Ayr Gold Cup Festival: Ed Watson previews Friday card

FRIDAY

THE NAP

BEAUTIFUL DIAMOND (3.05 Ayr)

A winner of three Listed races at Ayr already, BEAUTIFUL DIAMOND holds strong claims of repeating a decisive success in this 5½f event 12 months ago.

Karl Burke's mare lost her unbeaten Ayr record when only third in the Land O’Burns sprint over the bare 5f in June. While hardly a poor run - she finished ahead of Fluorescence and Luna A Inbhir Nis, both of whom she meets on better terms here - it felt like she'd let slip a good opportunity back against her own sex slip, having posted a new Timeform PB when a close third to stablemate Night Raider in the Group 2 Temple Stakes four weeks earlier.

Afforded three months off since her last run, perhaps that freshness angle is the key to unlocking one of her bigger performances again.

Beautiful Diamond had been absent for almost five months prior to storming clear inside the final furlong to rout a quartet of three-year-olds (Luna A Inbhir Nis 5th) in this race last September.

She followed that with an excellent soft-ground second to Shagraan back against the boys in Ascot’s Rous Stakes, as she had done when runner-up to Rumstar in that same Listed event 12 months earlier, to further the argument that she’s at her very best on easy autumn ground. She can prove that here.

Fluorescence has progressed again since finishing a neck behind the selection in June and doesn’t have much to find, although any further deterioration in conditions might not aid her cause. More rain would be a plus for lightly-raced three-year-old Lady Youmzain. She has seemingly been sparingly campaigned by Kevin Ryan, whose patience in waiting for this most sizzling of summers to finally break may now be rewarded.

The Inside Track: “Beautiful Diamond loves Ayr and she loves cut in the ground. She doesn’t go on quick ground, so we’ve deliberately kept her fresh as she comes to herself at this time of year." - Karl Burke, trainer

THE EACH-WAY PLAY

INFLUENCER MAN (1.55 Ayr)

Adrian Keatley clearly made a point of targeting this meeting last season, bagging three winners from eight runners. Intriguingly, his three two-year-old runners finished 121, and it’s the North Yorkshire-based Kildare native’s juveniles which arguably represent his best chance of hitting the scoresheet again.

With the hat-trick-seeking Dontlookanyfurther likely to take a hefty chunk out of the market, the 13-runner nursery over 6f looks ripe for an each-way play with those layers - including Sky Bet, Paddy Power and Betfair Sportsbook - offering enhanced place terms.

Keatley's INFLUENCER MAN is the one that interests me most away from the favourite. Already gelded prior to his debut over this course and distance in early July, the son of Starman showed tenacity aplenty to notch a breakthrough success over 5f at Carlisle on his third career start. There's substance to that form, too, with the runner-up (who he drew clear with) bolting up next time.

The selection failed to back that up turned out just nine days later at Newcastle, where he was encountering a non-turf surface for the first time and sporting first-time cheekpieces. That headgear is immediately swapped out for a tongue tie now stepping back up to 6f, both of which could spark further progress following a month off to freshen him up for this assignment on Scotland’s west coast.

The Inside Track: “The combination of the all-weather and a quick back-up seemed to work against him at Newcastle. He’s going back up in trip and we think he’ll handle the slower ground up at Ayr. He’s a strong traveller who we hope is still well-handicapped.” - Adrian Keatley, trainer

THE PUNT

CATURRA LIGHTS (2.30 Ayr)

Even with a 4lb rise for a Carlisle nursery win factored in, CATURRA LIGHTS still has masses to find on the figures - both the BHA handicappers and Timeform - if he's to reach the level of standard-setter Hickory Lad in the Harry Rosebery Stakes.

It will take a jolt of improvement to make the step up to Listed level just nine days later, of course. But if that last-gasp success in Cumbria convinced me of anything, it’s that there’s plenty of untapped potential in his locker for Keatley to extract and channel.

I particularly liked the way he quickened up inside the final furlong last time to reel in the leader after jockey Mikey Sheehy was forced to switch to get a clear run. That was Caturra Lights’ first start for more than three months following a gelding op, meaning he’s entitled to sharpen up for that physically.

But it's on the mental side where perhaps there’s even more scope for progress. Clearly not the most straightforward to this point, he was again too fractious for his own good in the stalls, when being blindfolded and loaded first did him few favours. A more settled horse at the start will surely result in a better horse at the finish.

Given the ease with which he moved through the race at Carlisle, I’ve no concerns about him reverting to 5f here. Blinkers go on for the first time now, which is another angle for possible improvement, while Keatley won this race 12 months ago with Chairmanfourtimes, who was successfully making the step up from nurseries.

As 33/1 pokes go, I can’t find too many over the three days that possess as much potential upside as this fella.

The Inside Track: “The gelding operation has definitely helped Caturra Lights. He reared in the stalls last time, but it wasn’t the plan for him to be blindfolded, which didn’t help. He’s a very talented horse who travels strongly and will have no problems with the ground. We’re sticking the blinkers on him and, despite what the ratings suggest, I can see him being bang there.” - Adrian Keatley, trainer

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