NEIL MULHOLLAND has been handed a peach of a ride aboard Family Venture at Musselburgh (2.45) following Davy Russell's crashing fall at Cork on Sunday.

Russell, who was knocked unconscious after tumbling from Camden Tanner, has been stood down for the mandatory three-week recovery period, leaving a gaping hole in the jockey ranks at Ferdy Murphy's stable.

"Neil will be coming in for more opportunities and we shall be calling upon Tony Dobbin as well during Davy's absence," reported Ferdy.

Holland, a most reliable and stylish 3lb conditional pilot, undoubtedly has the ability to prove a perfect super-sub in the three-mile Tranent Handicap Chase.

Neither should his partner, Family Venture, let the side down, especially as Murphy's gelding was particularly impressive when scoring at Ayr, skipping clear of his opponents with embarrassing ease over the final couple of obstacles.

Somerset-based maestro Martin Pipe has taken the most unusual step of sending a substantial and high-class raiding party north of the border.

Pipe rarely bothers travelling such long distances at what can only be described as a minor meeting, but a severe shortage of suitable ground for his horses is surely behind the decision.

Three of Martin's top stars, Contraband (12.15), Korelo (12.45), and Liberman (1.15), all hold enviable prospects, although don't expect to make a fortune by backing them since the talented trio seem certain to go off at short odds with the peerless Tony McCoy in the saddle.

Four winners for Jonjo O'Neill on Saturday re-affirmed the superb form of his yard, likely to be further boosted by Majestic Moonbeam (3.35) in the Ruckinge Maiden Hurdle at Folkestone.

Majestic Moonbeam landed a nice little tickle for connections on his debut at Warwick, where the five-year-old was supported from 6-1 to 7-2. Admittedly he only just scraped home in big-field bumper race, but his immaculate jumping pedigree suggests there is room for stacks of improvement now that O'Neill's representative has been switched to hurdles.

Pathetic prize money at Southwell has attracted predictably poor quality line-ups, not that punters should be put off having a small interest on Grand Lass (1.55) in the Littlewoods Claiming Stakes.

David Barron was the first trainer to really make hay on the man-made surface when flat racing was introduced at the circuit some ten years ago, and despite not having quite so many runners on the sand nowadays he still boasts a decent strike-rate.

Grand Lass was no great shakes on the turf, but her dour never-say-die mode of running does give hope that she will be able to outgun her rivals in the mile-and-three-furlong contest.

* Bookmakers have slashed the price of Truckers Tavern for the Tote Cheltenham Gold Cup after a deluge of ante-post bets.

Ferdy Murphy's eight-year-old has been nominated for the race on a well-known tipping line, prompting punters to cash in on the 25-1 available with Coral and the 20-1 Ladbrokes were offering.

Coral initially shortened Truckers Tavern to 20-1 after laying him to lose a six-figure sum, but cut him to 14-1 after money for the horse continued.

''This tipping line has a major following and our liabilities on Truckers Tavern are now well over £m,'' said Coral spokesman Simon Clare.

Ladbrokes now have last year's Gold Cup runner-up as a 12-1 shot for the big race.

The firm's Balthazar Fabricius said: ''This is a tipping-line gamble, pure and simple. We laid over six grand's-worth in about six minutes once the horse had been put up at 12.30pm."

Get more on racing at our Racing North site.