Sprinters in form are worth following blindly, which makes Jigajig hard to overlook tomorrow as he makes the journey to Ayr from North Yorkshire.
Trained by Kevin Ryan, who took him over from Noel Wilson, the three-year-old son of Compton Place is on a roll at present.
He has won three of his last four races and his latest victory was his most impressive yet; a clear-cut triumph at Musselburgh last Friday night under Amy Ryan, who takes the mount again tomorrow.
The added bonus is that Jigajig does not incur an extra penalty for his latest success, which was achieved in an apprentices’ race, and so only carries a single 6lb penalty for his previous Wolverhampton triumph, which was gained early last week.
Equally at home over five or six furlongs, Jigajig is going to take plenty of catching in the Paul Maclagan Belhaven’s Best Manager 2009 Handicap, which is run over the minimum trip.
Paul Hanagan can make his presence felt at the Scottish track.
He teams up with another from the Ryan yard, the promising Lexi’s Hero (2.20), who shaped well to finish second on his debut at Hamilton, and will also be aboard Justonefortheroad (3.50), trained by Richard Fahey.
The latter, a Redcar winner last September, is owned by the Pontoon Partnership, which includes former Newcastle United legend Alan Shearer. Although without a preparatory run this season, Justonefortheroad is unlikely to fail on the score of fitness being from the Fahey stable, which sends out plenty of first time out winners.
Hanagan also teams up with Hosanna (5.20), whose second-placed effort at Musselburgh last Friday night was a big improvement on previous performances. If Jim Barclay’s runner can repeat that performance, a bold bid looks assured in this modest handicap.
At Newcastle’s evening meeting, Noodles Blue Boy, trained by Ollie Pears, should be noted in the Jonny Craib 40th Birthday Handicap.
A winner at Beverley on his latest start, Noodles Blue Boy goes particularly well on stiff tracks and is, indeed, a dual winner here at Newcastle. He promises to go well under Tony Hamilton, his winning partner from Beverley.
Tagseed should not be dismissed lightly in the IPC Security Handicap.
The William Haggas-trained four-year-old lost his maiden tag at Warwick last time. That was only his third start and he is open to further improvement. Off a reasonable mark of 80 in this, his first handicap, he warrants the nap vote.
The speedily-bred Elsie’s Star (6.25) and course and distance winner Sendali (8.10) are two others to note at Gosforth Park.
Racing selections
Ayr
2.20 Lexi’s Hero, 2.50 Jigajig, 3.20 Mutafajer, 3.50 Justonefortheroad, 4.20 Grand Diamond, 4.50 Saxford, 5.20 Hosanna.
Newcastle
6.25 Elsie’s Star, 7.00 Tagseed (NAP), 7.35 Island Dreams, 8.10 Sendali, 8.40 Noodles Blue Boy, 9.15 Battlemaiden.
Tomorrow’s other meetings:
Brighton, Sandown, Wetherby and Wolverhampton.
Today’s meetings:
Ayr, Beverley, Ffos Las, Sedgefield and Southwell.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here