Grantley Adams holds each-way value

The annual cavalry charge down Ayr's 6f has been unkind to punters recently, but those who put in the effort have reaped the rewards, with six of the last ten winners bolting in at 16/1 or bigger. It's no surprise to see sprint king Dandy Nicholls enter five runners in a race in which he traditionally excels. Nicholls boasts four wins in the last seven runnings of the £75,000 race, and Bet365 have chalked up 3/1 that he wins the contest again. Richard Fahey sends out last year's winner Fonthill Road amongst his trio of entries, and the firm make the Musley Bank trainer a 9/2 chance to repeat last year's success. Frankie Dettori's mount, Indian Trail, vies for favouritism with top weight Borderlescott and Knot in Wood, another Fahey runner. All three have obvious claims. The genial Italian jockey has already coaxed Indian Trail to two victories in September. Remarkably, Dettori's first ride on the gelding culminated in a smooth victory over Fantasy Believer at Sandown on the first day of this month. It was the seven-year-old's first visit to the winner's enclosure since July last year, and the success arrested a losing run of 14. Those two victories though, were over 5f, and on Good to Firm - hardly an advertisement for winning a race over 6f on soft ground. Borderlescott has run some huge races in defeat this year, most notably going down by a short head to Zidane in the Stewards Cup at Goodwood. The heavy burden of top weight should be enough to see him beaten, however, perhaps something that equally applies to Knot in Wood, although both have good berth positions.It always pays to run near a rail in contests of this nature, despite both Funfair Wane and Quito blazing a trial up the middle in 2002 and 2003 respectively. One such well-drawn horse, Grantley Adams, looks massively over-priced. Mick Channon's gelding put in an eye-catching performance behind Beckermet a week ago in a Listed contest. It was a creditable effort, but the performance that really showed he could win a contest of this nature was his fifth in the Wokingham behind Dark Missile at Royal Ascot. That race was run over today's distance, and crucially, over soft ground. The four-year-old was the first to finish on the near-side that day, and if you look down the list, he gave Zidane 4lbs and a half-a-length beating. Drawn 26 in a field of 28, he looks each-way value at around 25/1. Others to consider are Irish raider Bentwilt Breeze, drawn in stall six, and Mark Tomkins' Steenberg who should have conditions to suit to ran a big race at an enormous price. Verdict: 2pts E/W Grantley Adams @ 25/1 (Betfred, VCBet) (Editor's Note: The Ayr Gold Cup has seen some high-priced winners in recent years and Grantley Adams presents great each-way value. Get on the latest price at Betfred and VCBet!)