THE drinks should be on Borderlescott at Musselburgh tomorrow when the top-class sprinter makes his seasonal reappearance on the East Lothian track.
The six-year-old lines up the main event of the day – the £20,000 Pommery Champagne Bar Conditions Stakes (3.50pm) which celebrates the opening of the latest Musselburgh amenities.
A £40,000 refurbishment of the old Tote Credit building has tur
ned it into a smart bar and racecourse boss Bill Fransworth said: "We appreciate the help of our caterers Heritage Portfolio and Pommery Champagne and it underlines that the majority of our customers these days are social racegoers who want a really good day out."
Borderlescott failed to win last season, but he was runner-up on six occasions – including when beaten a whisker in the Stewards Cup at Goodwood – and had established himself in the top bracket when taking that prize in 2006. He also took the Ayr Gold Cup that year and he ended last season by finishing fourth in Group Three company at Newmarket and was runner-up in Listed races at Doncaster and Lingfield.
Although all his victories, and the majority of his racing, has been over six furlongs, I reckon he has the speed to prevail over the sharp five furlongs he faces tomorrow and he certainly showed some pace when I saw him in a gallop after racing at Southwell recently.
The Robin Bastiman-trained gelding won first time out at York two seasons ago and was beaten just half a length on his reappearance at Haydock last spring. The event has also attracted another top sprinter in Desert Lord, who won the Group One Prix de l'Abbaye at the end of the 2006 season and was a close third in that event last autumn. He was also runner-up in the Group One Nunthorpe Stakes at York last summer and was far from disgraced although unplaced in a the £450,000 Cathay Pacific Sprint in Hong Kong just before Christmas.
Fathom Five also runs. He won four good races last year and was runner-up in Listed company and it is certainly a feather in their cap that Musselburgh can attract horses of such calibre. There will be speed to burn and Borderlescott just gets the vote – especially if rain eases the ground.
Yorkshire trainer Alan Swinbank has an outstanding record here and can add to it with First Buddy in the Edmonds UK 50th Anniversary Handicap (3.20pm).
The gelding has top weight, including a 6lb penalty for an easy victory at Haydock on Saturday evening for which the handicapper has raised his rating by 11lb. So Swinbank is clearly anxious to win again with the gelding before his new handicap rating comes into effect on Saturday.
Harwalla made a promising debut when second in easy ground at Nottingham recently and can go one better in the EBF Median Auction Maiden Stakes (2.50pm).
Mark Johnston's colt cost 32,000 guineas as a yearling, is a closely related to five winners and will have learnt from that experience.
Danzatrice finished well when second at the last meeting on the seaside track and the form has been boosted by the winner subsequently completing a hat-trick. The mare always runs well here – three of her four career wins have come on this track – and she can take the Boogie in the Morning Handicap (4.20pm).
Joe Rowntree's Musselburgh selections: 2.50 Harwalla, 3.20 First Buddy, 3.50 Borderlescott, 4.20 Danzatrice.
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