Top tips for Monday: Olly Murphy to complete successful raid at Ayr

Top tips for Monday: Olly Murphy to complete successful raid at Ayr

By Harry Allwood
Last Updated: Tue 5 Dec 2023
There was some decent racing at Cheltenham on Friday and Saturday, and I have to say Chatham Street Lad’s performance in the Caspian Caviar Gold Cup gets my vote for the best performance over the two days.
To travel into the race turning for home in a race of that calibre looking like he had just joined in was quite remarkable.
Connections will be hoping the handicapper wasn’t watching as scoring by 15 lengths means his rating of 141 is going to look a lot different once he is reassessed.
Talking of his connections, you can’t help but raise a smile when trainer Mick Winters discusses his horses. A real character of the game, and one that we need more than ever to lift the spirits during these tough times.
If you missed Nick Luck’s entertaining interview with Winters on Saturday, you can watch it again below.
A few horses also caught the eye in defeat at Prestbury Park. Click here to view the ones that it could pay to follow over the coming months.
It’s a relatively quiet start to the week on Monday, but I have a couple of selections at Ayr in the afternoon plus one later on at Kempton, and both meetings will be shown live on Racing TV. Best of luck.
Olly Murphy sends two runners to Ayr on Monday and the rising star of the training ranks has hit form over the past couple of weeks, with seven winners in the last fortnight.
The first of his duo to run is Rio Quinto, who returns from a 603-day absence in the Every Race Live On Racing TV Handicap Hurdle.
This seven-year-old was one of my horses to follow a couple of seasons ago but it is fair to say he has been a shade disappointing overall.
There is no doubting he has ability though and his victory in a novices’ chase at Lingfield in 2019 is the standout piece of form in this race. That performance makes a hurdles rating of 125 look very lenient and he should cope with conditions having gone close on heavy ground in the past.
Any market support would boost confidence and the form of his stable provides hope that he will be somewhere near his best following his lay-off plus surely Murphy could have found a race closer to home if he expects his charge to be in need of a run.
If Rio Quinto doesn’t lack for fitness, then he ought to outclass his rivals here, so is worth chancing at 5-1.
Port Of Mars has shown plenty of promise in his first four starts under rules and I expect him to begin taking his form to a new level now he has embarked on a chasing career and has a run under his belt this season.
The former point winner was a cosy winner of a maiden hurdle at Chepstow in January where he comfortably defeated a 130-rated rival and was thought good enough to contest a Grade Two on his final start, and wasn’t disgraced when third behind Ramses De Teillee in that contest.
The six-year old jumped well on his chasing debut at Bangor in November and was not given a hard time under pressure suggesting he was expected to strip fitter for the run.
He is already proven in the conditions and is an exciting prospect over the larger obstacles this season. With Richard Johnson booked, he can get the better of his two market rivals, Marown and Seemorelights.
This three-year-old ran a a race full of promise after an absence of over 12 months when third at Wolverhampton in November and looks a shade overpriced at 7-1 now he has the advantage of race fitness.
He raced keenly throughout and was in the mix in that contest until the lack of a recent run, and his early exertions, took their toll and was only headed inside the final furlong.
William Knight’s charge is yet to win a race but has shown useful form in defeat, including when third in a 7f nursery at Kempton last year where he flew home having been left with plenty to do and was beaten less than two lengths behind rivals rated 87 and 80.
He was also highly-tried in a valuable auction race at the Curragh where Champers Elysees was among the runners and Commit The Nuisance was not beatan far in that contest.
He could easily be ahead of his mark of 75 here, although one slight worry is his outside draw in stall ten. Michele Strogoff, Captain Pugwash and World Title all like to get on with things though, so there is a possibility they could set the race up for a closer, and I am hoping the selection will be able to race behind the leaders before making his challenge.
He does meet a couple of consistent handicappers plus an unexposed youngster from the William Haggas yard here, but he remains lightly-raced and is worth chancing at the prices.
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