Our racing expert Ben Linfoot has four selections for Saturday's action from Ayr and Newbury, including in the valuable Ayr Gold Cup.
The Verdict: Saturday, September 23
1pt win Wobwobwob in 2.25 Ayr at 10/1 (General)
1pt win Millebosc in 2.40 Newbury at 12/1 (General, 14/1 bet365)
1pt win Imperiality in 3.00 Ayr at 20/1 (General, 22/1 Hills)
1pt e.w Magical Spirit in 3.35 Ayr at 22/1 (Sky Bet 1/5 1,2,3,4,5,6,7)
Magical bet in the Ayr feature
It’s a very good renewal of the Virgin Bet Ayr Gold Cup on Saturday, with two previous winners back for more, some in-form sprinters holding obvious claims and some classy operators at the head of the weights.
As ever, it makes for a complex puzzle for punters to try and unravel and two important factors - pace and ground - offer little in the way of assistance given the likely gallop looks strong and conditions are probably going to be ever so slightly on the soft side of good.
In summary, this test will suit plenty of them.
In such a scenario I’m keen to put my faith in Kevin Ryan, the most successful current trainer of Ayr Gold Cup winners who is going for his sixth win in the race this weekend.
Ryan runs three, but it’s the outsider of his trio, MAGICAL SUNSET, that makes most appeal at 22/1 (Sky Bet are paying seven places, you'll get 25/1 elsewhere).
He’s put in his best performances in the autumn throughout his career and I would expect him to put in a season’s best between now and the end of the turf campaign, even though he was running with great credit earlier in the year.
Indeed, he won at Doncaster off 94 in the spring and he was third to stablemate Bielsa at York’s Dante meeting, finishing a close-up third off 97 (gets a 6lb pull here), while he travelled best of all when sixth off 96 when last seen in the Sky Bet Dash in July.
He runs off 95 on Saturday and that gives him a chance, both on his form earlier in the season and his traditional good runs at this time of year. Indeed, he’s won an Ayr Silver Cup off 88, has been fourth in the same race off 94 and his Doncaster runs in October stand up to close inspection.
I like his eight-week break, as several recent Ayr Gold Cup winners had more than a month off, including Ryan’s Bielsa who had a similar seven weeks off before he struck gold.
Drawn stands’ side but off the rail, Mr Wagyu should give him a nice sighter to aim at and on ground he handles well, at a track he loves, Magical Spirit looks a fair each-way wager in a tough race.
The Verdict: Back MAGICAL SPIRIT in the Ayr Gold Cup
Wob worth a wager in Silver Cup
In the consolation race there are four or five towards the top of the betting with solid claims but the one that appeals the most is Adrian Keatley’s WOBWOBWOB at 10/1.
The five-year-old is relatively unexposed over six furlongs – this will just be his seventh go at the trip in his career – and he shaped really well in third over the distance at Ripon in the Great St Wilfrid last time in a first-time visor.
He pulled clear of his group on the stands’ side, hitting the line strong, and was only beaten by two in-form sprinters on the far side in Sophia’s Starlight and Summerghand who fought out the finish.
Well proven over seven furlongs, it could well be that a hell-for-leather six is exactly what he needs and his trainer has a good record at the track, training over 20 winners at a strike-rate of over 17%.
Hollie Doyle has options from her central draw and the pair got on well together on the only other occasion she rode him, when a close-up third off a higher mark over seven furlongs at this meeting two years ago.
The Verdict: Back WOBWOBWOB in the Ayr Silver Cup
Mint Imperial in Firth Of Clyde
It could be a good day for Doyle who rides interesting outsider IMPERIALITY in the Group 3 Virgin Bet Best Odds Daily Firth Of Clyde Stakes for Archie Watson.
This Exceed And Excel filly has to take a big leap forward in form terms to get involved here, but she is priced up accordingly at 22/1 and there are reasons to believe she can bridge the gap.
For starters she improved hugely for stepping up to six furlongs with a bit of cut in the ground when winning at Hamilton, Paul Mulrennan pushing her out under hands and heels riding for a comfortable success.
That was 81 days ago, so she has been given time to improve physically by a trainer who knows what is required in this race – his Nazanin won this contest at 16/1 in 2021, while he had Endless Joy finish third at 20s in 2019 and his Shumookhi was second at 11/2 in 2018.
The owner, Zhang Yuesheng, had a 20/1 winner with Respectful here on Thursday, and he might well have another underestimated two-year-old at the meeting in Imperiality.
The Verdict: Back IMPERIALITY in the 3.00 Ayr
Trust Haggas to work the magic
The ground is soft at Newbury and not too many bets appeal, but I do want to back William Haggas’ MILLEBOSC in the Dubai Duty Free Handicap over 10 furlongs.
It’s a while since this horse was third to St Mark’s Basilica in the French Derby, but there have been signs he is fancied to land a handicap for his new connections a few years on and everything looks in his favour on Saturday.
He was punted for the John Smith’s Cup at York on his seasonal reappearance, eventually going off 15/2, and he ran okay in seventh off 97 before two more defeats at Goodwood and Doncaster.
Last week he was too keen over a mile on Town Moor, running on in 11th at the business end when it was all too late, but he’s down to 92 now and the step back up to 10 furlongs in testing ground looks ideal for the son of Le Havre.
Haggas, as you might expect, has an excellent record when turning out his horses quickly, so the short turnaround is no negative, and at double-figure prices his charge looks worth chancing.
The Verdict: Back MILLEBOSC in the 2.40 Newbury
Preview posted at 1600 BST on 22/09/23
More from Sporting Life
- Racecards
- Fast results
- Full results and free video replays
- Horse racing news
- Horse racing tips
- Horse racing features
- Download our free iOS and Android app
- Football and other sports tips
- Podcasts and video content
Safer gambling
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 / GamCare on 0808 8020 133.
Further support and information can be found at begambleaware.org and gamblingtherapy.org
