A mark of 79 is not beyond him: analysis and key quotes for £30,000 Ayr cavalry charge

A competitive sprint handicap – as you would expect for a 16-runner race with £30,000 in guaranteed prize-money – but only a handful of contestants appear well treated and are certain to act on the likely soft ground.

Manila Scouse, who represents the Tim Easterby stable that landed the inaugural running 12 months ago with Snash, has yet to win a handicap in five attempts but strongly suggested a mark of 79 is not beyond him when runner-up to Our Absent Friends over course and distance last Monday.

In theory there won’t be much between him and Black Friday, who finished fourth in that race but reopposes on 2lb better terms. Both act well with plenty of give underfoot.

Fools Rush In, one of five Jim Goldie representatives, joined current connections over the winter with an official rating of 96.

He is now 9lb lower after five defeats, and a reproduction of his best form would make him a major player.

Illusionist, a winner at York last May off 88 on good to soft ground, is now 2lb lower and could be coming to the boil based on a last-time-out sixth at Haydock behind Raatea.

Aberama Gold, second in this race last year off 90, is 1lb lower this time on his first start for David O’Meara.

He produced a decent weight-carrying performance under 10st 2lb to beat course specialist Iris Dancer at Hamilton last month and should give another good account.
Race analysis by Richard Birch

What they say

Michael Dods, trainer of Tinto
He ran well at Thirsk. He's fine on good to soft ground but when it gets too testing, like it did early in the season and it was heavy, he couldn't cope with it, so I'm hoping they don't get a great amount of rain. He's in good form but it looks very competitive. He likes a bit of space anyway, so the draw [in two] should be fine, but I'll leave it to Connor [Beasley].

Jim Goldie, trainer of Fools Rush In, Abduction, Rock Melody, Jordan Electrics and American Affair
The ground and trip will suit Fools Rush In. We've put cheekpieces on him, and a tongue-tie, and we're hoping for a decent run. Abduction has been very unlucky this year – the heavy rain just before he ran at Haydock didn't help as it made the ground quite slippy, which wasn't ideal. He'll handle the ground and he likes Ayr. I would expect he's probably our best chance. Rock Melody is in good form, but we've a slight concern on the ground. She's been running well over five furlongs, but she's got form at six and hopefully she'll run well. Jordan Electrics would probably want fast ground, but we're hitting and hoping basically. He ran well in the Bronze Cup last year and it's a nice pot, so we'll give him a run and see how he goes. We're not sure on the ground for American Affair, but his mother loved soft ground, so we'll wait and see. He may want a bit further, but the trip should be fine as I expect it will be a fair old test in that ground. He'll be staying on well at the finish. He's very unexposed, he's got no weight and he's entitled to improve.

Grant Tuer, trainer of Illusionist
The ground will certainly be in his favour and he seems in good form at home. We'll probably be a bit of a hostage to fortune as we'll be holding him up and covering him up and trying to come late and hard, as we have in the past at York. He's a quirky customer and doesn't need overracing, so we've been waiting for some softer ground, and a straight six or five furlongs is ideal. He's starting to look well treated so I'm pretty hopeful we'll have a decent run.

Tony Coyle, trainer of Thunder Roar
Hopefully he's sharp enough for the run. He's a fair horse and won well over seven furlongs last time. I'd rather go six furlongs than a mile with him but whether he's quick enough against those hardened handicappers, I don't know. I'd rather be drawn in the middle than in stall one, but he'll love the soft ground and we're hopeful of a good run.
Reporting by Harry Wilson

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