Ayr ready for Tennent’s special
Jefferson’s Mount Mews tipped to win £30k feature race
There is a major southern raid on Ayr today as some of the leading stables in the country head north attracted by £100,000 in prize money on offer at Tennent’s Raceday.
Among the trainers represented are Nigel Twistondavies, Philip Hobbs, Jennie Candlish, Tom Symonds and Sue Smith.
It’s the final Saturday meeting of the year and there is some ultra-competitive racing, starting with the Famous Grouse Mares’ Maiden Hurdle over two miles, where the in-form Lucinda Russell runs Miss Tiggy, with Grand National-winning jockey Derek Fox riding.
The feature race is the £30,000Tennent’scupscottish Champion Hurdle Trial Handicap over two miles and trainer Tom Symonds sends the promising Don Bersy, winner of the Victor Ludorum novices hurdle, from his Herefordshire yard, while Malcolm Jefferson runs the highly rated Mount Mews.
The Magners Handicap Chase, a Class 3 race worth £18,000, looks a competitive affair with Upsilon Blue in the Raymond Anderson Green colours the top weight, while the prolific Special Catch represents Malcolm Jefferson.
There are two more Class 3 £18,000 races – the Guinness Handicap Chase over two-and-a-half miles, where Philip Hobbs runs Kayf Adventure, and the three-mile Glenfiddich Handicap Hurdle in which Coylton trainer Ian Duncan’s King Of Fashion is an interesting runner.
At Wetherby, Definitly Red can cause a bit of an upset in what should be a blinding renewal of the bet365 Charlie Hall Chase.
Pre-race chatter has centred on Cue Card and Coneygree but, with Cue Card not getting any younger and Coneygree a hard horse to pin down after such a troublesome few years, Definitly Red is an appealing alternative at good odds.
Malton trainer Brian Ellison has already mentioned the Gold Cup as a long-term goal for the eight-year-old. He will have to go some (and more) to even enter calculations for the big one at Cheltenham, but Definitly Red, who has had just ten starts over fences, is definitely good enough to win a Charlie Hall.
A 17-length demolition job in the Grimthorpe at Doncaster was pretty special. So too was his seven-length win in the Rowland Meyrick Handicap Chase over this course and distance on Boxing Day. It will be fascinating to see how Definitly Red gets on against the big two.