Irish trainer John McConnell is a regular visitor to the Scottish tracks with his jumpers and tends to do pretty well at Ayr and Musselburgh. McConnell has sent significantly fewer Flat horses over in the last five seasons however. He has sent just one Flat runner over to Ayr in the last five years and he’s about to add to his tally on Monday, with another two runners. Check out our free tips page for daily content across British and Irish racing.
Zahee ran better on his seasonal debut at Limerick than the result suggests. He was short of room at a key stage of the race, in the final furlong and was tenderly handled after that. That effort suggested he was being saved for another day and this could be it. This race may well be a bit easier and he could go close here, with some better luck. Finishing second off a 1lb higher mark at Down Royal in July, he might have won that day if he’d settled better. His last victory came at Leopardstown in April 2022 and a return to the winners’ enclosure could be on the cards.
Lex Maxima has been running at Dundalk through the winter and came very close to getting off the mark on his penultimate start. Having shown little in three starts on grass, he needs to prove that he can go on this surface. The step up to 1m5f could well suit and this isn’t the deepest of races. It has to be said that he’s perhaps still unexposed and the best could be yet to come. Joe Fanning takes the ride and he certainly knows his way around the place, as he has had over a thousand rides here during his career.
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