Irish interest at Ayr today No doubt to the relief of trainers based in the north of England and those in Scotland, Gordon Elliott doesn’t bring his lesser horses across the water quite as frequently as he did in the earlier years of his training career. The Cullentra House handler has often sent over strong raiding parties to the likes of Perth, where he has a particularly impressive strike rate, and he’s had a fair measure of success at Ayr as well. Elliott has two runners at the latter venue today, with Fancy Foundations chasing a hat-trick in the 2m5f novices’ hurdle at 12.40pm. Under a double penalty following wins at Downpatrick and Hereford, Richard Johnson’s mount is morning favourite to account for four rivals. Winning hunter-chaser Samurai Cracker, trained in County Down by Caroline McCaldin, is next in the market and Richie McLernon’s mount wouldn’t be a forlorn hope on the pick of his hurdling efforts and in receipt of a stone from the favourite. In the opener on the Ayr card at 12.05pm, Elliott runs Lucky Fella with Johnson again on board. This 3-year-old takes on his elders in a 2m maiden hurdle after some respectable runs in juvenile hurdles on home soil. Nicky Richards bumper winner Wetlands looks the one to beat here, has been very strong in morning betting and will go off odds-on favourite with McCaldin’s newcomer Happy Diva amongst the outsiders. Denis Hogan wouldn’t be the first sportsman to come out of retirement and it would appear the lure of the action has proved irresistible to the Cloughjordan trainer who signed off with a winner when last seen in the saddle at Galway in July. He rides Grozni, second favourite at around 3/1 this morning, in the concluding bumper at Ayr (3.20pm) and the son of Saddler Maker was second in a point-to-point in September. Nicky Richards again supplies the main danger in morning favourite Nells Son, touched off by a nose on his debut at Doncaster in February. Hogan then travels south to ride Paddy The Wire, fourth on bumper debut at Limerick last month, in the concluding bumper at Catterick tomorrow.
