Big stables roll up for £ 100k day
Saturday card tempts star names
Quality racing is the name of the game at Ayr this weekend when the seven race Tennent’s Raceday features a Class 2 contest and three Class 3 races.
With around £ 100,000 in prize- money the big stables were always going to be tempted north and Donald McCain, Nicky Richards, Evan Williams and Ruth Jefferson all have runners.
The feature is the £ 30,000 Tennent’s Cup Scottish Champion Hurdle Trial Handicap Hurdle over two miles and last year’s winning trainer Dr Richard Newland has entered Leoncavallo while the highly rated Lady Buttons, placed in the OLBG Mares’ Hurdle at Cheltenham in March for trainer Phil Kirby, could also take her chance.
Other entries include Donald McCain’s Dear Sire and Fin and Game and Brian Ellison’s Nietzche.
The Guinness Handicap Hurdle over three miles was won last year by Takingrisks who went on to win the Coral Scottish Grand National and Nicky Richards has the ten year- old entered again but Nicky told me on Monday: “He should run but he won’t like the quick ground.
“I want to start him off for the winter though and her won it well last year and ended up by being the big one – the Coral Scottish Grand National so I think we’ll go the same route this year.”
Takingrisks, who will be ridden by the excellent conditional jockey Danny McMenamin, will be given most to do by Harriet Graham’s Aye Right, a six yearold who has two course wins to his credit and who was withdrawn from a race at Cheltenham on Saturday because of the soft ground.
He will most certainly be suited by the ground and looks to have an outstanding chance.
Lucinda Russell saddled a winner at Ayr on Monday and she runs the six yearold Ain’t My Fault in the Gordon’s Pink Gin Handicap Chase.
This lightly raced gelding has been running well in defeat and with the stable in such excellent form is worth a check in the betting come Saturday.
Blakerigg, trained by Richards, won on the card last year and runs this time in The John Crabbie Whisky Handicap Chase.
The opposition will be strong though and could include Rose Dobbin’s Jonniesofa, King’s Odyssey trained in Wales by Evan Williams and Keith Dalgleish’s Gold Opera.
Another horse expected to line up in this is Capard King who is in the record books for providing AP McCoy with his last ever winner in an illustrious career and that came at Ayr back in April 2015.
Four years on though I think the King’s crown has slipped and he won’t be winning on Saturday.
Racing starts at 12.35pm.