Smart win gives Mcgladery top prize

● Leading owner award is won with final-race victory

There was a thrilling finish to the 2019 Edinburgh Gin-sponsored leading owner Flat award at Musselburgh as Gerry Mcgladery and Middleham Racing Partnership ended the season locked together on six winners.

Both had a winner apiece yesterday and on Monday as racing on the level came to a conclusion for the year in Scotland, but it was Mcgladery that edged the title by virtue of the number of seconds his horses recorded.

The light-blue Middleham Park colours were first to strike as Keith Dalgleish trained Beechwood Jude took the Every Race Live On Racing tv Handicap in the hands of Joe Fanning, again crowned leading jockey for the season at the East Lothian venue.

Mcgladery, who lives in Edinburgh and also leading jumps owner at his local track last term, left it until the final race of the day before seeing his yellow-and-blue diamond silks carried to victory by Iain Jardine’s Smart Lass in the Follow Racing TV On racingtv.com Handicap. Jardine was completing a short-priced double as he had opened the card by landing the Join Racing TV Now Novice Stakes with Alex James.

Keith Dalgleish, earlier successful with Forever A Lady, was the comfortable winner of the trainers’ title at Musselburgh for 2019 at a track where he has saddled 15 winners from 119 runners (more than any other UK course) in the current campaign from his Carluke yard.

Meanwhile, Grace And Danger can finally hit the mark in Listed company in the British Stallion Studs EBF Beckford Stakes at Bath today.

Andrew Balding is clearly convinced this Teofilo filly is capable of striking at this level, because she will be having a fifth attempt here.

She kicked off the year by finishing fourth in the Cheshire Oaks, but could not build on that when tried in the Height Of Fashion Stakes, and Balding then gave her a mid-season break.

Clearly refreshed, Grace And Danger returned to take second in the August Stakes at Windsor, while her recent third place, stepped up to an extended 12 furlongs at Chester, suggested there could still be plenty more to come.

She switches up again to a mile and six furlongs, which also looks likely to suit.