Cloth Of Gold wasn't good enough on his return to the track.
Whether he needed the run or he just isn't good enough is always a tough question on their first run back. I'm glad to see Hornsea Bay not winning, as I said in the preview, he has been a horse I've been following. In all fairness, that horse should have won, but Danny Tudhope did his usual of overcomplicating things and made a mess of the ride.
Silver Chamber got mugged inside the final furlong from the biggest outsider of the field. Not a clue how that horse has bounced back to form and won in the way he did. Silver Chamber has been lucky two races in a row.
Star Of Lady M 10/3 (1pt) – Ayr 3.05
The ground at Ayr should remain as soft, so you might see a couple of non-runners in this race. Star Of Lady M has won on soft ground, but those wins came in his first couple of starts when she was a juvenile. I'm not confident enough to say she'll 100% handle today's conditions, as form from her two-year-old days against fresh horses doesn't really stack up when she's a five-year-old. However, I think on her day, she is the best horse in this race, and that's enough to back her.
She has evidently had a couple of issues from last year. She has only ben on the track once so far this season, which came in the Beverley Bullet a couple of weeks ago. The market suggested she was going to need the run, as she nearly doubled in odds from her opening price. She ran with credit and finished in third place. That race was evidently never the main target, and this race was in the back of the mind as she won this last year, where she cemented she was a Class 1 horse, not just a horse who blew them all away at York the time before.
This race has been favourable to the older horses over the years, and I think that will likely happen again. The form of the younger horses doesn't appear to be fantastic, and at bigger prices, I thought Sophia's Starlight was worth a mention on her preferred soft ground.
Remmooz 2/1 (1pt) – Newbury 4.05
I have this race between the two smart three-year-olds, but I have decided to side with Remmooz, who'll have to reverse form with Spy Chief from their Royal Ascot runs.
Remmooz was a couple of places behind Spy Chief at Ascot, but not much separated them that day. Since then, you can say that Spy Chief has set the better form, so it should be the one to beat. Spy Chief was sixth in the July Cup, whereas Remmooz has operated at a lower level in handicaps. For that reason, it is a surprise that they are the same odds at the time of writing. The reason for backing Remmooz is that I think he is better suited for this trip, and I think he has the better chance of handling a softer surface.
Spy Chief looks like a quick horse, and I don't think he'll be in love with the ground if it doesn't dry out any further. Not only that, I am a big fan of Owen Burrows as a trainer. I think he is very clued up and doesn't get the praise he deserves. He doesn't have the ammunition that the big trainers like the Gosden's and Haggas' have, but just keeps finding fantastic horses.
GambleAware