Dave Nevison's Thursday tips: three best bets at Ayr

I hope that I am not following a lost cause in sticking with Woven who ran spectacularly well when finishing with a rattle in the Ayr Silver Cup two outings ago. 

The nine-year-old has since disappointed at Haydock when he was an alarming drifter beforehand, and found himself behind on the wrong part of the track. 

He has run well at Ayr several times in the past and goes well on heavy ground, so has plenty going for him here. Despite the conditions, this sprint looks set to be run at a good pace, and it seems difficult to imagine Woven not getting the opportunity to go close once more. 

Uncle Liam ran well at a price in a more competitive handicap at the Ayr Gold Cup Festival in September and looks ready to break his maiden here. 

Jim Goldie sticks with the excellent Lauren Young, who is fantastic value for her 7lb claim, and has been placed each time she has ridden this lightly-raced gelding. 

The ground might be a shade softer than last time but, if anything, that will suit the four-year-old son of Gleneagles even better. Off the same mark as last time, I expect him to be staying on better than most under his young rider here. 

Since leaving the Crisford yard after his first outing, Alfredo Spero has been brought along steadily with an eye firmly on handicaps for his current yard. 

He made his handicap debut last time out and I am surely not the only person to add him into a Racing TV Tracker after he got stopped in his tracks twice in the straight. 

He had been upped in distance by four furlongs for that run and the stiffer test clearly suited him well, so I have no worries about an extra furlong here. 

I mentioned earlier this week that I believe Jake Dickson is a 7lb claimer going along nicely, and it is interesting that Gemma Tutty becomes the latest outside yard to book the claimer who is attached to the Easterby yard.