Sky Bet Sunday Series Guide To The Tracks: Musselburgh
By Racing TV
Last Updated: Sun 12 Apr 2026
SKY BET SUNDAY SERIES 2026 - GUIDE TO THE TRACKS
Facebook: Musselburgh Racecourse
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Date: Sunday 12th April 2026
Location: Linkfield Road, Musselburgh, East Lothian, EH21 7RG
COURSE CHARACTERISTICS
Musselburgh is a right-handed track, which measures approximately 1m2f in circumference. Sharp bends are a feature, with the home bend reshaped and cambered.
From the final bend it is a four-furlong straight to the winning post. The five-furlong sprint (and two mile) starts are on a chute.
Close to the coast, the racecourse is known for being quick drying, and as a result conditions are rarely testing.
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WHAT HAPPENED IN THE 2025 SKY BET SUNDAY SERIES…
As has become tradition, Musselburgh staged the opening Sky Bet Sunday Series fixture of the year on Sunday 13th April.
The Carrutherstown handler Iain Jardine was the trainer to follow, with a double courtesy of Izzari and Jonny Concrete. Shane Gray, one of those pursuing the Jorvik Shield (the £25,000 series-long jockey prize), also notched a double. Dickensian delivering for Kevin Ryan in the juvenile contest, and the admirable Only Spoofing justifying favouritism for Irish-based Kevin Thomas Coleman in the other five-furlong sprint.
Katie Scott’s Gweedore (runner-up), and Lucinda Russell’s Dain Ma Nut (third) had to settle for minor honours in The feature Sky Bet For The Fans Handicap. The Class 2 contest going the way of Richard Fahey’s Our Havana, who was supplementing a pair of All-Weather wins from earlier in the year.
Others to enjoy success on the opening afternoon were the Newmarket raider Sportingsilvermine (James Owen and Hector Crouch) and the North Yorkshire-trained I Am Me (Ed Bethell and Callum Rodriguez).
TOP TRAINERS (LAST YEAR)
Jim Goldie (11-90; 12%; -£36.82) was the leading Flat trainer at Musselburgh in 2025, notching two more winners but a lower percentage strike-rate than Charlie Johnston (9-37; 24%; £7.37). Johnston’s Marhaba Ghaiyyath out of luck at the Sky Bet Sunday Series fixture but later enjoying success at Redcar, in addition to going close in a Heritage Handicap at Newmarket, and in the Kincsem at the Qatar Goodwood Festival.
Iain Jardine fared best of the remainder with a healthy level stakes profit of £40.25 (8-66; 12%) saddling twice as many winners, from a larger sample, than Grant Tuer (4-19; 21%; -£4.76) and Scottish Borders-based Katie Scott (4-25; 16%; -£11.66). Parisiac (20-1), Cougar (5-1), and Crystal Guard (7-1) all notable Musselburgh scorers for Jardine.
TOP JOCKEYS (LAST YEAR)
The battle for riding honours was keenly fought, resulting in a three-way tie between Sam James (9-29; 31%; +£15.16), Joe Fanning (9-43; 21%; +£20.72), and Paul Mulrennan (9-64; 14%; -£23.62). The experienced Fanning and Mulrennan drawing benefit from respective links with Charlie Johnston and Jim Goldie.
Jason Hart (7-46) and Connor Beasley (5-28) others to note at Musselburgh in 2025. Beasley back in the United Kingdom after a successful winter stint in the UAE, buoyed by a career-highlight double (Native Approach & Dark Saffron) on Dubai World Cup night.
JOCKEY INSIGHT: JOANNA MASON
“Musselburgh is a front-running track. There’s always quite a lot of speed on the front end. You need to be able to handle the undulations, the tight enough bends, and in a sprint, you ideally need a high draw on the stands’ rail.”
COURSE SPECIALISTS (LAST YEAR)
Those who appreciate racing close to the pace thrive around Musselburgh, and it is a track where specialists can run up a sequence, defying the attentions of the handicapper.
Keep Me Stable (3-4; 75%) notched an impressive summer hat-trick for Linda Perratt, while Trojan Sun (3-7; 43%) was a key Musselburgh contributor for Jim Goldie.
Two horses, Luna A Inbhir Nis (Katie Scott) and Thunder Wonder (Charlie Johnston), were unbeaten at Musselburgh in 2025, while Bellarchi (Grant Tuer) was a respectable 2-3 (66%). That Mehmas mare already off the mark at Musselburgh in 2026, winning the Silver Arrow Handicap on Easter Saturday.
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