Fyffe faces sporting dilemma

United director’s horse runs at Kelso as team kicks off

Dundeeuniteddirectorjimmy Fyffe faces an interesting conflict at 3pm today as his team kick off their home Scottish Championship encounter with Alloa Athletic at the same time as his colours are carried by Blue Flight in the feature race at Kelso.

Trained by Nigel Twistondavies and ridden by Callum Bewley, the top-weight faces seven rivals in the £50,000 Liz Adam Memorial Handicap Chase.

Rated a potential Scottish Nationalcontenderbyconnections, the strapping gelding is bidding to extend his winning sequence to four after scoring twice at the Borders venue and once at Ascot.

Heading the opposition is Le Reve who makes the journey from Lucy Wadham’s Newmarket yard following an impressive recent victory in the Grand Military Gold Cup.

Also in the line-up is Sandy Forster-trained Claud And Goldie who has been raised 10lb for his course win three weeks ago.

Now based in France, James Reveley returns to Kelso for the first time since having just one ride in the 2016-17 campaign. The French champion jump jockey of 2016 has three mounts including Saint Leo for Sandy Thomson in the Bernhard Lighting Rig Handicap Hurdle.

Meanwhile, the final day of Musselburgh’s jumps season yesterday saw leading course jockey Brian Hughes seal another successful campaign at the East Lothian venue when landing the most valuable prize on Keith Dalgleishtrained Sporting Press.

And there was joyous scenes of celebration in the winners’ enclosure when Morningside-based Gerry Mcgladery scooped the leading owners’ award with his sixth win of the campaign when Emmet Mullins’ Irish raider Yeats Baby strolled home under Alain Cawley in the Like Racing TV On Facebook Handicap Hurdle.

At Newbury today, Get In The Queue appears to be handchosen to help send veteran jockey Noel Fehily into retirement on a winner.

Harry Fry’s unbeaten fiveyear-old was closing on Cheltenham Festival favouritism last week until a late change of heart from connections instead directed him towards Saturday’s valuable Goffs UK Spring Sale Bumper.

It was a slightly curious set of circumstances which saw Get In The Queue surprisingly swerve the Weatherbys Champion Bumper after his owners Paul and Clare Rooney had settled qualms about having runners at Cheltenham.

Whatever the thinking, though, his availability this weekend presents an obvious chance for the much-admired and well-liked Fehily to go out on an appropriate high.

This early-closing race is always targeted by the top yards, and there are sure to be some very worthy opponents for Get In the Queue. Nonetheless, the impression he made in back-to-back wins at Uttoxeter in December and Exeter in February sets an obvious high standard. This week’s decisive Wetherby success for Sheshoon Sonny, no match for the penalised Get In The Queue when 16 lengths adrift in second at Exeter, merely underlines the point.