Timeform UK SmartPlays: Monday July 21

We start over five furlongs in the 15:20. There are plenty of familiar names in the line-up and our selection Imperial Legend would be one of them. We're choosing him not because he's improving or unexposed, rather because we know exactly how good he is and exactly what his optimum conditions are. Both point towards a big run today. Second off this mark in a good race over C&D last September on ground slightly softer than is being reported today, Imperial Legend has time and again shown himself best at five furlongs and especially (though not exclusively) when the ground is on the soft side. He's definitely in form, too, shaping pretty well at York last time when he arguably went off harder than ideal. That race would be no weaker than this contest and it's expected that a more restrained ride will see Imperial Legend go close.

The race that follows (15:50) is weaker, as the Class 6 banding but also the make-up of the field tells us. Here we have a standout candidate, Surround Sound, who is duly favourite though could easily be shorter than odds current at the time of writing. It's by chance rather than design that Surround Sound is winless since last May. His form has come and gone, though when it's been present he's shown himself up to mastering this sort of mark. Those impressions have been cemented on Surround Sound's last two starts: first and most obviously when he was chopped off at Beverley when starting what looked potentially a winning run, then again suffering interference there last time. With a bit more luck today, he can set right a losing run that's artificially stretched.

The big race of the card and the day as a whole comes at 16:55. It's a Class 2 handicap over a mile, albeit an ordinary one so far as races of that grade are concerned. Former 'squiggle' bearer Dubai Dynamo is very much a reformed sort in 2014, as consistent a horse in this grade as you'll see. A couple of wins among a glut of placed efforts have put Dubai Dynamo's mark back up to its highest since his heyday, though recent evidence suggest we ought to still be interested in him. He found just a well-handicapped rival too good here back in June and since then has finished third in a hot race at Newcastle and shaped well in a muddling heat back here. This field promises to deliver the even gallop that Dubai Dynamo needs, so a return to form is expected and that being the case he deserves more respect than odds that push 8.07/1.

Timeform UK SmartPlays
All at Ayr

Back Imperial Legend @ 5.14/1 in the 15:20
Back Surround Sound @ 3.3512/5 in the 15:50
Back Dubai Dynamo @ 7.87/1 in the 16:55