Our first Smartplay of the day goes in Beverley's 14:55, a competitive handicap staged over five furlongs; the key thing to note there is the distance as the Bryan Smart-trained Ayasha has always struck as one that could excel at the minimum trip and today represents her first attempt. The three-year-old has just a maiden win to her name but she has been campaigned mainly on the all-weather since and she appears to be a superior horse on turf. Further weight was added to that argument when she took a step back in the right direction at Ripon last time, going with plenty of zest prior to being headed inside the final furlong, and the impression is that she is not as exposed as her overall profile would indicate.
We stay at Beverley for our second selection, this time in the 16:00 with Seattle Drive taken to triumph. The Brian Ellison-trained gelding looks well treated on the form he showed as a three-year-old, the pick of which came when he finished fourth to Scrapper Smith in a decent Ayr handicap, and he has hinted at a revival the last twice. The five-year-old scored on his racecourse bow back in August of 2010 over seven furlongs but that trip looked too sharp for him when tried over it at Newcastle last month, staying on well from rear to grab fourth, and the suspicion is that he will prove ideally suited by this extended mile.
Our attention now turns to this afternoon's meeting at Bath for our final recommendation, with Rhossili Bay fancied to get off the mark at the eighth time of asking. The four-year-old made little impact in a trio of turf maidens but shaped with more encouragement in all-weather handicaps in the autumn, particularly so when putting in good late work to finish fifth on his most recent outing, and if he manages to get his act together here he looks capable of hitting the mark off a mark of 50.
Timeform SmartPlays:
Back Ayasha @ 7.87/1 in the 14:55 at Beverley
Back Seattle Drive @ 5.04/1 in the 16:00 at Beverley
Back Rhossili Bay @ 9.08/1 in the 16:45 at Bath
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