Friday 25 September 2015 18:21, UK
Leading trainer Richard Fahey reflects upon last weekend's success and guides us through his Saturday team.
It was a memorable afternoon at Ayr last weekend, you dream about days like that and it was fantastic for all of the winning owners.
Don't Touch was the star of the show keeping up his unbeaten record under Tony Hamilton in the Gold Cup and he's a horse with a big future. I was delighted for the owners.
Saturday was made all the more special by Ribchester winning the Mill Reef at Newbury earlier in the day.
The Godolphin policy is obviously to find as many nice young horses as possible and there's no doubt they've got another good one here.
I wasn't too sure he'd love the good to soft ground but he absolutely relished it and he's one we've all got to look forward to next year.
It's unlikely we'll be able to match the heights of last Saturday but we'll be giving it a good go across four tracks up and down the country.
Newmarket is an extremely competitive card but we've happily ended up with three in the Betfred Cambridgeshire (3.50), all of which are quite far down the weights.
It's a monster of a race and it's impossible to know which of mine is drawn best but I've got one low, one middle and one breaking from a high number - so at least we should all bases covered!
Over towards the inside the of the track will be Third Time Lucky (7), who clearly knows how to win as he was recording his fourth victory of the season at Thirsk the other day, for which he gets a 4lb penalty.
He's improving, his form has worked out well this season and he'll appreciate any dig in the ground, but the one thing at the back of my mind is whether or not he'll be suited to the straight track there.
Obsidian is drawn in 18 and doesn't seem to hold too many secrets. He's been a model of consistency and will be grand on the ground and over the trip, but we'll have to see if he's good enough on the day.
One horse definitely good enough to run well in a race like this is Gabrial's Kaka, who on last year's form would have a big chance off a mark of 88.
He was working really well in the visor before last weekend but barely galloped a yard up at Ayr although it didn't help that he stumbled slightly early on.
We're going without the headgear this time and if stall 30 proves the place to be, then he might be there or thereabouts. That's a pretty big 'if' though and there are some serious-looking horses further up in the handicap.
We've a couple more chances later on the card and Drifting Spirit takes another step up in the British Stallion Studs EBF Jersey Lily Fillies Nursery (5.00).
She's a good, hardened filly, comes here on a hat-trick and I thought she did it well on the July course last time.
Ballymore Castle is in good form ahead of the racingfx.co.uk Handicap (5.35).
He's run some decent races this season but has probably been paying the price for doing so well last year and it's never going to be easy to win a handicap from a mark of 99. Having said that, I expect him to run well.
The yard is pretty well represented up at Haydock, starting with Bahamian Sunshine in the EBF Stallions Maiden Fillies' Stakes (Plus 10) (2.45). The owners are keen to try a mile with her as this is her seventh attempt to get off the mark.
We've got three in the Godfather Travellers Handicap (3.20) - Khelman absolutely trotted up at Epsom and clearly enjoyed the soft ground there. Ballesteros has come back to form lately but was below-par last time and goes back up to six furlongs.
Mehdi has been very disappointing all year really but he's come down from a mark of 90 to 83 as a result and his work has been encouraging.
Zuhoor Baynoona is a Listed winner which makes it tough to place her but she'd have a chance in the Racing UK Anywhere Available Now Handicap (3.55).
We've also got Lexi's Hero a little further down the weights and he's solid, with loads of experience. If he's on a going day then he'd have to enter calculations too.
We've another couple in the EBF 'Reprocolor' Fillies' Handicap (4.30), including Abbey Angel. She ran a terrible race at Doncaster but she's better than that and we've put some cheekpieces on to try and sharpen things up. She'll definitely get the 10 furlongs.
Cosmic Halo probably needed her last run when returning from a long layoff. I'd expect that to have brought her on but her wins have come on quick ground so that's something to keep an eye on.
English Summer has been a revelation lately but has got to produce another lifetime best to complete a treble in the Beer Studio Handicap (5.05). He's eight years old now but we've probably never had him better.
He's joined by Emerahldz, who was admittedly well held in third at Doncaster, and Our Gabrial, who needs to come out of the stalls better than he has been doing. He's pretty well handicapped if he puts it all together.
Simply Shining runs in the Bet With Your Racing UK App Handicap (5.40). She 's had a good season, likes the track and her second to Birdman here would give her some sort of claims.
Invermere kicks things off in the PowaTag Fast Track Maiden Fillies' Stakes (1.55) at Chester and I've been a touch let down by what she's shown on the track. I hope she's ready to show a bit more but probably shouldn't be good enough to win a maiden her with a rating of 71.
Darrington has been running well all year and I'd expect nothing less than another solid effort in the SportingBet Handicap (3.05). He's only 3lb higher than when winning at Newmarket so we'll have another go with him here.
Powerallied doesn't have a great draw (8) in the Golden Square Shopping Centre Nursery (4.15) but seemed to like the track when winning here a fortnight ago. He's got to step up again to defy his new mark but I see no reason why that won't be the case.
Gramercy has also been handed a wide draw in stall 12 in the Stella Artois Handicap (4.50), which looks a disaster on the face of it, but he's another course winner. He needs to bounce back after not performing for some reason in the Bronze Cup last week.
The rest of our Saturday team are even closer to home at Ripon. Princess Kodiac steps foot on a racecourse for the first time in the David Loves Amanda Irish Stallion Farms EBF Maiden Stakes (2.05). She's a nice laid-back filly so that should stand her in good stead.
There's a big field for the Michael Raby Memorial Apprentice Handicap (2.40) but Royal Connoisseur should run well off his current mark. He paid the price for a consistent run of form last term but the assessor is starting to give him a real chance now.
Dolphin Vista doesn't look brilliantly drawn in 14 of 15 in the Ripon Land Rover Nursery (3.15) but he's more than ready for this step up to a mile.
We've got Arctic Feeling in the Ripon Cathedral City Of The Dales Handicap (3.45) and he doesn't need much of an introduction these days.
What I would say about him is that I thought he might have gone pretty close to winning the Bronze Cup up at Ayr but he got stopped in his run slightly once or twice. He ended up sixth but it could have been a different story with a clear run.
We're happy with Pamushana stepping up to a mile and a half in the Theakston Legendary Ales Handicap (4.20) and it might just help her find the improvement needed to get back to win her first handicap. We've dispensed with the visor which didn't seem to make much of an impact at Ayr last week.
