Two bets for Ayr

There is plenty of competitive racing at Ayr over the next two days, quite apart from tomorrow’s Coral Scottish Grand National. With some decent prize money on offer too, it is not surprising that the quality of the cards is high.

The Coral Scottish Champion Hurdle (tomorrow, 2.25 p.m.), unlike its English counterpart at the Cheltenham Festival, is a handicap and, as such, there are plenty of horses in with a chance of landing the £56,000-plus prize for the winner.

Dan Skelton’s L’Eau du Sud is understandably at the top of the market after two big runs in his last two races, notably when runner-up last time out in the BetMGM County Handicap Hurdle at the Festival. However, odds of 4-1 or less are unappealing, especially as he is creeping up the handicap too.

I feel guilty about deserting Cracking Rhapsody as he did this column a big favour when winning the bet365 Morebattle Hurdle at Kelso last month, but tomorrow’s contest looks more competitive and he, too, is up in the ratings.