Snazzy Jazzy

Snazzy Jazzy was an impressive winner of the Ayr Silver Cup, and he did well to win in the circumstances. Slowly away from stall 23, he ended up racing in a small group of three that raced towards the near side. His two rivals on the rail didn't carry him very far into the race, Hector Crouch had to get out after the leaders from the 3f pole. About 5l behind the overall leaders at that point, he had to do a lot of running on his own, but he found plenty. He hit the front overall before they reached the 1f marker, and he was strong through the final furlong, going 2l clear and keeping on really well all the way to the line to win by a length and a half from Al Qahwa, who kept on well on the far side.

It was a fine performance by Clive Cox's horse, who became the first three-year-old to win the Silver Cup since Colonel Mak won it in 2010. Unbeaten in three runs last season as a juvenile, his season culminating in victory in the valuable Tattersalls Ireland sales race at The Curragh on Irish Champions Weekend last September, he was disappointing on his first three runs this season. But he had run encouragingly at Goodwood on his last run before Ayr, and his Silver Cup run was a significant step forward from that.

The handicapper raised him by 7lb to a mark of 102 for his Silver Cup win, but he can probably be marked up at least a little on the bare form of his run. Also, his new mark is just 2lb higher than the mark on which he started off this season. Only three, he has run just eight times, so he retains plenty of scope for further progression. He does seem to appreciate this easy ground, he is now three for three on ground softer than good, so he should do well at this time of year. He holds an entry in the Coral Sprint Trophy at York on Saturday. He ran very poorly on his only attempt at York to date, so that would be a slight concern in the context of that race, if he did take his chance, but that was on fast ground, so it may have been down to the ground more than the course. Either way, he will be of interest wherever he runs next.

Ayr, 22^nd September 2018

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