Party Game sparkles before Ayr called off due to waterlogging

The latest behind-closed doors meeting at Ayr was abandoned yesterday following the fourth race after 36 millimetres of rain fell in just 33 hours, causing parts of the track to become waterlogged.

Jockeys, trainers and stewards walked the track and decided areas in the last two furlongs were unraceable.

Clerk of the Course Graeme Anderson said : “The rain has just taken its toll. Some of the jockeys wanted to continue but it was decided to abandon.”

The races that did take place produced some good action on the rain-sodden ground and course specialist John Kirkup, a 9-2 chance, certainly wasn’t inconvenienced by the going, winning at the track for the second time in the Jordan Electrics Handicap.

Given an assured ride by Connor Beasley, the Michael Dods-trained five year-old hit the front two furlongs out and won cosily by half a length from Never In Paris.

The opening maiden contest for two year-olds was won by Party Game, 11-2, ridden by Andrew Mullen and trained by Ben Haslam. The colt handled the ground well and had the race won going inside the final furlong.

Wrecked It Ralph was second beaten three and a half lengths but outran his odds of 125-1.

The trainer-jockey combination of Kevin Ryan and Kevin Stott rarely leave Ayr empty handed and they teamed up on Alioski, 17-2, to win Division One of the CPMS Handicap by a length from Big City, while Division Two was won by Joe’s Way, also sent off at 17-2, for Tim Easterby and David Allan.

Meanwhile, Citron Major can prove too sharp for his rivals in the David Chapman Memorial Handicap at Ripon today.

Trained by Nigel Tinkler, Citron Major ended a near 12-month losing streak when triumphing over the same six furlongs he faces here two weeks ago.

A couple of tardy starts had compromised his chances on his first two runs and he actually got a bit of a bump in the opening stride on his most recent outing, which saw him have to take up a position in midfield.

Luckily, the gaps came for him that day, with Rowan Scott producing Citron Major with a telling final flourish to win by a length.

The handicapper has since put him up 5lb, which seems harsh on the face of it, but it could be he was fair value for the margin of victory and the application of a visor certainly seemed to have the desired effect.

Citron Major has previously won off a mark of 89, so this task is certainly not beyond him.