Musselburgh Racecourse kicks off the £1.3 million Sky Bet Sunday Series this weekend (21 April) with a seven race card worth more than £225,000.
The £75,000 Sky Bet Acca Freeze Handicap over five-furlongs (6.45pm) sees Equality conceding weight all round. Trained by Charlie Hills and ridden by Saffie Osborne, he has been competing in Grade 2 and Grade 3 events in Dubai during the winter.
Silkie Wilkie is well-known to regulars at the East Lothian track as he scorched home by a wide margin in last season’s Scottish Sprint Cup over course and distance, while Zarzyni is another course and distance winner, in his case in the 2022 Holyrood Handicap, and is a father and daughter training combination from David and Nicola Barron.
Ice Max has already won easily at Bath this term and he represents Clifford Lee and Karl Burke in the £30,000 Sky Bet Extra Places Every Day Handicap (5.45pm).
The card gets underway at 3.45pm with the Sky Bet For The Fans Handicap, which sees Hawick-born Roman Scott ride Newcastle November winner Paddy’s Day for Malton trainer Nigel Tinkler.
Musselburgh Racecourse director, Bill Farnsworth, said: “With a Class 2 sprint handicap over five furlongs worth £75,000 and more than £225,000 in prize money we can expect a highly competitive day on Sunday and conditions-wise the ground is drying out nicely. We are also delighted all races will be screened live by ITV.”
Other racecourses taking part in the Sky Bet Sunday Series, which runs through the summer until 18 August, are Newmarket, Hamilton, Thirsk, Haydock Park and Pontefract.
Sky Bet, along with charity partner Cure Leukaemia, are offering £60,000 in prize money across the six fixtures in the Jockey Cup competition, with the jockey who amasses the most points at each fixture scooping £10,000.
A £100,000 bonus is also up for grabs for connections of the first horse to win three races across the Series.
The Series, in its third year, is an industry-wide collaboration between ITV, Racecourse Media Group, Sky Betting and Gaming and the participating racecourses, which will showcase the sport in a Sunday twilight slot on terrestrial television during the summer.
Gates open at Musselburgh on Sunday at 2pm. For more information and to book tickets visit www.musselburgh-racecourse.co.uk
Stephen Rafferty is a former crime correspondent at The Scotsman and was a staff reporter for the Daily Record and Edinburgh Evening News. He has freelanced for many of the Scottish and UK national newspaper titles. Got a story? Get in touch - stephen@theedinburghreporter.co.uk
