to Treasure Beach, Memphis Tennessee and Recital to give him a total of nine victories in the race. The trio finished second, fourth and sixth respectively in the Investec Derby, and O'Brien reports all three to be on course for their second Derby.

"They all ran really well at Epsom and deserve to take their chance at the Curragh," said O'Brien, who has 22 of the 48 horses still left in the race.

Other likely Irish-trained contenders include Kevin Prendergast's Dunboyne Express and Notable Graduate, who will aim to give trainer Dermot Weld his third success in the race.

Native Khan, trained in Newmarket by Ed Dunlop, is also set for the Curragh after staying on well to finish fifth behind Pour Moi at Epsom. "He showed us at Epsom that he stays a mile and a half and we have decided to keep him to his own age group for the moment and go for the Curragh race," said Dunlop.