Irish trainer Willie McCreery is a very shrewd operator but he doesn’t send runners over to Britain with much regularity. It could therefore be significant that he’s set to be represented by one runner at Ayr on Friday. One of his three winners in Britain came here and he has a strike-rate of 25 per cent at the track. He runs one in the second of Ayr’s two Listed contests so we’re going to assess her chances of coming out on top. Check out our free tips page for daily content across British and Irish racing.
Stella Alpina has had nine career starts so far and she managed to get off the mark when trying 5f for the first time on her penultimate start. That success came in a Tipperary maiden, where she obliged at short odds and got the better of Shadow Of The Moon by a length-and-a-quarter.
The form has since been boosted by the runner-up, who bolted up at Down Royal on her next start. Keenness scuppered her chances when put into Listed company at the same course last time. She did too much early on and her finishing effort suffered as a result.
Racing over an extended 5f trip here, McCreery’s filly will need to settle better here but she’s in with a chance if managing to do so. This isn’t the strongest of Listed races and there’s no standout candidate, making it there for the taking.
Beautiful Diamond and Star Of Mehmas are the two top rated runners and of the pair, the former is the most likely winner. Her Group race form makes her the one to beat but Willie McCreery’s runner shouldn’t be discounted, as the best is yet to come.
If you back any of our selections you can watch them live on the free Racing Post app or racingpost.com. Simply log in to one of your bookmaker accounts and click ‘Watch live’ on the racecards.