Ladbrokes Go North Weekend Takes Centre Stage Amidst the Calm Following the Cheltenham Storm

Musselburgh Racecourse
Image: Ewan McIntosh, flickr

And so, it is all over for another year. As ever, the Cheltenham Festival lived up to the hype with a host of top-class performances and heart-rending storylines.

With the biggest meeting of the season in the books for another year, the coming week represents a slight lull in the racing calendar. However, it won’t be long before the build-up begins in earnest ahead of the Aintree Grand National Meeting and Punchestown Festival.

Highlights of that calibre may be missing from the third week in March, but that’s not to say there aren’t intriguing contests lurking within the looming fixtures. Here, we look ahead at the pick of the action as we gather our breath following those magical four days at Prestbury Park.

Ladbrokes Go North Weekend

This popular addition to the racing calendar kicks off at Musselburgh on Friday, moves on to Kelso on Saturday afternoon, and concludes south of the border at Carlisle on Sunday.


All three days offer over £100,000 in total prize money and feature the finals of a series of races named in honour of popular northern stars, including Lady Buttons, Brindisi Breeze, Sea Pigeon, One Man, and the immortal Red Rum.

A huge hit with owners, trainers, and racegoers alike, the Ladbrokes Go North weekend promises competitive action and a lively atmosphere in the stands. The fun doesn’t end with the racing, as Kelso keeps the good times rolling with a lively after-party following the Saturday fixture.

For those interested in joining in the fun, ticket prices begin at around the £20 mark, or if you really want to make a weekend of it, you can gain entry to all three race days for a bargain £40.

Quality Card at Newbury

The Saturday card at Kelso features prominently on the ITV Racing schedule, but the pick of the action, from a class perspective, comes at Newbury.

The Grade 2 British EBF BetVictor “National Hunt” Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle is the classiest contest held anywhere in Britain over the weekend. Later on the card, a £100,000 prize pot ensures a field of highly promising youngsters will line up in the simply named Goffs Hundred Grand Bumper. That latter event is one of only very few National Hunt flat races, which isn’t the last event on the racecard, and was landed by the Paul Nicholls-trained £660,000 horse Regent’s Stroll in 2024.

Pattern Class Action from Ireland on Sunday Afternoon

In addition to the concluding day of the Ladbrokes Go North Weekend, Sunday afternoon offers a pair of events at Listed level or above from the Emerald Isle.

The focus turns to Limerick for the Grade 3 Hugh McMahon Memorial Novice Chase. Held over a trip of three miles, the event is yet another Irish contest to have fallen under the Willie Mullins spell, with the Closutton maestro taking the trophy home on six occasions since 2008.

And for those who need reminding that the 2025 flat season will soon begin in earnest, Naas stages one of the earliest Listed events of the season, as runners aged four and older battle over 1m2f in the Devoy Stakes. First run in 2019, Aidan and Joseph O’Brien have claimed three of the six editions between them and will no doubt be strongly represented once again in 2025.