Sophie Ellis-Bextor to perform at Hamilton racecourse

May 15 2008 By Gary Fanning

SINGING sensation Sophie Ellis-Bextor will belt out her hits after racing finishes at Hamilton Park’s Braveheart Night tomorrow (Friday).

The 28-year-old, who shot to fame with her number one single “Groovejet” in 2000, will play an exclusive gig for punters after the last race.

Sophie, who has recorded three hit albums, is the latest in a line of pop stars to visit the popular Lanarkshire track in association with Clyde One.

She follows the likes of Jason Donovan, Dannii Minogue, and Sandy Thom.

Sophie is set to perform her best known solo hit “Murder On The Dancefloor”, which stayed in the charts for 23 weeks and was Europe’s most played song of 2002.

Last year, she supported George Michael on his UK tour and recently became the face of make-up company Rimmel London.

Alastair Warwick, Hamilton Park's departing chief executive, said: “We’re delighted that Sophie is joining us on Friday for what promises to be a tremendous evening of horseracing and entertainment.

“We’re as much about entertainment as we are about racing at Hamilton Park and have made a real effort to bring top names to the town in recent years.

“Sophie is a major name in the pop world and her appearance is the first of three high-profile concerts we’re putting on free this year to entertain our race fans.”

In addition to the top quality entertainment on offer, Braveheart Night offers some significant horseracing, with the highlight being the famous £35,000 Glasgow Stakes and the £30,000 McGrattan Piling Braveheart Stakes, both Class 1 Listed races.

Gates open for Braveheart Night at 4.20pm, with the first of six races starting at 6.20pm.

Tickets are available on the night or in advance on the racecourse website www.hamilton-park.co.uk or by calling 01698 283 806.

The full race card is as follows: 6.20pm, The Chard Construction EBF Maiden Stakes; 6.50pm, The Brandon Homes William Wallace Handicap Stakes; 7.25pm, The Glasgow Stakes; 8.00pm, The Luddon Construction Maiden Stakes; 8.35pm, The McGrattan Piling Braveheart Stakes; 9.05pm, The hamilton-park.co.uk Handicap Stakes.