Marching Mac took fourth in the Dash at Epsom

Sky Bet Sunday Series preview and tips for Hamilton Sunday June 15

By Ed Watson

Horse Racing

Sun June 15, 2025 · 1M ago

Scottish Sun columnist and Racing TV analyst Ed Watson previews round four of the Sky Bet Sunday Series at Hamilton, where an unsettled forecast could pose a problem for Spring Is Sprung, who is chasing the £100,000 bonus in the feature sprint.

THE BEST BET

KING'S SCHOLAR (4.45 Hamilton)

Boasting form figures of 1211 since being upped to middle distances in handicaps, this steadily improving four-year-old is fancied to extend his and trainer Ed Walker’s red-hot run of form.

KING’S SCHOLAR posted a career-best Timeform Rating for the fourth consecutive time when scoring over course and distance 18 days ago under Sunday’s rider Clifford Lee. The handicapper has raised him another 5lb for that effort, but the way in which he ran down long-time leader Savrola, who had everything else well beaten off under a canny ride off the front, was particularly striking.

Less appealing is the Awtad gelding’s sometimes awkward head carriage, which can make him look a tricky ride. Yet that unwanted trait hasn't prevented him from building up a progressive portfolio of work to this point. On the plus side, it may even disguise a fair chunk of untapped potential which could allow him to progress again and remain a step ahead of the assessor.

The prospect of a more generously run race, with the reopposing Savrola (who he meets on only 2lb worse terms) facing competition for the lead from La Pulga and the returning Minstrel Knight, is likely to trigger another PB from Walker’s charge at a track we know he acts on.

Sam Hawkens was arguably even more impressive when getting off the mark in handicaps at the sixth attempt at Newcastle five weeks ago. He strikes as the type to take off now and trainer William Haggas has booked 3lb claimer Harry Burns (replacing Tom Marquand) to offset some of the 7lb hike. The Galileo gelding rates the main danger if proving as effective at this very different test.

The Inside Track: “He picked up well to win at Hamilton last time. It briefly looked like Kevin Stott had nicked it the last day, but I was always confident I’d get to him. He carries his head a bit high and you need to be quite strong behind the saddle, but I think there’s more in the tank once he learns to drop his head and race more efficiently.” - Clifford Lee, jockey

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THE NEXT BEST

MARCHING MAC (5.15 Hamilton)

Rain - and potentially plenty of it - is just one of the threats to Spring Is Sprung’s bid to snaffle the six-figure bonus up for grabs to connections of the first horse to win three times. Paul Midgley’s resurgent sprinter has first dibs at the huge carrot dangled by sponsors Sky Bet following all-the-way victories at Newmarket and Chelmsford in rounds two and three of the Series over the last month.

There’s also the switchback track at Hamilton, which poses a unique test in Britain for sprinters. The John Blackburn-owned six-year-old has not previously encountered the pronounced downhill run from Hamilton’s 5f and 6f starts - which presents an all-too-often overlooked test of a horse’s balance - before they hit the rising ground about 3f out and embark on the much more familiar climb to the line. For what it’s worth, Midgley feels it won’t be the terrain which foils his bonus hunter, should he come up short in Scotland.

MARCHING MAC is another whose ability to handle Hamilton has to be taken on trust. As a dual previous winner at Brighton, he seems as likely as any of the Hamilton rookies - Blue Day, Solar Acclaim, Trilby and Brooklyn Nine Nine are the others - to take to it. Phil McEntee’s four-year-old ran a stormer from out of the handicap to finish fourth in Epsom’s Dash last weekend, further underlining his liking for undulating tracks. Back off his correct mark here, he’s one who will appreciate a decent dose of the wet stuff north of the border.

Intriguingly, the two sprint handicaps to be contested by a double-figure field at Hamilton so far this season have been won by the horse drawn in box one. With the forward-going Spring Is Sprung drawn immediately next to Marching Mac in stall two, there’s every chance McEntee’s sole runner on the card will get an ideal tow into the race.

The Inside Track: “He needed his first run back at Goodwood and then it wasn’t really soft enough for him in the Dash, so all things considered he ran an absolute blinder there. Dig in the ground is the key to him. If they get the rain up in Scotland that they’re expecting, I’d fancy him strongly. Stall one is probably a good draw for him as he likes a bit of space around him and to come with one clear run.” - Phil McEntee, trainer

THE OUTSIDE BET

KING CHAOS (6.45 Hamilton)

Recent winners Gallant Lion, who remains historically well-treated, and the penalised Golspie take a fair chunk out of the top of the market, yet both are far from bombproof. The four-timer-seeking Glasses Up has never shone at Hamilton before, while this is a deeper race that the one Idyllic won at Carlisle late last month on only his second start for Wilf Storey.

KING CHAOS hasn't really kicked on in handicaps since a power-packed 1m3f novice win at Southwell in the dying embers of 2024. It's still early doors for Rebecca Menzies’ grey, though, and there were certainly more encouraging signs when fifth in first-time cheekpieces at this track over 1m1f on his latest start.

Kaiya Fraser, who rode King Chaos on that occasion (but switches to Spanish Hustle here) didn't give the Kingman gelding an unduly hard time after seeing his passage blocked over a furlong out, but he kept on in the manner of a horse who'll appreciate going back up an extra quarter-mile in trip here.

Eased a further 2lb for that, King Chaos has been dropped 7lb for four runs in handicaps and has the additional benefit of Tommie Jakes being able to claim 3lb against his fellow apprentices. He's worth an each-way play at double-digit odds with those layers paying extended places.

Previous course-and-distance winner Whathappensinvegas, an Ian Williams stable-mate of Gallant Lion, could prove the biggest danger, although his tendency to over-race through the early stages is a nagging concern.

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