Kelso's Morebattle set to be a Cracker

Scotland's most valuable hurdle race, the £120,000 bet365 Morebattle Hurdle, takes place on Saturday, February 28 at Kelso in the Scottish Borders.

The picturesque course is well worth a visit, even if you are based in the south and fancy ticking off a new racecourse, as there is a handy bus-transfer package from Berwick-upon-Tweed railway station on the main LNER line from King's Cross to Edinburgh.

This year's Morebattle has attracted a high-quality entry of 42. A maximum of 18 runners can participate in the two-mile contest, which boasts an additional £100,000 bonus for the winner if they can double-up by winning any race at the 2026 Cheltenham Festival.With £355,000 of prize money, the meeting is a key part of what Kelso describes as its "strategy to deliver an aspirational race programme for owners and trainers in the North." 

Kelso' ambition to keep improving the Raceday experience for all racegoers and participants has seen Kelso Races Ltd enter the final furlong of negotiating a new 60-year lease with Roxburghe Estates and has submitted a planning application for a new Weighing Room building and hospitality facilities for racehorse owners at an approximate cost of £2million. Support for events such as bet365 Morebattle Hurdle Day is therefore key.

History could be made at Kelso on February 28 as Ewan Whillans is set to saddle Cracking Rhapsody, who is seeking a third successive win in the race. The Hawick-trained local favourite is owned by John and Sheila Wright from Cumbria.

Jimmy Fyffe has the most entries as an owner. Having invested significantly in his string of racehorses, the director of Dundee United has four entries, namely Jet To Vegas (trained by Lucinda Russell), Aspire Tower (trained by Jennie Candlish), plus Static and City Of Diamonds (both trained by Donald McCain). Fyffe has previously won the race with Benson (trained by Sandy Thomson) in 2023.

Nicky Henderson won the race three times when it was a conditions event with Simonsig (2012), Top Notch (2016) and We Have A Dream (2019). While he has not struck since the race reverted to being a handicap, he is potentially double-handed with the JP McManus owned pair of Joyeuse and Khrisma.

The Shunter scooped the £100,000 bonus in 2021 for trainer Emmet Mullins. Eye-catching Irish entries that could be hunting the bonus this year include I Started A Joke (Charles Byrnes), Sixandahalf (Gavin Cromwell), and Laafi (William Durkan).

Top weight Tutti Quanti was a convincing winner of the William Hill Handicap Hurdle at Newbury and, alongside Afadil, is one of two possible runners for Paul Nicholls. Whilst, besides Ewan Whillans, Borders-based trainers with excellent chances include Sandy Thomson from Greenlaw (Dedicated Hero), and Adam Nicol from Northumberland (Wise Eagle).

The supporting races at Kelso on February 28 are also going to be full of quality if recent years are anything to go by. Alongside the Morebattle are the Listed bet365 Premier Chase, won last year by Gold Cup contender Grey Dawning over Iroko, plus there could be further clues for the spring festivals courtesy of the Grade Two bet365 Premier Novices' Hurdle.