Whillans has sights set on Musselburgh

Alexandrakollontai bidding for first course win

ALEXANDRAKOLLONTAI bids for her first course win in the EBF Stallions Breeding Winners Fillies’ Handicap at Musselburgh tonight.

Trained at Hawick by Alistair Whillans, she takes on four rivals in the £15,000 7f contest as she attempts to add to her tally of 10 career victories.

Whillans said: “When we first got her we thought she needed soft ground, but she won back in the spring at Leicester on good-to-firm.

“You can’t come from too far back at Musselburgh, and that’s her style of running, but with only five runners and good prize money it’s worth taking a chance.”

Opposition to Alexandrakollontai includes Keith Dalgleish-trained Invoke, two-time course-and-distance scorer, who made all for an impressive success in this race 12 months ago.

Mark Johnston’s Hawatif is another live contender. The Kingsley House raider won back-to-back handicaps in July at York and Glorious Goodwood

Mark Johnston-trained ZAMINDO can make a winning start to his handicap career in the St Andrews Timber Handicap at Musselburgh.

Meanwhile, favourite-backers had their fingers burnt when MUTHMIRA fluffed her lines on her Chelmsford debut a shade under three weeks ago, but she can reward those who keep the faith in the Dark Horse Maiden Auction Stakes at Ascot.

Simon Crisford has had a few smart two-year-olds through his hands during his first couple of seasons with a training licence, so the fact this daughter was well-backed for her introduction was noteworthy.

Sadly for her supporters, the writing was on the wall within seconds as she missed the break and ended up detached.

However, to her credit, she did make headway late in the day to pick up minor honours in third and, if she gets off on terms, normal improvement will make her very hard to beat.

EARLY MORNING can claim a second successive win at Ascot in the Stella Artois Handicap. SELECTIONS:

ASCOT: 2.00 MUTHMIRA (NAP), 2.35 Ejbaar, 3.10 Countermeasure, 3.45 William Hunter, 4.20 Early Morning, 4.55 Gold Sands.

MUSSELBURGH: 4.50 Under Control, 5.20 Royal Brave, 5.50 Ryan The Giant, 6.20 Zamindo, 6.50 Florenza, 7.20 Neuf Des Coeurs, 7.50 Thornaby Princess.

DOUBLE: Muthmira and Zamindo.