Graeme Rodway's play of the day at Ayr

Graeme RodwayDeputy betting editor

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Mwafaq

It took Mwafaq 11 attempts to get off the mark, but he has now won three of his last four starts and is just 2lb higher than when last successful at Thirsk last month. He had two subsequent winners behind on that occasion, and that was also his first success on turf.

Mwafaq remains unexposed on this surface as a result and he is better than the bare form of his fifth of nine off this mark at Southwell last month. He raced wide throughout that night and did remarkably well to be in contention in the straight. It was only late on that he faded.

He simply had to work too hard early to hold a position from the widest draw in stall nine and ran the slowest final furlong of any of the first six home. That’s further evidence he did too much too soon under Ethan Tindall, and Alfie Redman takes over in the saddle this time.

Redman can be counted as one of the two best jockeys in this apprentice contest, alongside the red-hot Jake Dickson, and it is worth taking a chance on him getting Mwafaq into a good position from another rotten draw on the outside in eight. That will be crucial to his chances.

Stepping up to a mile might also be advantageous as he can use his speed from shorter trips early on and, while he has yet to win over this far, Mwafaq has run well at the distance. He finished a close third of 12 at Redcar last year over a mile and appeared to stay well enough.