Replay the Saturday racing blog from Ayr and Newbury as Nahaarr landed a big gamble

Saturday Highlights...

• Lazuli too quick for rivals
• Addeybb delivers in Doonside
• Fab four for Ilaraab
• Silver lining for Kevin Ryan
• Elarqam back on track
• Alkumait lands Mill Reef
• Nahaarr lands Golden gamble

All times BST

• Click here for LATEST FAST RESULTS

1600: Goodbye for now

Thanks for joining us today, Alkumait and Nahaarr the clear highlights from Newbury and Ayr respectively.

We're off to finish off the reports and analysis, join us next Saturday for the afternoon blog featuring the Cambridgeshire.

1555: Golden gamble landed at Ayr!

Punters up and down the land will be toasting the talents of Tom Marquand after he got a withering late run out of NAHAARR in the Ayr Gold Cup.

Backed into 7/2 favourite from 8/1, he was matched at 90/1 in-running on Betfair given he had an awful lot to do inside the final furlong but the pair got there right on the line to deny Spanish City.

Mr Lupton was third, Soldier's Minute was fourth and Kynren was fifth.

1544: Ayr delay...

The slight delay from earlier on at Ayr has impacted the Gold Cup and they're circling at the start four minutes after the off time.

Nahaarr is your 7/2 favourite and it's 10/1 bar the Haggas horse...

1538: Tregoning buzzing after Mill Reef win

Marcus Tregoning couldn't hide his excitement after Alkumait's win, but with Sheikh Hamdan also owning the Middle Park-bound Minzaal he's not sure where this horse will go next.

"I think he's pretty smart, he's shown a good attitude today.

"He doesn't mind a bit of cut but he'll go on fast ground too. They've had a pretty strong year, Shadwell, with their two year olds, so we'll see what they want to do."

1535 - Alkumait impresses in Mill Reef

"He'll have to take a big step forward," said Jim Crowley... well he did, in leaps and bounds, as Alkumait runs out an impressive winner of the Mill Reef.

Marcus Tregoning's son of Showcasing made his challenge on the far side and he tanked into this before displaying a wicked turn of foot to put the race to bed.

Fivethousandtooone was second and deserves credit for that as he raced too keenly early on, while Rhythm Master seemed to be outpaced before running on for third.

Wow. That was good. Will be interesting to see where Tregoning points him next.

1520 - Fahey filly fires in Firth

Umm Kulthum, named after the Egyptian singer, lands the Scotty Brand Firth Of Clyde Fillies' Stakes for Richard Fahey and Paul Hanagan up at Ayr.

The daughter of Kodiac worked hard to get on top of Scarlet Bear late in proceedings but she justified favouritism with a pleasing success.

Can Fahey follow-up in the Mill Reef next? His Rhythm Master is your 9/4 favourite.

1505 - Jolly Jim on duo

Jim Crowley has just landed a Group 3 on Elarqam and he goes for Mill Reef glory with Marcus Tregoning's Alkumait in the next at Newbury.

"It was just a confidence thing for him, get his head back in front," Crowley said. "He battled back well and did it nicely in the end.

"Sometimes you get a soft lead and people take you on three out, but it was nice, perfect for him, and it was just good to get his head back in front."

On Alkumait Crowley added: "I thought he was very green at Goodwood, he missed the kick, but he put the race to bed.

"He’ll have to take a big step forward but he’s a nice horse. Marcus wouldn’t put him in there if he didn’t think he was up to it."

1455 - Elarqam bounces back

Elarqam takes advantage of a soft lead to land the Dubai Duty Free Legacy Stakes under Jim Crowley at Newbury.

The son of Frankel and Attraction was 0-3 for the year coming into today, but he had every right to land this getting 3lb from main market rival Extra Elusive and he made no mistake.

1m3f today, this was the furthest he's ever won over and it will be interesting to see where Team Johnston go with him next.

1444 - Go low in Gold?

All the action was on the far side in the Silver Cup with the first five home drawn low, so expect a few horses drawn in single figures to turn blue on Oddschecker ahead of the Gold Cup at 3.40.

Nahaarr, drawn in 13 doesn't look badly berthed and the plunge on him is continuing, with Haggas run-ups a possible reason for the sustained support.

The plunge horse of the day is now generally 7/2 and as short as 3/1. #plunge

1438 - Ryan produces more Cup Magic

Sprint King Kevin Ryan plunders some more prizemoney at Ayr as the four-time Ayr Gold Cup-winning trainer lands the consolation race with Magical Spirit.

The son of Zebedee was drawn in four on the far side and came with a withering late run under Kevin Stott to win at 18/1.

Admirality (17/2), I Am A Dreamer (25/1) and Northern Powerhouse (33/1) filled the places.

Sky Bet paid five places and that position went to Aberama Gold.

1425 - Ilaraab cut for Cambridgeshire

Betfair and Paddy Power both go 12s from 16s about Newbury winner Ilaraab for the Cambridgeshire.

The three-year-old gets a 4lb penalty for today, moving him up from 54 to 44 in the list, so he has to have a squeak of getting in with a few dropouts likely at the six-day stage on Monday.

A total of 30 horses turned up last year and three-year-olds have won three of the last five renewals.

Given he's a rapid improver, having won his last four, he'd have to have a mighty chance if he does make the cut.

1420 - Haggas on fire 🔥

Another for Haggas. Another for Sheikh Ahmed Al Maktoum ( I knew those yellow and blacks silks were the right ones for today's blog picture). Hot on the heels of Addeybb up at Ayr, the same connections bag an across the card double with Ilaraab at Newbury.

And they've still got Ayr Gold Cup gamble Nahaarr to come. 👀

1410 - Making his Marq

Tom Marquand has had a great 2020 and he's eyeing Champion Stakes success now with Addeybb.

Soft ground and a slightly below-par renewal would give him a chance. Harsh? Maybe, but we're sticking by it.

1359 - Addeybb all class

A couple of furlongs out it didn't look likely, but Addeybb finishes well to land the Jordan Electrics Doonside Cup at Ayr.

Saddled with a 7lb penalty, the well-backed 11/10 favourite was being scrubbed along a quarter of a mile from home as first Fox Chairman then San Donato looked likely to bag the spoils.

Addeybb responded to Tom Marquand's urgings, though, and defied his burden to take a gap and seal the race with a good finishing burst.

Both Paddy Power and Betfair leave him unchanged at 10/1 for the QIPCO Champion Stakes at Ascot next month.

Lord Glitters, surprise surprise, runs on for second once the race was out of reach.

1344 - Lazuli is back

Lazuli bounces back to top form and that looks a career-best effort as he gets the better of Tis Marvellous and Equilateral.

He's got pace, this horse, and he burns them off from the front end under William Buick who has too much horse under him as the challengers tried to close in the last 100 yards.

Hollie Doyle got a good tune out of Equilateral, but he couldn't reel the winner in and Tis Marvellous pipped Charlie Hills' horse for second on the line.

1338 - Laz-arus to fly home?

Could this be Lazuli's day in the G3 World Trophy Stakes coming up at Newbury?

He looked very good at Sandown earlier in the season and ratings pick Equilateral looks vulnerable in a small field - although he does have Super Hollie Doyle to assist him.

An intriguing sprint coming up and The Blog is firmly with the Godolphin charge.

1328 - A very pleasant surprise

Andrew Balding not pretending to have been expecting his 125/1 winner in the opener at Newbury.

"It was a very pleasant surprise and told the owner we were one for later down the line so didn't give him much hope. He didn't show a lot at Ascot on debut so we weren't expecting much but clearly he'd sharpened up for the run! I hope someone somewhere in the country backed him."

1324 - Murphy off to flier

Strange old race at Ayr - but not a strange winner - Recovery Run strikes for the Balding and Murphy axis. Pythagoras third having looked set to win when going to he front a furlong out.

1309 - 125/1 winner at Newbury

Mithras doesn't look Dewhurst material - he's involved in duel for fourth with his only market rival Aerion Power as Andrew Balding makes the perfect start to Mill Reef day with Oo De Lally winning at 125/1. Yes. 125/1.

1256 - Draw bias at Ayr?

So where do you want to be drawn in the Silver and Gold Cup at Ayr? Well the going stick says far side - the jockeys and the Bronze Cup centre to stands' side. Probably means you can win from anywhere.

Nahaarr almost bang in the middle in 13 but King's Lynn, who looks very well handicapped in the Silver Cup, is in six.

1253 - Kameko down in class?

Entries filtering through for Friday and Andrew Balding has left Kameko in the Group Two Shadwell Joel Stakes.

Be interesting to see if he runs as it's far from a penalty kick in against Benbatl and Vatican City. Cracking week to look forward to - but a tremendous afternoon today first.

1245 - Pythagoras has angles covered again?

It's not all about Rhythm Master for Richard Fahey today - far from it. Umm Kulthum should take the beating in the Scotty Brand Firth Of Clyde Fillies' Stakes on the back of her Sky Bet Lowther third. She's improving all the time.

So is Pythagoras who goes in the opening Microtech Group EBF Nursery at Ayr (1.20). He won as he liked at Ripon last time but the handicapper didn't miss him and put him up 12 pounds. It might not stop him but there is opposition in the market in the shape of Recovery Run who represents Andrew Balding and Oisin Murphy.

He was second in a Kempton nursery on his last start and our man in the saddle said in his column: "I think his mark of 85 is fair ahead of the Microtech Group EBF Nursery. It’s obviously a competitive race with any number of connections feeling their horse is well-handicapped, too, but we do feel there’s upside to his rating and a mile at Ayr should be spot on for him.

"I was happy with him when he won at Sandown, the form has worked out really well, with the horse he pulled clear with, Lone Eagle, going on to win his next two. Hopefully Recovery Run will be bang there."

1237 - All eyes on Mithras

Not far off the first race of the day, division one of the Heatherwold Stud EBF Novice Stakes at Newbury (1.05).

Mithras all the rage for this after going into virtually every notebook in the country when fourth at Sandown on debut. Interesting that the powerful Gosden team have put him in the Dewhurst and it will be a surprise, clearly, if he doesn't open his account this afternoon.

1235 - Gosden big guns primed

Some really interesting updates from John Gosden on his stable stars at the Henry Cecil Open Weekend. Please get involved with that if you can to raise money for the wonderful Racing Welfare.

Lots to read - and you can below - headlines include the Cumberland Lodge being next on the radar for Logician while Palace Pier is likely to race on at four.

1230 - Master class?

At 3.25 we have a mouthwatering Dubai Duty Free Mill Reef Stakes. Bahrain Pride and Fivethousandtoone bring huge home reputations to the race - Richard Fahey's Rhythm Master Group One form.

Our man has made no secret of the regard he holds his colt in, saying in this week's column: "I’m excited about him – we like him a lot. He got very colty in the preliminaries in France before finishing third in the Prix Morny. I hope that was down to greenness and he’ll need to be on his best behaviour here as it looks a very good renewal of the Dubai Duty Free Mill Reef Stakes.

There are plenty of horses coming into it with the big reputations but we bring Group One form to the table and whatever beats us will have to be a very good horse."

1225 - A golden gamble

There's a real move for Nahaarr in the QTS Ayr Gold Cup - William Haggas' charge has halved in price and is as low as 10/3 in places to land the cavalry charge.

Simon Holt and Timeform both put him up in our preview package but can you go in now at that price?

Anyway full movers are below from Sky Bet and Paddy Power.

12:05 - Good afternoon

Good afternoon and welcome to our live hub ahead of this afternoon's racing, principally from Ayr and Newbury with anything else worth mentioning getting a mention, too.

It's QTS Ayr Gold Cup day, always a great race and a terrific punting puzzle with 24 sprinters going hell-for-leather on the straight track up in the west of Scotland.

We'll bring you all the latest news and results as they happen this afternoon and we'll throw the odd tip in, as well - but don't let that put you off.

We're an hour away from the first at Newbury and here is some of our preview content to keep you entertained until they're under starter's orders...

• Matt Brocklebank's Value Bet
• Simon Holt's TV Tips
• Saturday's Punting Guide & Nap
• Ben Linfoot's Ayr Gold Cup Analysis
• Catching Pigeons: Gossip from the Gallops
• Richard Fahey's Saturday Team
• Oisin Murphy's Ayr Rides