Royal Brave can take crown

Royal Brave bids to follow up his Easter course and distance success in the feature race at Musselburgh.

The Rebecca Bastimantrained gelding, placed in all but one of his five previous visits to the East Lothian venue, faces six rivals in the Racing UK Day Pass Just £10 Handicap.

“We were really chuffed when he won last time as his owners sponsored a race on the same card,” the Wetherby trainer said. “He has been in tremendous form and the plan was always to come back to Musselburgh. Even when he hasn’t won he has run some cracking races and fingers crossed he will again.”

Among the opposition are Paul Midgley’s course and distance winning pair Silvanus and One Boy while top-weight Alsvinder, hooded for the first time, is an interesting contender on his seasonal reappearance for David O’meara.

The evening season north of the Border gets under way with the Racing UK Apprentice Handicap over the same 5f.

Five of the seven runners boast course and distance winning form, including Thornaby Princess who gained her two wins at Musselburgh in July and September last year.

At Redcar, Classical Times should prove a cut above her rivals in the Watch Racing UK Today Just £10 Maiden Fillies’ Stakes.

The daughter of Lawman shaped with abundant promise on her racecourse introduction at Haydock last October, finishing third from an unfavourable draw.

It is perhaps a measure of the regard in which she is held that trainer Peter Chapple-hyam decided to throw her in at the deep end in the Listed Bosra Sham Stakes at Newbury on her final juvenile appearance and she was far from disgraced in finishing fifth behind the smart Spiritual Lady.

She has far less on her plate as she makes her comeback in Tees Valley and, assuming she is fit enough after an absence of just over five months, she should be very hard to beat.