2024 Ayr Gold Cup Tips
Ramazan has been knocking on the door this season, with the four-year-old landing three runner-up positions this season. Richard Fahey trains a horse who was second out of seventeen runners at Ripon last time out, with the charge having performed really well in the Coral Stewards’ Cup when being sent off at odds of 40/1.
Mostabshir is another four-year-old running for the Gosdens and there’s lots to like about a horse who was able to land fourth place in the Coral Stewards’ Cup, with this coming after an underwhelming performance at Newmarket. There was previously a smart showing in the Buckingham Palace Stakes when landing fourth spot.
Wiltshire has solid credentials and has potentially run well for William Haggas, with the latest effort being first place on the all-weather at Newcastle at the end of June. This came after an off-colour showing at Newbury, although there was previously a success at the same racecourse and there’s no denying that the horse has the winning habit.
Albasheer was second in his previous outing and there’s the chance for the Archie Watson-trained runner to follow up on that performance in the Beverley Bullet Sprint Stakes. The horse was narrowly beaten by a head and there were also some smart performances in the middle of summer.
2023 Ayr Gold Cup Tips
Dark Trooper has plenty of credentials to land a victory in the Ayr Gold Cup and it’s likely that we’ll see the horse go off as the favourite for this race. The three-year-old runs for trainer Ed Walker, with back to back successes at Ascot Racecourse having been achieved. In the Fever-Tree Handicap, there was a victory over six furlongs on good to firm ground.
This came after a win in the Shergar Cup Sprint at the same course, with this being a victory by over two lengths, while there have also been successes at Yarmouth and Haydock. Meanwhile, Orazio has more to prove after finishing well down the order in the Coral Stewards’ Cup, although the trainer claimed that the going was too soft on that occasion.
That wasn’t the case for Aberama Gold who was able to beat a huge field to claim a victory over six furlongs. The six-year-old has achieved back to back successes this term before drawing a blank at York Racecourse in his last outing, with no explanation for this below-par performance although perhaps we’ll see a return to form.
Albasheer runs for trainer Archie Watson and finished eighth out of twenty-two runners at the Curragh in his previous outing, with this coming after dead heating for a victory in the Constantine Handicap at York Racecourse. That came over six furlongs at the end of August, with Hollie Doyle once again on board this lively contender.
2022 Ayr Gold Cup Tips
Great Ambassador has yet to register a win during the current Flat season, with the horse starting off on a flat note when finishing last of twenty-four when running in the Platinum Jubilee Stakes. However, there has been gradual improvement every time that the horse has ran since that outing.
After finishing midfield in the bet365 Hackwood Stakes, there was a decent showing to land sixth place in the Coral Stewards’ Cup when Saffie Osbourne gave the horse a tremendous spin, while the five-year-old rewarded each-way backers when obliging in the Jenningsbet Hopeful Stakes to land third spot.
However, many horse racing punters will pass over the race favourite in favour of Commanche Falls, with Michael Dods having high hopes when it comes to a five-year-old who has been in the winners’ enclosure this season. The horse was sent off as the 25/1 outsider although a victory in the Stewards’ Cup made a statement.
It was then on to the Knavesmire where the horse landed second spot in the Sky Bet Constantine Handicap, with Fresh also commanding respect. There was a fine win in the Moet & Chandon International Stakes over seven furlongs, with James Fanshawe now hoping to engineer another high-profile victory.
It could also be worth considering Juan Les Pins who has enjoyed a string of wins and has to be respected. Michael Appleby has the horse firing since he came to the yard and the latest victory came at Doncaster at the beginning of August. This is a big step up in class and Inver Park landed three straight wins before falling short as favourite in the Stewards’ Cup.
Great Ambassador Favourite to Win 2021 Ayr Gold Cup
Ed Walker trains Great Ambassador and he has seen his four-year-old land two victories this year, with Luke Morris riding the horse to a win on the all-weather at Kempton Racecourse, with the runner also scoring a handicap win at Newmarker over six furlongs.
Indeed, the horse hasn’t been out of the places all season and ran a decent race when running in the Stewards’ Cup and finishing third at 8/1 which probably marks this horse as a decent each-way shout, especially as the charge has shown he can act on lots of different ground.
Boosala, Commanche Falls and Jumby Next in the Betting
Commanche Falls was the winner of the Stewards’ Cup and some might think that the Michael Dods-trained runner has won four of his past six renewals, with the four-year-old having already rocked up at Ayr Racecourse at the beginning of the season where he was a six-furlong winner on good to firm ground at 100/30.
The one downside is that this horse will be carrying four more pounds than Great Ambassador, with this potentially being a hamstring for a runner who has been put up by the handicapper. The runner has shown time and again that he can make the winners’ enclosure.
Boosala hasn’t been seen at a racecourse for a long time although there were a couple of impressive wins as a two-year-old at York and Windsor, with the runner last seen on Boxing Day 2020 and it’s therefore hard to judge the William Haggas-trained runner for this clash.
Jumby is trained by Eve Johnson Houghton and the horse recently won a six furlong encounter at Salisbury after finishing third behind Great Ambassador at Newmarket, with this making up for previously underwhelming performances at the same track as well as the Commonwealth Cup at Royal Ascot.
2020 Ayr Gold Cup Betting
When it comes to flat racing in Scotland, there are few horse races that are more prestigious than the Ayr Gold Cup. This takes place over six furlongs and the race meeting is one of the final ones north of the border before the season transitions to National Hunt racing.
The 2020 Ayr Gold Cup was scheduled to take place earlier in the season like many other renewals although the COVID-19 pandemic means that it’s only now that we get to see horses lining up in their attempt to land a share of the spoils.
The latest Gold Cup racecard reveals a wide open race in the offing and King’s Lynn is the standout horse in terms of prestigious owner, with The Queen hoping that her charge can not only land an entry at Ayr Racecourse for this encounter but also run a strong race for her majesty.
Andrew Balding trains a horse that began his career with a second-placed finish at Windsor before claiming a maiden victory in a two-year-old race at Doncaster Racecourse nearly a year ago.
Chil Chil, Dakota Gold, Kimi Five and Nahaarr Among Favourites
We always seem to get a wide open heat when it comes to the Ayr Gold Cup and the 2020 racecard is no exception, with Chil Chil another Andrew Balding-trained horse that is edging favoritism for this race with certain bookmakers like William Hill at the time of writing.
Chil Chil was seen at Ascot Racecourse as recently as 8 August where the four-year-old obliged to win a racing handicap over six furlongs and there’s therefore no reason why we can’t expect another big performance from this horse with a lot of heart.
However, Dakota Gold looks another viable contender, with the Michael Dods-trained horse having a wealth of experience and the runner looked in tremendous shape when recently scoring at Beverley which was over five furlongs on soft ground.
Kimifive also has plenty of races under his belt although the horse proved to be underwhelming at Ripon in the middle of August after previously impressing at Goodwood.
The History of the Ayr Gold Cup
The Ayr Gold Cup was first inaugurated in 1804 and it’s one of the biggest races in Scotland, with Dazzle the most successful horse after recording a consecutive hat-trick of wins between 1889-1891.
More recently, winners have included Brando, Donjuan Triumphant and Angel Alexander, while we had an astonishing outcome in the 2018 Ayr Gold Cup where runners Baron Bolt and Son Of Rest were in a dead heat after finishing in a heap across the line.
Many punters enjoy studying the Ayr Gold Cup racecard and working out a few winners for this race and the rest of the card, with the Gold Cup traditionally a great race for each-way bettors.
We’re coming towards the end of the 2019 Flat horse racing season, although there are still several big races to take place and that includes the Ayr Gold Cup, with the bookmakers having run an antepost book for this encounter over the past several weeks.
There are only twenty-five runners that can line up for this six furlong encounter at the Scottish track, with William Hill sponsoring a race which is a real test of speed and it’s often on testing conditions, with Victory Day currently trading at 13/2 with the sponsor to win the race.
Jamie Spencer is almost certain to take the ride and the jockey previously steered the three-year-old to success at the same track on 1 August, with the horse winning the Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup Sprint a few weeks ago.
On that occasion, Victory Day claimed the spoils as 7/4 favourite, although this is a much sterner challenge and the horse is going to have to fend off several other classy horses in the race.
William Haggas certainly has a promising horse on his hands, having been either first or second in his three outings to date. There was a facile Maiden Stakes victory at Ripon before narrowly finishing second in a Sprint Handicap at York.
Every other horse in the race is likely to be trading at a double figure price when the declarations are announced on a 72-hour and 48-hour basis, with trainer David O’Meara having a couple of interesting runners who are likely to run well.
Cold Stare did very little in his first two outings this season, although the four-year-old then came to life at Haydock when winning the Betway Dash Handicap. That victory was on heavy ground, so O’Meara might want some cut in the turf is this stable performer is going to run well.
Summerghand is yet to score a win over six outings during the current season, with the five-year-old having notched second place on three separate visits to the racecourse and perhaps this will be the occasion where the horse strikes it lucky.
There was plenty to admire at Ripon on 17 August, with Danny Tudhope giving the horse a cracking ride to finish second behind Dakota Gold over six furlongs and that was on soft ground.
Now that Dakota Gold has been confirmed as out of the race, the field has really opened up, with connections to that horse deciding against an outing at Ayr considering that the horse would have been subject to another penalty.
Trainer Michael Dods said: "He won't run in the Ayr Gold Cup as he has another penalty. Connor said he wouldn't be frightened to go back to five furlongs in this company with a bit of soft ground – he could just let him roll instead of having to restrain him.
"There is a Group 3 at Newbury on Ayr Gold Cup day and that's a possibility."
Sir Michael Stoute has a lively contender in the race in the form of Alkraama, with the three-year-old having won on three occasions already this season and we might well see another impressive outing from this charge.
Alkraama acted well on good to firm ground at Ascot recently, finishing second behind Swindler although he has previously scored wins on the all-weather tracks of Chelmsford and Wolverhampton, while there were also encouraging performances at Doncaster and Thirsk.
Amanda Perrett is a lower-profile trainer although she has an exciting five-year-old in the form of Open Wide, with the horse having ran no less than ten times this season although this will be the first outing to Ayr.
Open Wide was narrowly third behind Alkraama in that Ascot encounter in September, while there were also recent impressive wins at Windsor and Goodwood, with punters unlikely to be surprised if this particular horse makes the frame.
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