Perhaps one of the most difficult days of the calendar to find a winner, Ayr Gold Cup day is devilishly competitive. The feature race, the Ayr Gold Cup, is a six-furlong dash that always attracts the maximum field of 25.
There’s also the small matter of the consolation, the Ayr Silver Cup. Newbury also hosts action and their card is headlined by the Group 3 Legacy Cup Stakes.
We’ll have horse racing tips for all the action, but for the first time in four weeks, my Saturday outsiders are back. I’ve found three at huge prices and you can find my reasoning below.
This year’s renewal of the Group 3 contest looks wide open, with fifteen unexposed juveniles vying for the prize. None are more unexposed than David O’Meara’s Rishes Baar (16-1), who arrives on the back of a debut victory at Haydock.
It was a visually impressive performance, showing a smart turn of foot to surge into the lead late on. Although the favourite, who she ran down, was ultimately disappointing, the amount of ground she made up late was impressive.
A £55,000 breeze-up purchase, she has a pedigree that suggests she can step forward plenty from that introduction. With that natural improvement expected, I’m more than happy to take a chance at bigger odds.
He’s a law unto himself, but Hey Jonesy (33-1) is more than capable of an almighty run if putting his best foot forward. His greatest day thus far came in the 2020 Wokingham at Royal Ascot, capturing that competitive handicap off a mark of 99.
Racing off 98 on Saturday, it’s hard to argue he’s not well handicapped. His form this year has been patchy at best, but his good sixth when defending his Wokingham crown proved he was still more than capable.
Ayr tends to suit front runners, which is a big positive to his chances, given that all his best performances have come when he blazed a trail in front. The form of Kevin Ryan’s string is another boost, winning with seven of their last 36 runners.
Any incoming rain will do little do dampen his spirits and I’m very keen on his chances.
He ran poorly at York last time, but Fame And Acclaim (20-1) shouldn’t be ruled out solely on that basis. Trained by Les Eyre, he was previously trained in Ireland by Joseph O’Brien.
He built up a strong handicap record for that trainer, including a pair of seconds at the Curragh in competitive heats. Debuting for Eyre at Royal Ascot, he didn’t disgrace himself, and subsequently placed at York in a similar race to this.
Due to that aforementioned flat run last time, he’s now fallen to the same mark as his two near misses at the Curragh. Ground versatile and suited by big fields, he’s an ideal candidate for this contest and his current rating makes him impossible to ignore.
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