Tag Archive for: Musselburgh

Wise Eagle gives Adam Nicol a Saturday winner to savour

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Adam Nicol celebrated the biggest success of his training career when Wise Eagle swooped down the outside to win the £100,000 tote Summer World Pool Queen’s Cup at Musselburgh.

Nicol made his name as the rider of Phil Kirby’s popular mare Lady Buttons, but when injury brought a premature end to his days in the saddle, he took out a licence to train.

Among the first of his horses stabled at his yard on the north-east coast at Seahouses was Wise Eagle, bought for a mere 7,000 guineas.

Danny Tudhope and trainer Adam Nicol receive their prizes
Danny Tudhope and trainer Adam Nicol receive their prizes (Steve Welsh/PA)

Nicol said of his 9-1 winner, who was ridden by Danny Tudhope: “He’s unbelievable. I was lost for words. They tried to interview me on TV and I couldn’t speak.

“We’re a family business, there’s me and my partner and we’ve only just taken on a member of staff. My dad does all the tractor work while my mum looks after our two-year-old child.

“We’re with the horses seven days a week so for him to pull this off like that is unbelievable, we bought this horse for 7,000 guineas because Tom Clover said he hated it in Newmarket and needed a change of scenery. He was the second horse we got in.

“At the time I didn’t even have a gallop in so we took him down to the beach at Bamburgh. We actually bought him as a dual-purpose horse, but I’ve told the lads until he gets exposed on the Flat we’ve got to carry on as there’s so much more money.”

Danny Tudhope with Wise Eagle
Danny Tudhope with Wise Eagle (Steve Welsh/PA)

Nicol went on: “He’s just improved and improved. We started running him in jumpers’ bumpers and he beat a good horse of Donald McCain’s called Dear Sire so I realised he might be decent. He won his first race off 67 and has won today off 98.

“He’s so versatile, I even took the cheekpieces off today as I worried he might be fresh so we’ve got those still up our sleeve. He’s won round Pontefract over two-mile-two yet he’s won over a mile and a half at Newcastle.

“We can look at the Northumberland Plate, the Chester Cup is an option, there’s the Copper Horse race at Royal Ascot and there’s a one-mile-six handicap at the Guineas meeting too. It’s brilliant to be thinking of races like that.

“The lads who own him, they are just builders and the like from the village. I told them to ring the club back home to get some extra crates in because they won’t be shutting tonight!”

Billy Loughnane with Gweedore
Billy Loughnane with Gweedore (Steve Welsh/PA)

Billy Loughnane continues to rack up landmark wins and having won the Brocklesby at Doncaster last weekend, ensured his first ride at Musselburgh was a winner.

Riding Gweedore for Katie Scott in the tote.co.uk Bet£5Get£20 Musselburgh Silver Arrow Handicap, despite being unshipped on the way to the start Loughnane bounced the 7-2 joint-favourite into an early lead and he made all to win by two and a quarter lengths to once more prove his liking for the course.

Clifford Lee enjoyed an armchair ride on Karl Burke’s Silky Wilkie (6-1) in the tote World Pool Scottish Sprint Cup Handicap, while Joe Fanning made all on Finn’s Charm (9-1) in the tote World Pool Scottish Sprint Cup Handicap

Lone Star proves apt winner of Lady Buttons heat for Phil Kirby

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Lone Star honoured a former heroine of the Phil Kirby stable when winning the Racing TV Go North Lady Buttons Mares’ Hurdle Series Final at Musselburgh.

The race is named after Kirby’s popular and successful mare, a Grade Two winner who took 15 races throughout her career and was victorious in bumpers, over hurdles and fences.

Lone Star has been on the up all season, winning four of her last five starts by good margins, including a course-and-distance victory earlier in the month.

Under Joe Williamson she was an easy winner again this time, pulling away to win by a decisive nine lengths as the 3-1 favourite despite having gone up 10lb in the handicap since her last run.

“She’s really good, she’s progressing all the time,” Kirby said.

“It’s brilliant to win Lady Buttons’ race,  that’s an extra bonus. We set out our stall out for this race and it’s nice when it works out.

“For the last five or six runs, she’s just been getting better and better, I’m not sure where the end is yet but she keeps winning for now.

“She’s going the right way, where the end of it all is we’ll find out as we go along, but at the moment she’s going in the right direction.”

A step up in grade could now be on the agenda for the six-year-old, with the Listed bearrene.com Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle at Cheltenham on April 20 pencilled in already.

Kirby said: “There’s the mares’ Listed race at Cheltenham in late April, there’s a novice there that’s probably where we’ll go next.”

Nichol handed 12-day ban after taking wrong course

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Craig Nichol was given a 12-day ban for taking the wrong course aboard Northern Falcon at Musselburgh on New Year’s Day.

With the Pauline Robson-trained 11-1 shot pulling hard in the early stages, Nichol found himself in front and clear of the pack in the Fitzdares Happy New Year Handicap Hurdle when the incident occurred.

As he approached the turn which brings the runners back into the home straight, Northern Falcon ran out, heading to the the wrong side of the bend and onto the chase course.

The rider immediately pulled-up the free-going eight-year-old and following a stewards’ inquiry, Nichol was banned January 15-27 inclusive.

The report from the stewards’ said: “An inquiry was held to consider the reason Northern Falcon, ridden by Craig Nichol, had appeared to take the incorrect course after jumping the last hurdle in the back straight, running on the wrong side of the rail and the marker denoting the chase course, whereupon Nichol pulled the gelding up.

“The rider was interviewed and shown recordings of the incident. Having heard Nichol’s explanation, the rider was suspended for 12 days for taking the wrong course.”