Alex Hammond looks over the 25-runner Virgin Bet Ayr Gold Cup on Saturday, featuring old favourite Documenting and defending champion Bielsa; Sky Sports Racing presenter reflects on sad week for racing following the death of Queen Elizabeth II
Friday 16 September 2022 13:28, UK
Sky Sports Racing presenter Alex Hammond is back with a look ahead to the weekend's feature contest, the Virgin Bet Ayr Gold Cup.
I'm sitting writing to you from North Yorkshire. I'm on my travels for Sky Sports Racing and have tied it in with a trip to visit my good friends, Jedd and Andrea O'Keeffe who train racehorses on the edge of Middleham. As I type, I can hear the morning routines of a racing yard as the horses are fed before dawn, it's a comforting and familiar sound.
This is an idyllic part of the country and they have created a modern, yet beautiful, yard which is set directly between the two gallops in the village, and I feel lucky to be able to visit. Thanks to National Racehorse week, so can you.
The brainchild of Richard Phillips, this annual event allows horseracing fans the chance to visit a range of establishments and to get up close to the heroes of our sport, the racehorses. It's a wonderful innovation that celebrates the horse and takes fans behind the scenes to see how they arrive on the track, ready to race.
It's been a sad week for the country with the death of Queen Elizabeth II last Thursday. I was in Doncaster for the St Leger festival when the news broke. Queen Elizabeth II was woven into the fabric of racing for most of her life and was a Classic-winning owner and breeder - her loss will be keenly felt.
Racing resumed on Sunday for the Cazoo St. Leger; the race won in 1977 by The Queen's filly Dunfermline. Eldar Eldarov won the race, to give trainer Roger Varian his second victory in the world's oldest Classic and jockey David Egan his first.
The race wasn't without its controversy though, and there can't have been many people on the racecourse that didn't feel Haskoy was a little hard done by in being demoted from second to fourth after the interference that took place between her and fourth past the post Giavellotto. Connections of the Juddmonte owned filly are going to appeal the decision.
As for this weekend, the Virgin Bet Ayr Gold Cup is the punter's puzzle, and it's great to see a maximum field of 25 has been declared for the six-furlong heritage handicap.
This is the race when connections of each horse are given the opportunity to pick their own stalls position and last year's winner Bielsa will be trying to emulate his winning tactics of 12 months ago when he ploughed a lone furrow up the stands side from the highest draw (25 of 25).
This year he will jump from a slightly lower stall in 17 but that should still allow him to grab that stand's side rail if he's quick out the gates. Whether he's left on his own again is another matter. He hasn't won since and as a result is only 1lb higher in the weights, so plenty in his favour again.
His trainer Kevin Ryan has a happy habit of winning this race and now has five on his CV. He's well represented with another three in the race with Bergerac looking to be the best of those, and one to keep on the right side of. Having said that, you could also make a case for Aleezdancer after a good effort over an easier six furlongs at York last time out.
Back to Bielsa, he's a 9/1 shot with Sky Bet but a word of caution: there may have been successive victorious jockeys and trainers in this race, but no horse has won it back-to-back.
The bookies are taking no chances with an unexposed William Haggas-trained horse in this handicap. Haggas won the race in 2020 with Nahaar off a mark of 100, the same rating for this year's challenger, Khanjar (taking into account a 5lb penalty for his latest win).
As it stands, he's 4/1 favourite with Sky Bet after just six starts, three of which have been winning ones. He's less exposed than his stablemate was and may have more improvement to come. This big field, with its strong pace, is expected to bring about more improvement, so it's easy to see why he's as short he is in the betting.
If that sort of price doesn't float your boat in a race as competitive as the Ayr Gold Cup (and with Sky Bet paying 7 places, rather than 4) you might want to look at something like Fivethousandtoone. He's 12/1 and represents another trainer with a good record in this race in Andrew Balding who has won it twice. This horse was only ninth in the race last year but has come down the weights since and that makes him a worthy candidate.
Juan Les Pins has thrived since joining Mick Appleby, but he just sat back as the stalls opened at Doncaster last week and was on the back foot on the rain softened ground thereafter. That halted a winning sequence and he's dangerous to dismiss in his current form. He's a tempting 25/1 with Sky Bet and could be each-way value.
I haven't mentioned Commanche Falls yet either. He has top-weight to carry here but deservedly so after a couple of good recent efforts. He's likeable, tough, and versatile and is 10/1 at the time of writing.
It would be remiss of me not to mention my old friend Documenting. He has been running well this year and whilst his best form is over seven furlongs, this is a stiff six and expect to see him staying on at the finish. Whether he's got more in the locker at the age of nine remains to be seen, but he should run his usual honest race. He's 33/1.
It's hard to get away from the favourite here but as each way plays, it's Juan Les Pins and Documenting for me.
