Paul Mulrennan Column: my weekend rides plus Azure Blue views

The drop back to six furlongs really helped Agonyclite at Hamilton on Thursday (watch above).

He had been racing over a mile previously and had dropped back to seven furlongs at Catterick on his previous start, when I probably got there a little too soon.

He travelled strongly that day, so we decided we’d drop him back even further, with this opening another door for the future. He’s a big horse, so the rain before and during racing was helpful.

I’m grabbing a lift with Joe Fanning back there tonight for two booked rides.

Rock Melody (7.05pm) contests the feature Scottish Stewards’ Cup. She won a couple of nice five-furlong handicaps at Musselburgh and was a good third over six furlongs in the Ayr Gold Cup Trial on Monday. That was a competitive race and I think this will be run to suit as well, so I’d be disappointed if she is not in the money.

Tafsir (8.50pm) bids to supplement her recent Musselburgh win. She had been knocking on the door, so deserved that first success. She beat her stablemate Spanish Hustle – a winner yesterday – on that occasion, so the form has worked out straight away. If the ground is very soft, that could be a little bit of an unknown, but the trip will be fine.

I’m bound for Newbury on Saturday to take the ride aboard my old friend Euchen Glen. We linked up there in late 2020 to win the Group Three St Simon Stakes.

The Old Newton Cup was a write-off last time. The race didn’t suit a hold-up horse, the ground was lively enough, and he was drawn out in the car park, so it is relatively easy to put a line through that form.

Nevertheless, he’s a ten-year-old now, so you would like to have thought that the handicapper could have taken the opportunity to cut him a little more slack.

Many factors counted against Azure Blue in last week’s Pertemps Network July Cup at Newmarket.

She was poorly drawn, the ground was plenty soft enough, and I couldn’t get any cover during the race.

Take nothing away from the winner, Shaquille. He’s a special horse who does just about everything wrong and yet still wins.

Dane O’Neill suffered some nasty injuries, including a fractured thoracic vertebrae and various ribs, in a fall at Wolverhampton recently.

I’d like to take the opportunity to wish Dane well in his recovery. You never really know what is around the corner in this game, and I was fortunate to escape injury in a fall at Ayr on Monday. Sadly, my mount St Andrew’s Castle, who suffered a heart attack, wasn’t so lucky.

I’ll be busy next week with Ayr (Monday), Musselburgh (Tuesday), and Catterick (Wednesday) all to come before the two-day York fixture next Friday and Saturday.

Braes Of Doune could head to Musselburgh and would have a squeak if doing so. The form of his recent Ayr win was given a boost by Rory The Cat at Beverley this week.