Racing tips: Albegone will be gone and hard to catch from the front at Musselburgh

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First and foremost I'll apologise for Sunday's selections, a couple ran like rubbish and weren't good enough. Duhail was given a fairly shocking ride by Peslier, who kept finding trouble and never found the gap. With a clear run I do think he goes very close to winning. I've had a decent run of form of late, so days like yesterday aren't a worry as they do happen, so as long as we return back to form soon, it'll be cracking.

Catterick 4:00

Carrying top weight isn't ideal in any race, but when the horse has a promising 7lb claimer onboard it makes it much easier and makes the horse a much better bet. A mark of 67 for GHADBBAAN, which is effectively 60 with the rider's claim makes him extremely dangerous to underestimate. This horse ran some belting races last year when trained by Brian Ellison, and looked an improving horse when he was upped in trip to 2m. Towards the back end of the season his efforts were flatter than what he did during the summer, and that was probably due to a long season, so can be forgiven. Since then he has moved to Mark Walford's stable where he enjoyed a winning seasonal reappearance at Doncaster, winning nicely by 2L. That race was over 1m 4f, which is a trip he's won never won over before, so that's a big benefit as he might've found some improvement from the stable swap. He under performed the time after at Pontefract where he was a beaten favourite, but I think the soft ground wouldn't have been ideal, so he can be forgiven. Back on good ground, dropped into a Class 6 and up to 2m again, I think we can see a return to form for a yard and owner combination who won a good handicap at Hamilton yesterday.

Musselburgh 3:50

This track, especially for sprinters does favour a front runner. ALBEGONE could get a relatively easy lead in this race, and if that is the case then that could spell disaster for the rest in this field. This horse showed a new level of form towards the back end of last year, and he continued that form when winning at Ayr a couple of weeks ago. He clearly needed the run at Pontefract the time before, as at Ayr he was convincing, and off a 4lb higher mark, he can go in again. Tim Easterby does well with similar types like Albegone, where they start their handicap life off a low mark and gradually keep improving into a 80+ rated type, I think that could be the case for this lad.

Musselburgh 4:50

Maiden stakes can often throw up a big priced/unexpected winner as the horses are all unexposed and can sprout improvement out of nowhere, so it's not a bet I'll be getting involved in too much, but I do like the look of WESTERN STARS in this contest. Race fitness is a key, especially at the start of the season, and in races like this as a lot of horses will be using the novice and maiden races to get their handicap mark, so won't be trying to go out and win, but use it as a stepping stone. Western Stars appears to be coming for the win, travelling from Ed Dunlop's yard in Newmarket, which is Ed's first runner at the track for at least the last five years, but when he has sent them here in the past he has a 18% SR. Ed could've found an opportunity closer to home, than making this horse travel to Scotland, so that is a big vote of confidence for me. He has shown a decent level of ability in his two runs to date, more on his latest run, as the first run (8th placed) was needed for fitness and experience on the track. They clearly think he's a nice type, as they pitched him in a Class 3 maiden at Newmarket on debut, which was contested by some nice types from the big yards of Newmarket.

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