To be or not to bee is the answer at Ayr

● Carroll charge wins by a nose to land nursery

To be or not to bee had all the answers at Ayr last night, getting up by a nose to claim the spoils in the five furlong nursery handicap.

The Declan Carroll-trained juvenile, racing wide with runner-up Northern Society, gave jockey Stevie Donohoe a winner on a rare visit to the track.

The colt’s co-owner Ray Flegg had flown from London and said :”We fancied him today and were on at 7-1 which was a lot better than the 11-4 he was returned at.”

Borders jockey Jamie Gormley was seen at his best on board the ultra-consistent Logi, a 4-1 chance, trained by Rebecca Bastiman, who won the Fundraising Ideas At Ayrshires.org Handicap over seven furlongs.

The four-year-old was winning for the third time in seven starts and his trainer said: “That was deserved.

“He has now won three and finished second twice and third twice from his last seven starts.”

Mark Johnston’s Gateway, the mount of Joe Fanning was an impressive winner of the Shop At Ayrshire Cancer Support Novice Stakes while Merry Banter, trained by Paul Midgley and ridden by Graham Lee, won the Class 4 five furlong handicap at odds of 9-2.

Meanwhile, Reverend Jacobs can make it a quickfire double in the tiesplanet. com – Ladies Love Guys In Ties Handicap at Pontefract today, writes Glendale.

The four-year-old hit the mark at Newmarket last Friday and the fact William Haggas feels compelled to turn out under a 6lb penalty possibly speaks volumes about his chances here.

Lining up in a competitive heat at Headquarters, Reverend Jacobs easily shook off his rivals to win by the best part of three lengths in a courserecord time.

The handicapper is sure to take a dim view of that victory, so it makes sense to strike quickly with conditions in his favour.