Can Paddy's Day transfer superb all-weather form to the turf and complete five-timer in Musselburgh's £20,000 feature handicap?

It’s no surprise the market favours the horses with proven race sharpness in this sprint over the minimum distance because fitness is often key at this stage of the season and the two overnight favourites, Spartan Arrow and Paddy’s Day, are bang in form.

The Archie Watson-trained Spartan Arrow has run only three times since June 2023, but remains relatively unexposed as a result and he proved his absences have not caught up with him when equalling his peak Racing Post Rating with victory at Wolverhampton last time.

Spartan Arrow needed every yard over the trip that day to get up in the final stride and score by a nose, but a 2lb rise in the weights looks far from harsh and he might find this straighter track more suitable than going around a bend at Wolverhampton. He looks the right favourite.

We know Paddy’s Day is well suited by a straight five because he has won four on the spin at Newcastle and is only 3lb higher than for his last win there two weeks ago. However, while Spartan Arrow is equally effective on turf, Paddy’s Day has a far better record on the sand. He has scored on grass, but is just 1-20 on this surface compared to 6-17 on artificial ones.

A recent run is not the only sign a horse will be fit and Profitable Edge has an impressive enough recent record fresh to suggest she might be ready to go on her seasonal return. She was a winner on her reappearance at Thirsk last season and could win first time up again.
Analysis by Graeme Rodway

Going update

The going was good on the straight course on Tuesday afternoon with a breezy day forecast. A sunny, dry day with temperatures of 16C is forecast on Wednesday.

What they say

Nigel Tinkler, trainer of Paddy's Day
He's bounced back from his races very well. He's bucking and squealing and he's looking for his next race. We've always been thinking about giving him a break but he's got confidence now and it's a 20-grand prize, so we thought we should take our chance. I don't think the course will be a problem. He's finished second at Musselburgh before.

Nicola Barron, joint-trainer of Profitable Edge
She had a good season [last year]. She's a fast filly and she's ready to get started again. She goes at the track. Ideally, we would have liked to have been drawn a bit closer to the fence but there's only a small number of runners, so we'll just see how we get on.

Declan Carroll, trainer of Thankuappreciate
It's his first run back this season and he's in good form. He won at Chelmsford last time just before Christmas and he should run a good race.
Reporting by Charlie Huggins

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