Fahey's Red set to Strike Gold in Cup sprint at Ayr

CHRIS WRIGHT AIMS TO BE FIRST PAST THE FINISHING POST WITH TODAY'S TOP TIPS

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STRIKE RED can secure victory in the Ladbrokes Ayr Gold Cup Handicap (Heritage Handicap) (3.35pm) at Ayr this afternoon.

Richard Fahey's seven-year-old can finally grab a first win of the season in the sprint feature in Scotland. Strike Red invariably competes in these big six-furlong handicaps and although he is not exactly prolific he has what it takes to take at least one win a season.

He won the Sprint Trophy at York in 2022 and another over six-and-a-half furlongs at the Curragh in July 2023.

The gelded son of Dark Angel has not won since landing another big-field contest, the Coral Sprint Trophy at York, last October, but is only 2lb higher in the handicap than for that victory, while his triumph in Ireland two years ago was from the rating of 95 he currently sits on.

He can be a force in these prestigious handicaps when things go his way and was a fine second to the reopposing Two Tribes at the Qatar Glorious Goodwood Festival and has run well in defeat in several contests including at Royal Ascot, York, and Hamilton over the past 12 months or so.

He got too far behind in the Constantine Handicap at York's Ebor meeting last month and probably found the ground a bit too firm when ninth on his most recent outing.

But with a much softer surface likely in Scotland, Strike Red should be in the firing line and if things drop right for him he can get his head back in front.

Naturally as ever, the Ayr Gold Cup is hugely competitive and there are several others who can go well including the improving Michael Dods-trained three-year-old Northern Ticker, who won a similar contest at York last month; Kevin Ryan's Hammer The Hammer and the aforementioned Two Tribes, from the Richard Spencer stable.