Richard Birch's play of the day at Ayr

Pinpoint

Pinpoint, the sole course-and-distance winner in Ayr's 5f handicap, holds outstanding claims in a weak race.

The Ewan Whillans-trained sprinter ran on strongly to beat Showboated by three-quarters of a length off a 4lb lower mark in April, when firmly on top at the finish.

Zaphea finished three and a quarter lengths behind the winner in third that day yet renews rivalry on 5lb worse terms after wins at Musselburgh and Hamilton.

There is another formline with Zaphea from Bath last August which strongly suggests Pinpoint is the one to back.

On that occasion my selection again finished to good effect to nail Zaphea well inside the final furlong and beat her by a length. Pinpoint is 6lb better off with Zaphea this time.

Pinpoint went close to adding to his tally at Wetherby last month when beaten a neck by Batal Dandy, being mugged in the final stride after hitting the front ten yards from the line.

His last two performances have lacked spark, but both can readily be excused. After all, he may not have appreciated the easy underfoot conditions at Thirsk behind Glory Hyde and he could never get competitive after a tardy start at Carlisle, a race that was dominated from start to finish by the well-handicapped Runninwild.

The fitting of first-time cheekpieces allied to the return to Ayr on his favoured fast ground makes Pinpoint a most attractive betting proposition, and the son of Due Diligence rates a strong fancy to record a third career success.