Keith Dalgleish loves nothing more than riding winners in his native Scotland and he looks well worthy of support aboard Hearthstead Pride at Musselburgh this afternoon.

Despite being partnered by a relatively inexperienced apprentice jockey at Doncaster last week, Hearthstead Pride (3.15) made a more-than-satisfactory comeback with an eye-catching late dash to snatch sixth spot over a mile-and-a-half.

The distance was too short and the horse not quite fit enough to do himself justice, so in the circumstances it wasn't a bad performance.

Given today's extra half-mile, his improved fitness, plus the presence of Dalgleish on the selection's back, and Hearthstead Pride may prove a rock solid bet for the £8,000 Showcase Handicap, the Bert Logan Bookmaker Stakes.

Trainer Ann Stokell, not surprisingly, opts to travel Grasslandik (2.45) up from her North Yorkshire base in view of the fact that the seven-year-old has shown a preference for the track in the past.

Grasslandik will be cherry-ripe after a couple of recent outings on the all-weather circuit and there is no disguising his chance in the Bet On Course Handicap over seven furlongs.

A couple of years ago, Nimello (4.15) won the valuable and prestigious Lincoln Handicap for Paul Cole, but he now finds himself competing for the lowly £6,000 Pinkie Braes Claiming Stakes.

New trainer Kevin Ryan originally had high hopes for Nimello, however the fact that he has swiftly dropped the former smart miler down in grade suggests the gelding is nowhere near the force of old.

Nimello is clearly on the decline, although not too such an extent that he will be unable to wipe the floor with some mainly inferior rivals in the poor nine-furlong affair.

John Dunlop's string are normally very well forward at this time of year, boding well for the prospects of Goodwood Prince (3.05) in the Tote Placepot Stakes at Leicester.

The booking of the evergreen ex-eleven-times champion jockey Pat Eddery for Dunlop's raider can only be considered to be a massive bonus in the Class C Handicap, in which the combination face some fairly stiff opposition. However, Goodwood Prince showed himself to be fairly useful when scoring in decisive fashion at Brighton last August, a victory that hinted he would enjoy an even more successful three-year-old campaign.

Until the 52-year-old Irishman decides to call it a day, Eddery's services will always be in demand. Indeed, the fact that Clive Cox has snapped him up for Danish Decorum (4.05) is a significant pointer to his chances.

The ten-furlong trip for the Kingfisher Handicap would seem to be ideal for Danish Decorum, who is definitely best when fresh, judged on his first run in 2002, when he finished runner-up at Windsor.

* Godolphin hope to move nearer to the goal of 100 Group One wins when they bid for a fourth win in the world's richest race at Nad Al Sheba on Saturday.

The Dubai-based outfit saddle two of the leading contenders for the Emirates-sponsored US 6m prize in Moon Ballad and Grandera.

And they start their tenth season in operation having won 95 of the world's very best races in 11 different countries.

Godolphin racing manager Simon Crisford said yesterday: ''Hopefully we will reach the hundred this year and in our tenth year that would be a great achievement."

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