Six things you might not know about Europe's richest sprint handicap

1 Few trainers can have won a race more times than Tom Dawson, who saddled a staggering 15 Ayr Gold Cup winners between 1835 and 1869. Dawson actually won 11 of the 12 runnings from the year of his inaugural triumph with Inheritor. Nearly two centuries on Kevin Ryan has sent out four winners of the race from the same North Yorkshire stable, most recently with subsequent Group 1 winner Brando in 2016.

2 The last Scottish-trained winner of the race was Roman Warrior in 1975 for Nigel Angus, who operated across the road from the racecourse at Cree Lodge. The big sprint has been dominated by horses from the north of England with only four winners this century including Donjuan Triumphant – who landed last year's replacement race at Haydock for Andrew Balding – hailing from the south.

3 The race was initially confined to Scottish-trained horses and run over distances of a mile and beyond. It only became a 6f contest in 1907 after the racecourse moved to its present site following the closure of the large town's former track at Belleisle. It was claimed the reason for shortening the race was to give the Duke of Montrose's Raeberry a better chance of winning, which the horse did in two of the next four years.