Magna Sam has ‘pinpointed’ £100k Edinburgh National for success

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Last year’s comfortable winner Magna Sam is among the 12 declarations for today’s bet365 Edinburgh National, the first £100,000 race staged over jumps at Musselburgh.

Trained in Shropshire by Alistair Ralph, the ten-yearold has won on three of his four visits to the track including on debut for his current trainer when springing a 22-1 upset 12 months ago.

“He’s been training well for the race and we’ve been pinpointing this return pretty much since last year,” Ralph said. “He clearly loves the track and he also enjoys the better ground. He’s in good form and the prize money is even more attractive this time.”

Liam Harrison and Fergal O’brien, the winning combination in 2022 with Captain Cattistock, are represented by Landen Calling, who won the Lincolnshire National at Market Rasen on Boxing Day.

Fourteen-time champion trainer Paul Nichols, who boasts a 33 per-cent strikerate with his Somerset raiders, sends up Enrilo, who was fancied prior to his early exit in the prestigious bet365 Gold Cup at Sandown last April.

Irish handler Gavin Cromwell – who has had great success with his raids on Britain this season - saddles Peaches And Cream under rising star Ben Harvey, while Lucinda Russell is responsible for another of the market principals, Inis Orr, who was fifth in the Lincolnshire equivalent.

In the following race on the card, Ballygeary has been in good form this term and can give Donald Mccain a third win in six years in the bet365 Scottish County Handicap Hurdle.

Cycling: British Cycling is in a race against the clock to deliver a world-class women's stage race this summer after outlining plans to save the nation's flagship road cycling events.

The governing body was forced to scramble after Sweetspot, the company which delivered the Tour of Britain under contract and which owned the Women's Tour, entered liquidation.

An ambitious five-year