Musselburgh: Course guide and key stats

Timeform’s Musselburgh course guide

Right handed, sharp. The turns at the top end of the course are particularly sharp, so the adaptability to negotiate the bends is of paramount importance. Big, long-striding, cumbersome horses are at a disadvantage on the round track, especially in races at up to nine furlongs. On the straight course the fields typically race towards the stand rail. The course is one of the best draining in the country, conditions rarely on the testing side.

Leading active jockeys at Musselburgh

Sorted by strike rate since the beginning of 2017 (minimum 20 rides)

• Clifford Lee 23.26% (10-43)
• Daniel Tudhope 21.82% (24-110)
• Sam James 21.52% (17-79)
• Joe Fanning 19.32% (51-264)
• P. J. McDonald 18.64% (11-59)

Other points to consider

• Joe Fanning has been much the most successful jockey by number of winners at Musselburgh in recent years, with the chasing pack headed by two other jockeys who are regulars at the track, Paul Mulrennan (29 wins from 201 rides) and Graham Lee (26 wins from 187 rides).
• Sam James’ excellent strike rate has made him the most profitable jockey to follow at the track, recording a level stakes profit of 29.49. Not far behind is Shane Gray, his 16 winners from 130 rides yielding a profit of 26.37

Leading active trainers at Musselburgh

Sorted by strike rate since the beginning of 2017 (minimum 20 runners)

• Archie Watson 42.31% (11-26)
• William Haggas 31.82% (7-22)
• Eric Alston 25% (6-24)
• Rebecca Menzies 24.24% (8-33)
• Grant Tuer 23.91% (11-46)

Other points to consider

Of the trainers with a much larger number of runners at Musselburgh, the Yorkshire stables of Richard Fahey and Mark Johnston. Fahey has a strike rate of 18.1% (42 winners from 232 runners), while Johnston (in partnership with son Charlie since the start of this year) has a strike rate of 17% (36 winners from 212 runners). Fahey has also been the most profitable trainer to follow at Musselburgh, his runners recording a level stakes profit of 37.36.

Scottish trainers Keith Dalgleish (64 winners from 509 runners), Iain Jardine (37 from 259) and Jim Goldie (25 from 268) are the other leading trainers by number of wins.

Running style

Timeform’s Early Position Figures (EPF) show where a horse was placed in the early stages of a race, ranging from 1 to for a horse who led, 2 for one who raced prominently, through to 5 for one held up in rear.

These show that the tactical advantage front-runners have in any given race should never be underestimated. Front runners (those with an EPF of 1) have the best strike rate with a percentage of 18.02 in all UK Flat races since the start of 2017.

Overall, front-runners at Musselburgh fare slightly better than that average with a strike rate of 18.64%. However, they fare markedly less well over the almost-straight five furlongs, with a strike rate of only 14.45% (not much better than either prominent or midfield racers) compared with a front-runners’ strike rate of 22.15% for the minimum trip at all tracks.