MUSSELBURGH – SATURDAY

12.57pm

Mahlervous

He rounded off last season with a defeat of the smart Solomon Grey over hurdles at Ayr and we had to be very happy with his chasing debut over 2m6f here on his reappearance, even though it was frustrating to be narrowly beaten. The winner is a progressive sort and the third, Irish Roe, ran a blinder back over hurdles at Doncaster last week. Ideally, he could have done without the rain earlier in the week, but hopefully it won’t be too bad for him. He clearly needs to progress a good deal against his two rivals, but the potential is there.

3.15pm

Bob Mahler

He is only 3lb higher than when beating Little Bruce by 7 lengths at Cheltenham over an extended 3m1f in April, so I feel he is on a good mark again, and he has run well enough on his last two starts. This trip is about a mile further than he has gone before, so it’s an obvious unknown, but it’s definitely worth a try, especially as he finished full of running in that Cheltenham win. In fact, I think it will really suit him.

MUSSELBURGH – SUNDAY

1.15pm

Stop The World

We also had the option of the 3m2f handicap chase on the card for him. He has run two solid races this season and has come down 3lb for them, so hopefully he is reaching a mark off which he can hold winning claims. He maybe would want it to dry out a bit, but he has run okay on soft of late and hopefully he will go close here with first-time cheek pieces on and after a wind op.

1.45pm

Group Stage

He was a fair middle-distance maiden on the Flat but he has run two crackers over hurdles for us so far. I was impressed with him when he won at Ludlow on his hurdling debut, and I think he ran better than the beaten distance suggests at Cheltenham last time, for all he still showed a considerable amount of improvement in defeat there. This track could well suit him a lot better, and the recent rain is no hindrance at all, and I’d be pretty keen on his chances, for all this is clearly a good race.

2.15pm

County Fair

He showed fair form on a variety of trips and surfaces on the Flat, but he clearly didn’t show the level of ability on his hurdling debut at Ayr recently. But it looks like he pulled far too hard for his own good, so hopefully he can settle better here and show us what he is made of. It’s a tough task for him in this company, though.

2.50pm

I K Brunel

We don’t know what went wrong with him at Cheltenham, but his two efforts either side of that give him definite chances here, as does his form last season. We have always thought a lot of him and it was good to see him run much better at Newbury last time when fourth in a very hot novice. Olly has his horses in tremendous form and I think the step up in trip will suit our horse, with the ground also being fine. The race has really cut up, too.

3.20pm

Keeper Hill

He thrilled us and surprised us in equal measure when winning on his return at Haydock, which is why we were so disappointed with his run at Cheltenham next time. But he clearly ran out of his skin when chasing home Frodon at Kempton last time, and he will be a force to be reckoned with here if translating that ability to hurdles. He is 6lb lower in this sphere too, and hopefully the ground isn’t too bad for him as ideally he wants it decent.

3.50pm

Gangster

He hasn’t been running too well over hurdles but he has come down 11lb in the weights, and hopefully a return to fences and a drop in class will suit him in this small field. He was a very good chaser when trained by Henry De Bromhead in Ireland and was rated 148 at one point, and he races off just 121 here. He just has to show a lot more than of late.

4.20pm

Wireless Operator

I rode him when he was third at Warwick on New Year’s Eve and I thought he shaped really well there. I think that was a decent race too, so hopefully this half-brother to Good Boy Bobby, who was a very smart horse in this sphere before progressing over hurdles and fences, won’t be too far away here with that run under his belt.