Andrew Asquith of Timeform provides an overview of the key things to note on Monday.
Three points of interest
Irish raider of interest at Ayr
Adrian McGuinness doesn’t have many runners at Ayr, having had only four since 2018, and his sole representative on Monday, Captain Hanley, makes appeal in the racingtv.com/freetrial Handicap (14:00).
He finished nearer last than first on his first four starts, but he proved better than ever when hitting the frame at Downpatrick last month.
Captain Hanley left the impression he could have gone close to winning, too, still having plenty to do two furlongs out, and meeting trouble when making his move entering the final furlong, getting a gap soon after and finishing with a flourish – he was given the Horse In Focus Flag as a result.
This race doesn’t look any deeper, and with a professional jockey taking back over in the saddle, he is expected to confirm himself a well handicapped horse.
Sea Regal on a dangerous mark
Sea Regal had some fairly useful form when trained by William Haggas, but has quickly fallen down to an attractive mark after three starts for these connections, which makes her of interest in the Download The Raceday Ready App Handicap (19:30) at Ripon.
She showed more like her true colours on her latest start at Hamilton last month, moving through that race like a filly in top form, but arguably doing too much too soon.
Sea Regal hit the front two furlongs from home, but was picked up by a couple coming from further back, having no extra in the final furlong. That form has been franked since and, if given a more economical ride, she should go very close in this company having dropped to a career-low mark.
In-form Dunlop has interesting Ripon runner
Ed Dunlop is a trainer in form, having had three winners from his last six runners at the time of writing, and his Iwantmytimewithyou looks very interesting in the Sky Sports Racing Sky 415 Handicap (20:30) at Ripon.
He’s still a maiden, but as expected, he proved a different proposition on his handicap debut when finishing fourth over a mile and a quarter at Wetherby last month.
Iwantmytimewithyou was suited by the step up to a mile and a quarter, a trip more in line with his breeding, but still left the impression that he was in need of a bigger test of stamina.
He gets that now moving up another two furlongs in trip and, having been eased 1lb in the weights, he looks the one to beat given he’s still open to improvement – he has the ‘Timeform small p’ attached to his rating.
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