Fresh on the back of tipping Sky Bet Ebor winner Sonnyboyliston at 20/1, Matt Brocklebank’s latest antepost preview focuses on the Virginbet Ayr Gold Cup.
Ayr Gold Cup antepost tips
1pt e.w. Snazzy Jazzy in Ayr Gold Cup at 33/1 (General 1/5 1,2,3,4,5)
There are 200 horses still provisionally entered up for the Virginbet Ayr Gold Cup with the next scratching stage on Tuesday at midday but the weights have been out for nearly a fortnight now and it looks a good time to strike a bet following an informative Ebor Festival at York.
As has become the norm in these major heritage handicaps, you’re going back a fair way for a winner who wasn’t rated in the 100s, Redford the last to win it from a double-figure mark in 2010, and at the time of writing it looks like horses will again need to be at least in the mid-to-high 90s to make the 25-runner cut.
Early market leaders Great Ambassador (101), Fresh (99) and Booala (100) are all among the top 30 currently so look effectively guaranteed a place if desired, though the former’s Ed Walker stablemate – three-year-old Popmaster – already seems dangerously close to a potential cut-off point at number 61 on the list of entries.
A couple of three-year-olds have won here in the past half-dozen years and though not many will make the line-up, recent Chester winner Sunday Sovereign has to be of interest especially given the season his trainer Tim Easterby is having.
Formerly with Paddy Twomey and then Roger Varian for just the sole start at Sandown last summer, King Power-owned Sunday Sovereign has that essential bit of back-class required and had slipped from a peak mark of 108 to 95 before capitalising over five and a half furlongs at Chester.
The 5lb penalty he picks up as a consequence of that success leaves him looking reasonably well treated still and he’s totally unexposed when it comes to six furlongs as he won his only previous try at the trip in a Curragh maiden in May 2019. Admittedly, there is a fine line between ‘totally unexposed at the trip’ and being a doubtful stayer, and in this race in particular I prefer form over a bit further than a bit shorter.
Nevertheless, he’s well worth considering with William Hill and Betfred standing firm at 25/1 as others went as short as 16s following his apparent resurgence on the Roodee, while the other youngster who stands out is Motawaajed for last year's winning trainer William Haggas.
Motawaajed’s three wins – from just six starts – have come on good to firm ground and the all-weather at Wolverhampton so despite the sexy profile he’d have it to prove were Ayr to come up typically testing. Most of Dark Angel’s progeny handle a bit of cut, some positively adore it, but the dam’s side of this colt’s pedigree is less inspiring on that score.
Clive Cox’s Royal Scimitar is another three-year-old with interesting credentials and he has at least shown he handles good to soft going when beaten half a length into third off this mark (97) at Ascot earlier in the month.
However, it’s the far more experience, ex Cox-trained SNAZZY JAZZY who appeals at long odds at this stage.
He’s now trained by Lawrence Mullaney, a stone’s throw from Easterby in Great Habton on the outskirts of Malton, and having made the switch north last autumn looks to have been running himself into form with this race in mind all year.
That clearly makes a lot of sense as the Ayr Silver Cup featured among his six victories for previous connections, the majority of which came on soft or heavy ground. He has also displayed a high level of form over seven furlongs in recent seasons, including a good fourth to Space Blues at Haydock last June and an even closer third behind D’bai at the same venue the following month.
Rated 110 at the top of his game under Cox, Snazzy Jazzy was still on 107 when starting his current campaign but he was drawn on the wrong side in the Wokingham and ended up 13 lengths adrift of the winner Rohaan, finishing fourth home of the nine who raced towards the stands’ side rail.
Since then he’s run three cracking races over five furlongs, the Listed fourth – when beaten under four lengths – behind Friday’s Nunthorpe heroine Winter Power the standout performance, though I thought he shaped almost just as well in the sprint handicap won by Copper Knight which kicked off Ebor week on Wednesday.
On ground clearly too fast based on everything we know from his formative years, Oisin Murphy’s mount ran on from near the back to be seventh, finishing just three lengths behind the winner, and the run should tee him up perfectly for Ayr if that is in fact where connections are pointing him.
He's guaranteed a run off 101, is unquestionably well treated and has that all-important winning course form from three years ago, not to mention the recent form boosts his overall body of work received on the Knavesmire.
I’ll be keeping a close eye on the Mullaney runners over the next couple of weeks in the hope of an upturn in form (0-44 since the yard last had a winner in January), but the team might just have landed on a 17,000 guineas bargain here and at 33/1 with all firms presently offering five places (40s with bet365, four places) he’s the one I want to be with each-way.
Published at 1400 BST on 22/08/21
