Sky Bet Sunday Series: Musselburgh Tips and Horses to Follow

The Sky Bet Sunday Series returns for its fourth year with a cracking card north of the border at Musselburgh. Scottish Sun columnist and Racing TV analyst Ed Watson casts an eye over a typically competitive curtain-raiser to the £1.3million series, which sees Newmarket (May 19) and Thirsk (June 16) added to the six-fixture roster for the first time.

THE BEST BET - JM JUNGLE (6.45)

They say to never look a gift horse in the mouth, right? Silkie Wilkie is back on the same mark from which he bolted up - by nearly five lengths, no less - on his only previous visit to Musselburgh in last season’s Scottish Sprint Cup.

He returned to form back on turf with a fast-finishing second to Blind Beggar at Bath two weeks ago, a run that further enhanced 7lb claimer Sam Fielden’s already noteworthy record on the five-year-old to 2116524222182. Many will see a handy-looking draw in stall 16, just one off the favoured stands' fence, as the cherry on top.

Karl Burke’s charge certainly has plenty going for him. Yet you only need to miss half-a-beat at the start for a good draw at Musselburgh to become a bad one. And with plenty of flying machines in this 15-strong line-up, Silkie Wilkie will need to be on his A-game from the gates to avoid getting caught in a pocket by the rail and becoming a potential hostage to fortune in the run.

From stall eight, JM JUNGLE should have no such problems. He was ultra-consistent and progressive during his three-year-old campaign, winning at a similarly speed-favouring track like Goodwood in August; and following it with solid runs in competitive handicaps at York (twice) and Haydock despite not getting the rub of the green on more than one occasion.

Further progress looks on the cards this year after Jm Jungle produced a career-best Timeform number when readily landing a valuable prize in Bahrain nine weeks ago, only to be subsequently disqualified for failing a post-race substance test.

Able to run off an untouched mark of 93 here as a result, he’s fancied to gain compensation for joint-trainers John and Sean Quinn, and jockey Jason Hart, who’s been on board for all three of his career wins, plus that Bahrain ‘success’.

The Inside Word: “There’s loads of pace in the race, but my lad has plenty of speed and he’s pretty versatile in how you use it. You have to ride every race as you find it, but I’m hoping I’ll get dragged to the furlong pole and go from there. He’s still progressing.” - Jason Hart, jockey

THE NEXT BEST - ICE MAX (5.45)

Horses would drive you round the bend if you let them. Which is exactly what ICE MAX was doing to Karl Burke and Clifford Lee until they worked out he’s a far better beast when tackling a turn.

He’s won his last three when some left-hand cornering has been required - by an aggregate of 18 lengths - compared to two heavy defeats over Doncaster’s straight 7f. Admittedly, one of those came when tried in Listed company on just his third start, but he looked every inch a Pattern performer in the making when sluicing up over 1m on his three-year-old debut at Bath a fortnight ago. That form was boosted this week when the third was beaten only a neck and a nose in a 0-100 at Newbury.

Ice Max is up 8lb for that win here, meaning he has to concede upwards of 12lbs all round. Going right-handed for the first time and on slightly quicker ground than he’s encountered before are both unknowns, too.

However, he struck me as being a much more complete model at Bath following a winter gelding operation. He also has a potentially significant fitness edge over each of his seven rivals, all of whom are returning to action from a minimum of six months off. Timeform top-rated by 4lb (from likely improver Individualism), he can prove up to the weight concession.

The Inside Word: “We’ve always thought Ice Max was a nice horse, it’s just taken us a bit of time to realise that he needs to go round a bend. I was impressed with how easily he won at Bath, where I had everything covered two furlongs out. I could have held on to him longer, but he was travelling so well there was no point being too brave! He was a bit babyish as a two-year-old but he’s really grown up since being gelded.” - Clifford Lee, jockey

THE TREBLE BET - BELL SHOT (4.45)

Rated in the mid-80s for Charlie Hills only 18 months ago, BELL SHOT is the latest horse to benefit from a stay at the Mick Appleby Rejuvenation Retreat. The Dark Angel five-year-old bombed in two starts over 1m-plus in Bahrain last winter, then spent the second half of last year bumbling along in the doldrums over sprint trips for Robert Cowell.

He’s quickly rediscovered his mojo since being picked up for 26,000gns by Appleby less than three months ago. Immediately restored to 7f (a trip he won over twice on turf in 2022), Bell Shot skipped clear off the front to make a winning debut for his new connections at Lingfield, then backed it up with a solid run when second in a 0-80 at Wolverhampton.

He’s not ideally drawn in stall 10 and the return to 1m remains a question mark after those Bahrain blow-outs. However, there’s more than enough positives in his pedigree to suggest he’ll be as effective over it, especially on a sharp track like Musselburgh, and he retains obvious handicap scope from a mark of 69 dropping down a grade here.

The Inside Word: “Mick’s wasted no time in finding the key Bell Shot. We probably half-nicked the race off the turn at Lingfield, but he had it won a furlong out and then just got lonely in front. Last time it got a bit messy at the start, we ended up a bit wider than ideal and just got hunted down by a well-handicapped horse. I’d prefer a better draw, but he’s an easy, relaxed horse with plenty of tactical speed. I’ve no concerns about stepping up to a mile.” - Ali Rawlinson, jockey

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