DOUBLE HANDFUL

ISTHE Ayr Cup one of the toughest races of all to pick a winner?

That’s a rhetorical question by the way, I don’t think I need to tell you the first rule of the rhetorical Question Club, do I?

Forgetting last year’s renewal, when the race was run at Haydock due to a waterlogged Ayr, it’s not a race where short-priced favourites prosper.

Don’t Touch bagged the honours as 6-1 jolly in 2015, but that was the only time in the last 20 runnings when the winner didn’t have a favourites tag attached to its name/mane.

On that basis I really can’t bring myself to put my hard-earned money on the red hot 5-1 jolly, Son Of Rest. The Irish raider will doubtless appreciate the heavy ground but it’s a tough ask to follow a career-best performance with another, just one week later.

Son Of Rest was just touched off in the Group One Flying Five at The Curragh last weekend. A repeat of that run should see him go close. Richard Fahey’s Growl seems to have been around for an age even though he’s only six. I’ve backed him on plenty of occasions and plenty of times I’ve collected each-way cash. But he hasn’t won any of his last 16 races — in fact the last time he tasted success was way back in 2016.

FLYING PURSUIT

ticks enough horse boxes for me to have a little each-way wager.

Tim Easterby’s fiveyear-old came a respectable sixth of 20 in the Great St Wilfrid at Ripon last time out, was a winner at York before that and has twice won on heavy ground.

A mid-to-low draw is considered marginally favourable over the straight six furlongs at Ayr and, in a race this tough to win, we’ll take all the marginal advantages we can get. Flying Pursuit goes in stall three and could get a prominent position in the early hustle and bustle of the race.