Raceday LIVE – Ribbon Is A Dancer
Related horse(s):
Ribbon Is A DancerRead our Raceday LIVE Preview below and join us ahead of the race for all the build-up and live updates from the track across our social channels on X (@CRCofficial) and Instagram (@coralofficial).
Raceday LIVE Preview
Ribbon Is A Dancer makes his long-awaited return to action today following a seven-month break. Our three-year-old gelding made three appearances towards the end of 2024 in novice company, finishing down the field in each contest. As a result of those performances, he was given a low handicap rating of 46.
Since the turn of the year, it's not been the easiest road for Ribbon Is A Dancer as he's had a few small setbacks, which is why it's taken until now for him to have his first start of the year. Trainer Hugo Palmer has been very patient with him, and so we're hoping that his patience will pay off and that Ribbon Is A Dancer can show some improvement as he steps into handicap company.
WATCH: Hugo Palmer's recent update on Ribbon Is A Dancer and Cast No Shadow

A maximum field size of 14 are due to feature in today's race, with Ribbon Is A Dancer drawn in stall 12. The going is currently Good to Soft, and today's jockey Andrew Mullen is making his debut in our Coral Racing Club silks.
Chris Dixon, Racing TV analyst, previews today's contest and has his say on Ribbon Is A Dancer's chances
Ribbon Is A Dancer returns from a break to make both his handicap and turf debut in the final race on the card at Ayr this afternoon, a low grade 0-55 handicap over 7f. Having not shown much in his first three starts it’s hard to have much confidence in the chance of Ribbon Is A Dancer but his three qualifying runs did come in a short space of time and it’s not impossible that having been gelded and given a break he returns a better horse in the first time blinkers. He will need to improve drastically but at least there are some angles there as to why he might.
The horse to beat might well be Sneddy Eddie who took advantage of a falling mark to win at Gowran last time in a big field and should go well again under similar ground conditions. However, he was strong at the finish over 1m that day and this drop in trip may not prove ideal and the other interesting runner in the race may prove to be Kalganov. He’s dropped a long way in the weights and probably isn’t the force of old but he’s had several runs this season while his yard were struggling for winners but he was still managing to run well and those runs also came on ground that was probably faster than his optimum. A slower surface for the first time in a while could be a real plus for him and I quite fancy his chances of going well.
Trainer and Jockey Statistics
Hugo Palmer has trained one winner in the past two weeks, but he does have a decent 12% strike-rate when sending runners to Ayr. In total so far in his career, he's had six winners and a further 15 hit the frame at the racetrack from 52 runners.
Andrew Mullen has also only been in the winners' enclosure once in the past couple of weeks, but the experienced jockey will know Ayr racecourse like the back of his hand having ridden 579 times there, including 53 winners. Despite riding less than 40 times for Hugo Palmer, Andrew has still managed to land over £70,000 in prize money for the Cheshire-based trainer.
Ribbon Is A Dancer's Owners for the Day
As winners of the recent Owner for the Day competition, 10 lucky Coral Racing Club members have been given the chance to enjoy an exclusive owners experience for Ribbon Is A Dancer's run at Ayr this afternoon.
What's included in an Owner for the Day prize?
- Free racecourse entry
- Access to the Owners & Trainers enclosure
- Access to the Parade Ring before the race
- Meet Ribbon Is A Dancer and the Hugo Palmer team
- Take home a 10% share of any prize money he wins
Prize Money
Today's Class 5 contest is worth £7,000 in total, with the winner set to scoop a £3,663 for their lucky owners.
2nd: £1,719 | 3rd: £858 | 4th: £429 | 5th: £214
Get paid as a WINNER in CASH up to a stake of £/€10 if your horse finishes 2nd by a neck or less behind the winner in today's 17:15 at Ayr – click here to find out more.
17:15 AYR – LATEST ODDS
We hope you enjoyed reading today's Raceday LIVE Preview. Don't forget to tune in just before 17:15 to watch Ribbon Is A Dancer's next run for the club live on the Coral Sports app.