All eyes on Musselburgh (From The Northern Echo)

All eyes on Musselburgh

9:00am Saturday 11th February 2012 in Horse Racing News By Niall Hannity

Normally the Scottish racing circuit suffers the worst of the weather but, for once, it has saved this week from being a complete blank for jump racing fans.

The only jumping took place at Ayr last Monday and today all eyes will be on Musselburgh, who deserve a lot of credit for restaging their fixture from last Sunday which was frozen off.

They have over £80,000 prize money on offer throughout the day and have been rewarded with a cracking card.

When Newbury's card, scheduled for today, was called off due to snow Musselburgh then offered 1,000 free tickets to help get behind a big day for them and general manager, Bill Farnsworth, said: "With UK race cards decimated due to the weather the spotlight falls on us as the only jumps meeting on Saturday and we have lined up an excellent card with increased prize money.

"It has been a rollercoaster week for racing fans with on/off meetings and to reward our loyal customers we are putting up a minimum of 1,000 free tickets on a first come, first served basis. We hope it adds to what will be a great atmosphere with some of the leading trainers making the trip with a selection of their Cheltenham and Aintree prospects.

"The course is frost free, we've had some overnight rain and the forecast is +8 for Saturday so we are all set for an excellent day's racing and we would encourage racegoers to come along and enjoy the quality on show."

It certainly is quality and the John Smith's Scottish County Hurdle at 3.45pm is a cracker. A case can be made for many of the runners but a chance is taken with Rumble Of Thunder who was unlucky in a similar race last time out over course and distance.

Trained by Kate Walton in Middleham, Richie McGrath will be on board and is hopeful of a good run: "Everything should suit and I think conditions should be fine for him. He hasn't been very consistent and he hasn't missed any work at home."

The John Smith's Scottish Triumph Hurdle at 2.05pm should prove a winnable opportunity for recent Catterick winner Creekside.

Formally useful on the Flat for John Oxx, Creekside jumped well first time out and can take this on his way to Cheltenham next month.

Malton trainer Brian Ellison is a man for all season and he has a live chance in the Scottish Champion Chase at 3.10pm with Ultimate.

Still unexposed over fences, the six-year-old jumped soundly at Bangor last time out and should give a good account of himself under Dennis O'Regan.

Officials at Catterick will stage an inspection at 8am tomorrow to assess the prospects of Monday's meeting going ahead.

The North Yorkshire circuit remains frozen and partially covered in snow, leaving clerk of the course Fiona Needham less than optimistic.

She said: "The course has been frozen since February 3 and the ground is frozen solid at the moment.

"The only glimmer of hope is that it is due to get warmer from Sunday into Monday, but I fear it might be too little too late.

"We'll obviously review the forecast on Sunday morning and see if there is any point carrying on, but I'm not very hopeful of racing at this stage."