Former Talksport man Charlie McCann marks your card with five to follow on Saturday at Ayr, Newbury and Nemarket. View selections below
The big betting race of the day is the Ayr Gold cup and BetVictor are paying five places on the feature one of the major sprint handicaps in the racing calendar.
The Silver Cup will give us more of a clue as to the impact of the draw in the big one, but the antepost betting on the race has been dominated by Richard Fahey’s Growl who reportedly loved the soft ground when scoring at Windsor back in June. The favourite ran a cracker when meeting trouble in running in the Stewards’ Cup last time at Goodwood but 5/1 looks plenty short enough in a 25-runner event and he is reluctantly overlooked.
My two against the field are Watchable (3.45) coming out of stall three (far side) and, down the stands’ side, Final Venture (stall 20) with marginal preference for the former and the yard of David O’Meara successful in this corresponding race two years ago. The selection is 25/1 at BetVictor and gets the vote in an ultra-competitive heat.
Three-year-olds have won the last couple of renewals of the Mile Handicap and they can dominate again with Garcia (3.10) getting the nod ahead of Morando for Richard Fahey and the excellent Adam McNamara who is such good value for his 5lb claim. Both animals have been off the track since June but they represent top yards and are likely to be spot on following their respective three-month breaks.
At Newbury the ground (soft) has changed dramatically since the declarations were announced at the 48-hour stage on Thursday and I hope to see Lord Ben Stack (2.50) follow up his recent Haydock win in the 10f handicap under a 5lbs penalty. I have always felt there was a good race in the 4-year-old with a bit of give in the ground and at 14/1 he looks a decent each way wager. At the time of writing 20 were due to go to post but there are likely to be at least a couple of defectors on account of the rain overnight on Thursday.
The Gp 3 Legacy Stakes can go to Algometer (1.45) who skipped the St Leger last weekend and for whom the rain will be a blessing. The colt finished seventh in the Derby when last seen in June and, whilst we may not see him at his best until next year, this lightly-raced colt can score for David Simcock with fellow 3-y-old Robin Of Navan considered the danger.
Frankie Dettori takes over on Elraazy (5.00) at Newmarket for John Gosden and this beautifully bred filly can follow up her recent Haydock win from an opening mark of 80. The filly she beat at Haydock (Queen of the Stars) won a Pontefract maiden by 7L on Thursday and she can take advantage of the 11lbs she receives from Sir Michael Stoute’s Dubka who is chasing her four-timer.
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Be lucky
Charlie
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