Lydiate Lady faces tough opposition in Musselburgh sprint

Eric Alston is expecting a big r u n f r o m h i s i n - f o r m mar e Lydiate Lady at Musselburgh this afternoon.

T h e P r e s t o n r a i d e r i s o n e of 14 speedsters declared for t h e £ 1 2 ,0 0 0 B o o g i e I n T h e Morning Handicap over five furlongs.

Al s t o n s a i d : “S he won he r final star t of 2017 at Wolverhampton and came back with a win first time at Ripon. Four of her l ast si x runs l ast year were winning ones and she’s been in great form.

“S he l ove s making i t f r om the front and is really genuine. We were worried that she was high enough at Ripon and she keeps pulling out more.”

A mo n g t h e o p p o s i t i o n t o Lydiate Lady are Mick Easterby- trained Rapid Applause, w h o o v e r c a m e t r o u b l e i n r u n n i n g t o s c o r e a t B e ve r - ley, and Jim Goldie’s Tommy G, just pipped by a neck over course and distance on Easter Saturday.

It was the Goldie stable that bagged last night’s feature at t he East Lot hi a n venue, t he Macrob er t s LLP Handicap, with 11- 1 chance Theglasgowwarrior.

Goldie said: “There are some nice races here and he could c o m e b a c k f o r s o m e t h i n g over 1m 4f or even 1m 6f. He’s a good moving horse and did well over the winter winning twice at Newcastle.

“I don’t think we want to go back in trip and I’m delighted for his owner Lucille Bone as she’s based fairly local to us.”

At C h e p s t o w t o d ay, G i l d - ed Hour lo oks interesting in t h e s e v e n - f u r l o n g f i l l i e s ’ handicap.

Ralph Beckett’s three - yearold makes her handicap debut on a mark of 76, but she might be a wee bit better than that.

After all, she showed flashes of ability as a juvenile, having finished in the money at Kempton and at Doncaster, and was hardly disgraced at the f i rst- named venue up on her return to the fray.

Gilded Hour was beaten four lengths into third in a sevenfurlong novice stakes on April 18, but t hat was a prett y hot affair as the winner, Il Primo Sole, looks sharp for the John Gosden team.

And with runner- up Major Partnership, who was considered go o d enough to b e given an entr y i n the Dante, no slouch, either, Gilded Hour’s performance deser ves to b e upgraded.

S h e wa s a l s o t o o ke e n f o r her own good at Kempton, so jo ckey Oisin Murphy will be desperate to get her nice and r e l axed i n what i s a weaker race.