Autumn reflections: Celebrating the highs and lows at Musselburgh Racecourse

Our season got off to one of the worst starts in Musselburgh history, with horrific & unprecedented rainfall forcing us to abandon our ever-popular Easter Saturday fixture this March. This meant fans didn’t get a chance to see their Adam Nicol trained favourite Wise Eagle try to retain his 2023 Queen’s Cup trophy.  He’s stepped up in class this year, with varying degrees of success, but a nice Class1 place in York over a similar distance means he may well have another crack at the Queen’s Cup next Easter.  

Our Scottish Sprint Cup was due to be a hot renewal too, but reigning champ Silky Wilkie put in a good effort at our Sky Bet Sunday Series in April instead, cheered on by lots of his Middleham Park syndicate supporters. We hosted the first leg of Sky’s exciting Series, featuring the Jockey’s Cup contest again, where the best performing jockey on the day takes home a cool £10k bonus. Clifford Lee looked to have it in the bag after a quick-fire double for Karl Burke, but a late victory from Saffie Osborne in the final race brought her level & the pair split the pot. Musselburgh regular trainer Jim Goldie also took home two wins on the day, but for me, the stand-out horse had to be Ice Max, who went on to secure his first Group success at Goodwood this August for the Lee/Burke dream team. 

In June, while the rest of the world was watching to see if City Of Troy could redeem himself in the Derby, we had an Edinburgh Cup fixture full of fast & furious races taking place in Musselburgh, and this time it was the turn of the fillies! The Edinburgh Gin Queen of Scots Fillies Race threw up a couple of very nice types to add to your racebooks! Roger Varian’s Jabaara improved on her last run to win the 7f race, with Silvestre De Sousa in the saddle. She’s since gone on to win a Listed Race at Carlisle, placed second in the Group 1 Falmouth Stakes at Newmarket (a place which was dramatically demoted from a win under huge controversy!) and take another second at Glorious Goodwood! George Boughey’s 3yo Soprano stayed on best in the final furlong to take third place but really showed her class three weeks later, winning the Sandringham Stakes at Royal Ascot, both under young superstar Billy Loughnane. A trip across to Deauville also proved fruitful in August where she easily won the Group 3 Prix de Lieurey. 

Hugo Palmer’s 3yo Watcha Matey came back strong after a gelding operation last winter to win at Newmarket, then followed up by winning our prestigious Edinburgh Cup Handicap, taking the lion’s share of the £50k prize-pot. Jockey Paul Mulrennan’s win added another notch against his ever-growing Musselburgh tally, and both have since gone on to win another Handicap together, so are certainly a pair worth watching in the future. 

In September we saw local trainer Iain Jardine’s Bringbackmemories win our Musselburgh Gold Cup. Runner up horse Robert Johnson got his revenge in their next race, the Cesarewitch Trial at Newmarket, with the going seemingly not suiting Jardines gelding.  We were hoping the form & quality of both horses would be confirmed with runs at Newmarket in the Cesarewitch, as last year’s race saw some class acts & fan favourites competing, including winner The Shunter, Goshen, Mullin’s trained Mr Escobar, alongside Hughie Morrison’s stable-star Not So Sleepy, a horse who ran against a certain Constitution Hill at the Cheltenham Festival last year! Tracy Waggott opted for a Stayers Handicap at York instead for Robert Johnston in which he landed a place. We may have to wait until next year to see how well they’ve trained on. 

Paul Mulrennan looks well on form to win our Flat Jockey’s Championship again & is currently several wins clear. A true gentleman of the weigh-room here at Musselburgh, the Yorkshire jockey gave a rare JP McManus flat runner a cracking ride this October, throwing up what could be a useful prospect. Reel Her In’s flew home to beat three-times Musselburgh winner & course expert Rory The Cat by a neck, notching up her first ever win. This was quickly followed up by another here at Musselburgh a fortnight later, going up in both class and trip. This could be an indicator that the switch from Gavin Cromwell’s yard to join trainer Ben Haslam has been a shrewd one indeed! She’s certainly a horse I’m keen to see run on our track again next year.  

With just the one flat fixture left, our Owners & Trainers Championships are still very much undecided. Current champion Jim Goldie & on form Karl Burke will take it up to the wire to fight out the Trainer’s prize, and multiple Owners & Syndicates are still in with a squeak for their Championship too, including reigning champs Middleham Park. Our flat season finale on 6th November is sure to offer some more fireworks & will no doubt finish a brilliant season with a bang! 

Written by ​Jill Farquharson, Office Manager