Progressive Royal Rhyme enters Champion Stakes picture with convincing Doonside triumph at Ayr

The Ayr Gold Cup may have been the feature race, but the best performance of the weekend came earlier on the Ayr card as Royal Rhyme maintained his rise up the rankings with a convincing success in the Doonside Cup to record an improved Racing Post Rating of 118+.

The Karl Burke-trained colt had looked a potential Group horse when running away with a competitive Goodwood handicap on soft ground at the Glorious meeting early last month and took this step up into Listed company in his stride. He impressed in the way he ran down the front-running John Smith's Cup winner Pride Of America and looked a shade better than the bare form at least, with the pair finishing six lengths clear of recent Group 3 Royal Whip Stakes third Helvic Dream.

Royal Rhyme holds an entry for the Champion Stakes next month, and while that would require a significant step forward for him to be competitive, it is by no means fanciful given his liking for soft ground and the fact six of the last ten renewals have been run on soft or heavy (once) ground.