Alan Kelly’s Tips

Alan heads to Ayr on Friday for his best bet of the day

Updated: January 1, 2026 at 7:47 pm GMT+0

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Not the best of weeks in the lead up to the Christmas period with a loss of -£10.89.

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Alan Kelly's Tips - Friday, 2 January

With Friday's meeting at Fakenham in some doubt we head to the card at Ayr for today's horse racing selections.

The ground at the Scottish track is currently described as soft.


1:30pm Ayr - Rock On Jet (Nap)

After finishing third on his debut over fences at Hexham in October, Martin Todhunter’s Powerofjet opened his account over the bigger obstacles when justifying favouritism with a victory at Newcastle the following month. That was a pretty weak affair however and Callum Bewley’s mount will do well to follow up off a 7lb higher mark this afternoon.

Nick Alexander’s Ballyfort won a Class 5 handicap at Kelso on his return to fences following five runs over hurdles, including a victory on this course back in March. The Fame & Glory gelding is far from straightforward however, with a tendency to jump out to his left along with making the odd mistake, as when falling on his chasing debut at Hexham 14 months ago.

George Bewley’s ROCK ON JET (Nap) made all of the running to win a handicap hurdle on this course 12 months ago, beating fellow rival Ballyfort by over 6 lengths when conceding that horse 5lb. On just 1lb worse terms with the runner-up, I think this is a good opportunity for Jonathan Bewley’s mount to open his account over fences at the third attempt.

Third on his chasing debut over today’s course and distance in February, Rock On Jet was leading when hampered by a loose horse here last month, the seven-year-old eventually being pulled-up behind easy winner Truckers Cruising. Dropped 3lb to a mark of 109, I expect the Jet Away gelding to go close with a trouble-free run on this occasion. 

Recommendation: Rock On Jet (Nap) - 4/1 with bet365


2:30pm Ayr - Celestial Fashion & Auchinlek (Each-Way)

On his third start over fences, the Daragh Bourke-trained Whooly Boley, in the hands of champion jockey Sean Bowen, ran out a wide-margin winner over today’s course and distance last month. That easy victory was put down to the heavy conditions which prevailed at the Scottish track, and while soft ground is expected on this occasion, the seven-year-old will do well to follow up off a 10lb higher mark.

Theo Gillard takes over in the saddle from Bowen this afternoon, with the leading rider now aboard the Olly Murphy contender Dangerous Touch, who is almost certainly better than his two runs over fences would indicate. My two against the field for this Go North Red Rum Series Qualifier, however, are Ian Duncan’s CELESTIAL FASHION and AUCHINLEK (Each-Way) from the Sandy Thomson stable.

The former, on her first start for 291 days, jumped really well to win easily at Carlisle two months ago over 2m 4f. I don’t envisage this extra half a mile being a problem for Callum Bewley’s mount, who is more than capable of going close once again off a 7lb higher mark on just her fifth start over fences.

Auchinlek, while racing from 1lb out of the handicap, has made steady improvement on his three starts over fences, most recently when staying on to finish third over 3m 2f at Carlisle in November. That performance can be marked up as a bad mistake at the fourth fence resulted in jockey Jamie Hamilton almost being unseated, giving the seven-year-old plenty to do from the rear of the field.

With more improvement to come, Auchinlek should be capable of winning a race of this nature off a mark of just 84.

Recommendations: Celestial Fashion - 5/1 with bet365 & Auchinlek (Each-Way) - 9/1 with bet365 (4 places)



* Betting odds correct at the time of publication. All odds are subject to changes.


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About Alan Kelly

A passionate follower of horse racing for over 50 years, Alan has enjoyed a 40-year career in the betting industry, 28 of which he spent running his betting shop as an owner/manager.

A successful punter with a keen eye for value, Alan has had many betting highlights, including a Scoop 6 win and has shown a consistent profit in the battle with bookmakers since joining Freebets.com in 2008.

You can follow Alan Kelly on Twitter for more racing insight.


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Alan Kelly
Alan Kelly

A successful punter, with a keen eye for value, Alan has had many betting highlights down the years including a scoop 6 win and has shown a consistent profit in the battle with bookmakers since joining freebets.com.

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