1.50pm Musselburgh Tips & Betting Preview 15/04/2017

An interesting seven furlong contest to start the day and with only two horses who won on there last outing, it makes good sense to start this race preview with Ionization who travels over from Ireland for John Patrick Shanahan for her first start of the season. A four-year-old daughter of The Carbon Unit, she signed off 2016 when beating Breakable by a head at Chester over this sort of trip after taking them along early and then showing plenty of resolution to hold off her challengers close home. Put up seven pounds for that she will need to improve but she looks a late maturing sort and with only six starts so far there may well be a lot more to  come this season. After that victory her trainer said “….She appreciates ease in the ground and she’s tough, like her brother Split The Atom, who ran every week in the winter”, so whether the Good going here will be easy enough for her is another question but she is going the right way and seems likely to get involved.

Good as she is the ground doubts sway the selection to Jason Ward’s Roll On Rory, a consistent gelding who was last seen at Newmarket finishing a close up (neck) second to Aleef over six furlongs when running on strongly. Prior to that he had won over this course and distance and although up in the weights again today he looks more progressive than anything else in this field and well worth a bet today even if the yard have started quietly with just the one runner in the last two weeks.

Keith Dalgleish has his horses in good form with three winners form his last eighteen ruiners and a very nice profit of over 20 points to level stakes in the last two weeks and he is responsible for top weight Lat Hawill who will have Shirley Teasdale on board who is good value for her five points claim and certainly increases his chances. Two wins from twenty-one starts fails to impress but he did have a run at Doncaster when tenth of twenty-one at odds of 66/1 but will be cherry ripe now and dropped two pounds today he could possibly sneak in to a place on a good day.

Twin Appeal heads the early betting for David Barron with Phillip Makin in the saddle and after two third places this season at Newcastle and Southwell he will be as fit as a flea this afternoon. Last time out he looked a bit one paced to finish four lengths behind Superstar in a valuable race on the equitrack but may do better back on turf though he needs to find a bit more to bother the election here.

To round things off Richard Fahey’s Penwortham took his third race last time out at Chester over this trip at there rewarding odds of 14/1 and with Paul Hanagan  back with his old boss again, another big run will be expected. Off since early September his race fitness needs to be taken on trust but the state are beginning to get going, with eight winers from there last forty-nine ruiners and a small profit, and if the market speaks n his favour then he is another who ought to at least be threatening the places.