The Racing Post is selling 81,228 with no bulk sales. The Sportsman's 21,819 figure includes 5,504 bulks, equating to the Racing Post outselling its rival by a factor of more than 5/1.
The Sportsman remains bullish at its disappointing first ABC return, which comes in far short of its claimed 65,000 circulation when the title launched in March. It is describing its April debut figure as "a significant beachhead in its attempt to reach a break-even 40,000 audited sale by the end of year one."
The Sportsman says it is encouraged by the reader feedback it received at the Grand National, football grounds and City poker tournaments, adding that it is confident the product is "in the right hands and to sell over 21,500 is a good start."
Jeremy Deedes, The Sportsman's chairman, said: "We are encouraged by April's sales figures in a month when sales were a secondary concern to promotion and visibility.
"Now we know exactly where we are, we can embark on sales beyond the newsstands themselves, like the foreign gambling centres, corporate hospitality and direct to the racing and betting industry as we gear up for an all-important Word Cup."
A spokesman at Trinity Mirror said: "Our assessment is that The Sportsman has only had a marginal impact on the Racing Post's sale, probably at the lower end of our early estimates of 1 to 3%."
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