Uncle Alastair set to make return at Ayr after lengthy lay-off

Ayr stages a competitive looking eight-race card today with a total of 78 runners competing for more than £65,000 in prize-money.

Three- time hurdle winner Uncle Alastair will look to open his account over the bigger obstacles in the Thank You NHS Novices’ Limited Handicap Chase over 2m 4f 100y at 4.10pm.

The Nicky Richards-trained nine-year-old has been off the track since finishing second at Carlisle in November 2018 to the highly rated chaser Vindication and if producing anything like that form should be too good for his four rivals in today’s contest.

Victory Echo, trained by Maurice Barnes and the mount of Ross Chapman, won last time out at Newcastle in December and will look to follow up with another win in the Ayrshire Cancer Support Handicap over 2m 110y. Twotime course winner Ardera Cross from the Willie Young yard looks a danger at the bottom of the weights.

Irish trainer Stuart Crawford has two very interesting runners for top owners Simon Munir and Isaac Suede. Gold Cup Bailly lines up in the first race of the day, the Western House Hotel Staycation Maiden Hurdle at 1.20pm, having finished third in a similar contest at Punchestown 15 days ago and Condesa makes her racecourse debut in the concluding national hunt flat race at 5.10pm. Both horses will be ridden by Daryl Jacob.

Richards' Lanty Slea is also one to note as he makes his return in the opening race. He turned over a hot favourite on his only bumper outing last campaign, and looks sure to be even better over obstacles.

Meanwhile, Fizzy Feet only narrowly failed to land a fairytale Listed success last time out, and a modicum of consolation can be gained in the Betway Handicap at Wolverhampton.

The five-year-old contested the Kachy Stakes at Lingfield at the start of February, a race renamed in honour of her owner Dave Lowe's ill-fated all-weather superstar. Hopes were high she could claim a poignant success - and Fizzy Feet so nearly obliged, taking it on after a furlong and keeping her head in front until Exalted Angel swooped to claim a neck verdict.

That represented a career-best effort for David Loughnane's charge - and while the handicapper has raised her 1lb for that effort, that is hardly a game-changer.

A course-and-distance winner, she meets a couple of those who finished behind her last time on much more favourable terms at a track where she has won before.