Track braced for downpours in build-up to three-day meeting

Ayr’s three-day Gold Cup meeting could start on ground that is heavy in places on Thursday if up to 15mm of rain falls overnight at the track as forecast.

But a drier outlook afterwards means clerk of the course Graeme Anderson does not expect Saturday’s £200,000 William Hill Ayr Gold Cup to be run in those conditions.

Anderson said on Wednesday: “It’s going to be a slow-ground meeting and at the moment we’re calling it soft.

“We’ve got up to 15mm of rain forecast to come from 4pm Wednesday to around 4am on Thursday, but it'll be dry thereafter with a bit of wind. We’re hoping we might miss the majority of that rain, but it’s a waiting game.

"If we get what they're saying, then we'll be heading towards heavy in places on Thursday unfortunately. But if the wind is right it dries out quick and I wouldn’t think we'd be like that on Saturday.”

More money on offer

More than £700,000 in prize-money is on offer over the three days. The Doonside Cup, worth £65,000, is Thursday’s highlight, while Friday’s card has been enhanced by a new contest, the Listed Al Maktoum Cup Arran Scottish Fillies' Sprint Stakes, which has a value of £50,000.

The five-and-a-half furlong contest has attracted 17 declarations, headed by the Richard Fahey-trained Queen Kindly.

The daughter of Frankel is the mount of Paul Hanagan, who hopes to return to action with three rides at Ayr on Thursday following two days off to recover from a severe allergic reaction to a wasp sting that left his hand swollen ‘like a mini-football’.

New clerk of the course

Anderson, 38 and from Ayr, is preparing to take charge of the meeting for the first time since being appointed clerk, 12 years since joining the course as a groundsman.

Anderson said about Friday’s enhanced card: “Saturday was always a bit top-heavy so we’re trying to spread good racing across the three days to make it more like a festival.”

Shanghai Glory was on Wednesday the 8-1 favourite with the sponsors for the Ayr Gold Cup ahead of 12-1 chance Donjuan Triumphant.

Categorised as a heritage handicap, the Ayr Gold Cup is safe from losing its historic title, unlike the Ayrshire Handicap. Once worth £40,000, the £30,000 contest for horses rated 0-105 has been quixotically renamed the Champion Mile.

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