Adam Nicol relies on 'most frustrating horse ever' in bid to boost 67 per cent strike-rate on the Flat at Musselburgh

Adam Nicol has an impressive 67 per cent strike-rate with his Flat runners at Musselburgh and the Northumberland trainer sends one up to the Scottish track on Tuesday.

Nicol’s six runners at the East Lothian venue have finished in the first three with four winners, a second and a third yielding a £14.38 profit to a £1 stake, comfortably his best record at any course in Britain.

Nicol’s Trailblazer was third at Musselburgh in May and the four-year-old returns to the track off a 9lb lower mark in the Bet In Running On Every Race Today BetVictor Handicap (8.05).

“He’s the most frustrating horse ever," said Nicol. “He has ability and should be bolting up off a mark of 52 but he’s just not trustworthy. He’s just a bit of a monkey. We’ve tried everything with him – blinkers, cheekpieces and a tongue-tie.

“I’m just hoping that back on a track that he’s shown a bit of form can get the best out of him again.

“His best two runs for me were at Musselburgh and Newcastle. The Musselburgh run last time the Jardine horse [Paramaribo] won next time out that was second. Blue Antares looks the one to beat but it's a winnable race."

Spotlight comment

Now 9lb lower than when a close third here (2m, good) in May, but beaten a very long way in three of his four starts since and now 0-16; hard to recommend at present.

Trailblazer20:05 Musselburgh

View Racecard

Jky: Connor Beasley Tnr: Adam Nicol

Nicol’s excellent Musselburgh record is primarily down to the exploits of stable star Wise Eagle, who won back-to-back Portobello Cups in 2021 and 2022 before landing the £100,000 Queen’s Cup in April.

The six-year-old has improved by 40lb since joining Nicol from Tom Clover and was second to subsequent Group 2 Lonsdale Cup winner Coltrane in the Sagaro Stakes at Ascot in May.

Wise Eagle returned to that track for the Ascot Gold Cup but was last of 12 in the feature race of the royal meeting. A return in the Group 2 Betfred Doncaster Cup next month had been the plan but Nicol said: “I was going to run him at Doncaster at the St Leger meeting. 

“He just needs a bit longer so we’re going to pull stumps for this season. He’s not injured or anything. He was actually a little bit jarred up after Ascot, hence the poor run.

“We had him thoroughly checked out and we’ll aim him back for the Queen’s Cup that he won this year. It’d be good to win that pot again at Musselburgh, it’s good prize-money. We’ll just make a start from there on again next year.”

Wise Eagle (7): will not return to the track until 2024Credit: John Grossick

While Wise Eagle won’t return to the track until 2024, Nicol is excited about the prospect of his growing string for the core jump season.

“We’re busy,” he said. “We’ve got 14 horses in and there’s 13 riding out. We’ve doubled in size from last year since the back of the features on Wise Eagle and winning a few races. We’ve taken on another member of staff. It’s just escalated quite quickly.

“If we didn’t have Wise Eagle I don’t know how it would have went. You might have got owners from somewhere else but we’ve been very fortunate to get these horses. A lot of them came off the back of Wise Eagle.

“We’ve got some really nice jumpers and I’m looking forward to running them. One of them actually won last time out at Kelso at 33-1, Farne Island. She’s a really nice mare.

“I’ve been going since October 2020 and we’re still building the yard. We’ve put gallops in, an arena in, walkers and we’re going to put a lunge pit in as well. It’s still a work in progress really.

“We’ve got a mile and a half ring with Wexford Sand we’ve put in at home and they do long, steady work on that but all the fast work is done at Rose Dobbin’s.”

Read these next:

'He looks sure to improve for the extra distance' - Gary Savage with four bets on Tuesday  

The Punt Acca: Richard Russell's three horse racing tips at Musselburgh, Newbury and Ripon on Tuesday 

Tuesday's free racing tips: six horses to consider putting in your multiple bets 

Do you want £200+ of free bets? Racing Post have got the best offers, all in one place. Visit racingpost.com/freebets to find out more.