Ladies Day at Ayr saved one of its best stories for the 7:30, where Lauren Young drove Thunderstorm Katie to a two-length win in the Christmas Parties At Western House Hotel Handicap at 8/1 — and the most-tipped horse on the card, Mr Cool, could manage only third.
| Pos | Horse | Jockey | SP |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Thunderstorm Katie | Lauren Young | 8/1 |
| 2nd | Whiskey Kisses | Greg Fairley | 28/1 |
| 3rd | Mr Cool | Oliver Stammers | 7/2 |
The Race Story
Jim Goldie sent three into battle in the six-furlong handicap and it was the least fancied of them who delivered. Thunderstorm Katie has been knocking on the door all season — six of her last eight runs had ended in the frame without a win — and on a night when the rain rolled in off the Firth of Clyde she found the gap in the clouds. Young had her rolling down the stands’ side inside the final quarter-mile and the 13-runner field had no answer.
Behind her, R. Mike Smith’s 28/1 shot Whiskey Kisses ran a huge race in second to make the forecast a monster. Mr Cool, the course-and-distance winner whose name sat in every tipping column in the land this morning, hit the front briefly but was swallowed up late and beaten a neck for second. The crowd groaned; the bookmakers did not.
Tipster Accountability
Our Ayr preview sided with the crowd — “Mr Cool to follow up” was the verdict — so that one goes down as a miss, and value pick Annie Edson Taylor finished out of the frame. The four-leg Ayr acca was already dead after Beechwood Glory and Tiger were both turned over, and Mr Cool makes it three legs from three beaten, with only Wicklow Way in the 8:30 left to salvage pride. No tracked tipster in today’s review had a bet here.
Looking Ahead
The 8:00 — the Book The Ladbrokes Ayr Gold Cup Handicap, a seven-furlong tune-up for next month’s big sprint — is next, with Runninsonofagun a 7/2 morning favourite and our preview’s each-way verdict on the Goldie-trained Yaaser at 7/1. On tonight’s evidence, the local yard’s runners are not to be dismissed lightly.
