Battle of the headsets: Newmarket and Lambourn to square up

For Man United v Liverpool, Arsenal v Tottenham or Rangers v Celtic, now read Lambourn v Newmarket at the annual guest commentators' raceday.

Newmarket will be the home team on September 23, playing at their Rowley Mile 'ground', but there will be plenty of pride at stake in the battle of the training centres with an away side of three Lambourn handlers invited to join their HQ counterparts behind the mic.

Berkshire battlers Jamie Osborne, Brendan Powell and Joe Tuite have been recruited to take on fellow Newmarket calling first-timers Mark Tompkins, Richard Spencer and Amy Murphy.

The competition, the winner of which is awarded the Julian Wilson Trophy, is in its third year and is to be staged in aid of 32Red Newmarket Open Weekend charities.

While William Haggas, who won the first two contests in 2015 and 2016, is not returning in search of the hat-trick, a mystery commentator is set to cover the remaining event on the seven-race card.

In the finest footballing tradition of festive season jollities, the successful caller will win a Christmas party package at the racecourse for them and their staff, although there is every confidence in this case the celebration will not make the tabloid front pages.

All is set to be revealed by Newmarket on Saturday, when there will be a live draw streamed on the course's Facebook page to determine who commentates on which race.

In previous years, the short straw has been the 2m2f Cesarewitch Trial, which usually has a small field and takes more than four minutes to run, and there is no doubt it is a poisoned chalice Murphy is desperate to avoid.

Newmarket's youngest caller, at 25, said: "Oh my God, the Cesarewitch Trial would be my worst nightmare. I'd much rather have a shorter race even if there were more runners."

She added: "I've never done anything like this before but I'll be trying to get some coaching from one of my owners, Matt Coleman, who commentates on point-to-points.

"Whatever happens, unlike last year, we're all newbies, so hopefully we'll have some fun and make some money for some good causes."

The justgiving.com pages are already up for the competitors, with Spencer already off to a flyer.

He said: "An owner of ours has already donated £250, so we're quick out of the gates, and I just hope it's a bit of a laugh and that not too many expletives come out!

"I certainly don't want that Cesarewitch Trial; a four-runner race would do me fine."

Donate at...