RACE PREVIEWS & TIPS (MONDAY)

14:45 Ayr Trainer Gordon Elliot is now quite fond of sending his runners over the sea to contest races here at Ayr from his base in Ireland. Today he looks to have a handful of runners set to do battle here in Scotland and my NAP today goes to one of his charge, especially with the booking of Richard Johnson also a significant plus point. Holeinthewall Bar showed a return to form in a Hurdle race at Limerick last time out and now combating bigger obstacles today may bring about improvement. There’s no doubt the jockey booking of the champ is a feather in the cap of his chances and although he’s likely to go off favourite I can’t ignore the great chance he has. Bottom weight Freddies Portrait who represents big time trainer Donald McCain. He’s ultra consistent but sadly the term “proverbial bridesmaid” rings a bell with four of his last five starts ending with just a placed finish. Mango Cap is another runner that could pose a likely threat but his inconsistent nature doesn’t fill me with an abundance of confidence so the Elliot runner gets the nod today. HOLEINTHEWALL BAR (WIN) – NAP

17:30 Wolverhampton The second of two selections comes in the final race on the all-weather at Wolverhampton. A low grade sprint handicap that looks mightily open and very difficult to pinpoint a winner but I see something in the form of Gettin’ Lucky. Andrew Mullen rides the horse once again and in the four year olds six race career his best effort came on the all-weather on the only occasion Mullen rode the horse. A drop back down to five furlongs may help and with the favourite drawn next to him John Balding’s horse looks set to be right in the mix. The one horse I fear the most has to be Edith Weston who still has her maiden tag after seventeen runs already. With Luke Morris onboard and residing from a stable notorious with sprinters her 9/1 price tag looks very generous. I couldn’t fault punters for backing the bottom weight however I feel place money is the best that could be expected. GETTIN’ LUCKY (E/W if 9/2+)

Written by Rory Paddock

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Daily NAP’s:

Graeme Lafferty – Master Rajeem (WIN) 15:15 Ayr

Matthew Kirby – Persun (E/W) 16:30 Wolverhampton