Englishman To Spoil The Scottish Party

Jazz Ranger never got to the front at Listowel, and I knew our goose was cooked after 100 yards. He was allowed to come home in his own time, and the only consolation was that Balofilo didn't make a complete mug of me and win for Cullinane. With all the rain about soft ground has been a recurring theme, and one horse that will enjoy getting his toe in is Englishman in the Bronze Cup at Ayr.

The irony of this selection is plain to see, given that this is Scotland's flagship flat meeting. If ever a winner of the Ayr Bronze Cup was going to be booed then this is the one, but I reckon Milton Bradley's charge can show the Scots who is boss. Bradley hasn't got a huge amount of ammunition in his arsenal, but when he has a lethal weapon he knows how to use it to inflict maximum damage.

Englishman is a 6yo gelded son of Royal Applause, and he has been the flag-bearer for Bradley this season. After a pipe opener at Doncaster he won two on the trot, off 82 under Franny Norton at Windsor (6f soft) and then two weeks later off 85 at Newmarket (6f good) with Joe Fanning on board. That earned him a rating of 91, but three below par runs from four efforts since has seen his mark slide back to 87.

He was given a couple of months off by Bradley during the summer, and he blew away the cobwebs at Haydock last time over an inadequate 5f (when he fell out of the stalls...). That should put him cherry ripe for the return to 6f and he is off a mark of 87, a pound below his highest winning rating. Two of his four wins have come in fields of 16 runners, so the hustle and bustle of today's race won't faze him. Affable Scouser Franny Norton will be back on board and, though his draw may not be ideal, I think Englishman ticks a lot of the right boxes for the Bronze Cup. He is well worth an each way interest at his current odds of 20/1.

STEVOS' SELECTION AYR BRONZE CUP: ENGLISHMAN 20/1 E/W