Bielsa bucked a growing trend when winning the 2021 Ayr Gold Cup from a mark of 98 as the 11 before him (including dead-heaters Son Of Rest and Baron Bolt) had all defied a triple-figure BHA mark, but normal service can resume on September 17.
We’ve obviously had some significant field size issues all year and it will be interesting to see how the consolation races (Silver and Bronze Cups) at the Western meeting hold up, but it’s all but guaranteed there will be a full 25 runners for the main event, no doubt with little more than 7-8lb between the entire field.
A real touch of class is imperative when looking for the winner and one who appears to be a touch underestimated at this early juncture is the James Horton-trained RHYTHM MASTER who can be backed at 25/1 with a number of firms already offering five places (he’s 33s with bet365, who are ¼ odds, four places).
A horse who ran against Campanelle in the Prix Morny as a juvenile and behind Baaeed at Goodwood last summer, he ultimately looked a bit of a disappointing sort for Richard Fahey but there were signs of the old Rhythm Master when signing off for his previous yard with a Listed third after being dropped right back to six furlongs and fitted with a visor at Doncaster in November.
He subsequently changed stables and, following a relatively limp comeback run at Thirsk in the spring, connections decided to have him gelded which paid immediate dividends on his next start at Newcastle on June 25.
With visor retained and not a huge amount of confidence in the market (went off 12/1 having drifted before the off), the four-year-old put in a very straightforward sprinting display to win by a length from The Attorney (replay below).
Access to exclusive features all for FREE - No monthly subscription fee
Log in with your existing Sporting Life, Sky Bet, or Sky Games account. If you don't have any of those, it's completely FREE to register!
It’s a piece of form I’ve been keeping an eye on as the fifth home, Zip, was on the radar for something similar having slid quite a long way in the weights since the start of the year, so it was a touch underwhelming to see him fluff the start and manage to finish only sixth at Haydock in early-July.
However, since then Newcastle sixth Aleezdancer has won a nice pot at Ripon off just 2lb lower, while runner-up The Attorney has followed his Bunbury Cup fifth with a fine second to Lyndon B at Goodwood, before justifying skinny odds at Doncaster over the weekend.
Overall, I’m willing to take a positive view of Rhythm Master’s resurgent performance, in which case a 2lb rise to 102 could seriously underestimate the once 110-rated son of Dark Angel.
Horton (together with owner John Dance) has had just the one winner since the start of July but he’s not got a huge team of horses and a lot of them need plenty of ease in the ground, which may go some way to explaining his fantastic 31% strike-rate (4-13) back in April.
He sent out three more winners from just 13 runners in May as well and although the core summer months have been relatively quiet, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see the Horton name back in the headlines come the autumn.
Rhythm Master evidently loved his first taste of the Tapeta track at Gosforth Park and no doubt he’ll be back at some stage in the future, but softer turf definitely suits as well based on his early days with Fahey so while you might have expected him to potentially be out again at the Ebor Festival, keeping him fresh for a race like the Ayr Gold Cup later in the year makes real sense.
We are committed in our support of safer gambling. Recommended bets are advised to over-18s and we strongly encourage readers to wager only what they can afford to lose.
If you are concerned about your gambling, please call the National Gambling Helpline / GamCareon 0808 8020 133.
We are committed to Safer Gambling and have a number of self-help tools to help you manage your gambling. We also work with a number of independent charitable organisations who can offer help and answers any questions you may have.
