It may seem deeply unpatriotic, but there will be plenty of British racecourse managers hoping that the English and Scottish soccer teams return from the World Cup soon.

The matches, even the ones that take place in the middle of the night, steal attention from other sports resulting in fewer racegoers through racecourse gates and greater competition for the betting pound. Now, while we all enjoy interests away from the racetrack, even the most ardent of soccer supporting staff acknowledge that clashing with a major match is bad for a racecourse’s finances.

Happily, having concluded the most recent jumps season in May, the Kelso team don’t have to worry about this too much. The turnstiles won’t be clicking again until 16 September, by which time the World Cup will be a distant memory and we’ll already be a month into the domestic soccer season. A shame, then, that I’m really not very interested in football. While fully understanding why a sporting fellow might invest a few thousand pounds purchasing a horse, I remain completely bewildered at the prospect of someone spending £112 million (the reputed transfer value of Jude Bellingham) on a football player.

According to Planet Football, the total transfer value of the entire English squad is £1.17 Billion. If one owned 26 horses of a similar value, you might expect them to do something more exciting than kick a ball around between themselves for 90 minutes (those that watched England vs Ghana will know what I mean).

If £300 Million a goal (at the current run-rate) looks bloated value for an English World Cup squad, then the Scottish team are a comparative snip at £1.47 Million for the team. Both look excellent value when compared to Elon Musk – reputed to be worth only $957 Billion having lost $240 Billion on the declining value of tech shares during a single day on 22 June.

But I digress… because Musk isn’t a Team Player – which just happens to be the name of this week’s selection for the Northumberland Plate on Saturday. Having joined the Ewan Whillans stable in Hawick at the start of January, the 4-year-old gelding lost little time, winning on his first two starts at Newcastle and Musselburgh. That was before being set an impossible task at Chester where, shuffled from a wide draw to the back of the field, Greg Fairley resisted the temptation to pull wide around the tight bends. Instead, the pair sprouted wings in the final furlong, beaten just 2½ lengths into fifth place.

While England’s progression beyond the group matches looks assured this weekend, Scottish football fans will be obliged to monitor the performances of all the other nations – praying that at least four teams finish third in their own groups with either fewer than 3 points, or a larger goal difference than 3. As for our local Team Player, we expect a modest investment to pay dividends when he scores at Newcastle, 3.15pm.