Musselburgh New Years Day - Live Blog

NEW YEAR'S EVE

So we start Wednesday night as I'm wrapped in a sleeping bag on the couch alternating antibiotics and steroids with the promise of Night Nurse to come to give me half a chance of a kip.

Simon is travelling to Peebles to stay overnight - he's a good lad - and he passes the journey with 10 phone calls between us as we assess the options for one of the biggest/only days of the winter. We have a photo of the layout and we're pressing and guessing what to do. All of this made more complicated by me having lost my voice and lapsing into that falsetto that only dogs can hear. When I'm not sounding like a 14 year old boy going we come to the following conclusions;

New Areas

• Paddock. This is uber new having been trialled for 3 "off" meetings. We'll probably have the option of choosing it from our number (7) and it might be fantastic but it's a big step into the unknown and if we get it wrong we'll be regretting it for 12 months. It's a reluctant pass with a view to keeping under consideration in future

• 3/4f pole. We view this as the best, and safest, option. We won't get it. We move on

• 1f pole. 4 pitches up there (likely split 50/50 between Tatts and Rails) so probably two Tatts numbers get in. There's a bloody big bar up there but there's a spanner in the works. There's also a fence running at 90 degrees to the track and it makes access from said bloody big bar less attractive. Much less attractive. At this stage we don't know if the pitches will be bar side of the fence, the "wrong" side of the fence or split. We feel "bar" side of the fence will be a good option, the other side of the fence not and it's on our bingo card.

Ring options

• Main ring front line - we'd take pitch 20. It's the last one at the lawn end of the stand. We almost certainly won't get it. We have pitch 19 as a reserve option but we don't really want it compared to the above options.

• Main ring back line - pitch 20 - it "sticks out" past 20 on the front line and will be a solid option for us but it's still a reserve option

• 3 pitches at 90 degrees to ring facing lawn. This is where we usually get but there are more new area pitches this year. It's a good option for us and we think our choice is likely to be between here and the 1f pole

Steve messages. Blizzards forecast for Aberdeen (where he lives). Matthew on stand by to go down and make his debut for us. Nothing like throwing in at the deep end.

NEW YEAR'S DAY - pre pitch in

Simon and Steve are there! Matthew gets a lie in.

Pitches at 1f pole yet to be marked out but we initially think all 4 will be bar side. Looks like we will have a decision to make. Tatts number 1 is already in at the 3/4f pole. Smart man.

Pitches at 1f pole marked. No decision to be made now. They are split either side of the fence. The ones furthest from the bar (and the "wrong" side of the fence) are out of our thoughts and we assume the two on the bar side will be gone. We're assuming we'll be where we usually are.

***MASSIVE CURVEBALL ALERT***

At the 1f pole bar there is now to be an extra pitch INSIDE the bar. There'll be ructions. If there's one thing that bookmakers don't like, just like Yorkshiremen, it's change. And I say that married to a Yorkshire girl. Racetrack decided last night apparently. All fine, we'll adapt strategy. Still 4 pitches outside at 1f pole so it's not a "move" but a brand new pitch. We have totally ruled out the two pitches the wrong side of the fence and we wonder if Tatts 1 will now move to inside the bar which may change everything and give us an outside chance of a 1f pole "right" side of fence. Outside chance mind. As you were, pick 1 is staying at 3/4f pole and we assume that the "new" pick plus the 2 others at the 1f will be gone before us. Pick 4 looks like he'll take 20 on the front line. We don't know about pick 5.

PITCH IN

There we go then. After all that we end up where we usually do. 3 pitches facing the lawn at the end of the main ring (at 90 degrees to it) and we're in a "Cumbie" sandwich which is all good. We like Cumbie though can't comment on his sandwiches. Bryson does make a nice cheese and pickle though...

Race 1 - betting is good and they're betting everything so book is relatively well balanced. Losers - Arctic Voyage, Orphan Ollie Bore Draws - Falls of Acharn OK Winners - Scarlet Moon, Belaya River, Ashdown Forest, Glenridding Jackpots - Blondina, Canavan, Flagstone Wrong one in the photo. Small winning start after places. Wanted Scarlet Moon of the two. The two at the top of the market placing helped the each way result. Arctic Voyage most certainly did not.

Race 2 - Betting continues to be decent as we would expect for a sell out

Losers - Marty McFly

Bore Draws -

OK Winners - Ozzy Cozmo, FiveAfterFour

Jackpots - Everything else!

Oh dear... places stemmed the pain a little, but pain it is as Marty McFly looked as overpowered as the Milk dudes in Clans of Caledonia (oblique board game reference)

Race 3

Losers - Moonbow, Wise Eagle

Bore Draws - Fasol

OK Winners - Serious Chat

Jackpots - Everything Else

This ain't going terribly well....

Race 4 - we could use a result...

Losers - Jet To Vegas

Bore Draws - The Kalooki Kid

OK Winners - Tommy's Oscar, Insurrection

Jackpots - Breizh River, Inox Allen, Rexem, Malystic, Bleu Denfer

We got one. Wanted Rexem and Bleu Denfer even more but not looking a gift horse in the mouth

Race 5 - we could use another result...

Losers - Jena Doudaries

Bore Draws - Snow Rocco

OK Winners - Kool Raoul, RememberTheName, BiglesIsBack, Arctic Mann

Jackpots - WeAreLongTerm, Wolfspear

Paddling. Small win with the places but we are not making the most of a busy day! One to go. Looking for a monster.

Race 6 - the weather is, I believe, horrible and the punters are huddling for warmth. We live in hope of a big one in the Lucky Last

Losers - City of Diamonds, Afadil

Bore Draws - Bashful

OK Winners - Cueros

Jackpots - Any one you like we haven't named...

Best result of the day to finish and a good result overall when it didn't look likely for most of the day. Won less than the book value overall - first person to say we should've greened up gets blocked!

Next out Musselburgh again for the Cheltenham Trials double header when it's back to a "normal" blog if one such ever exists on our site. Until then...