Ayr Gold Cup

The Ayr Gold Cup (known as the William Hill Gold Cup for sponsorship purposes) is a flat horse race in Scotland which is open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Ayr, over a distance of 6 furlongs (1,207 metres), and it is scheduled to take place each year in September.

The event was established in 1804, and it was originally restricted to horses bred and trained in Scotland. It was initially contested over two separate heats of 2 miles, and for a long period thereafter it was a single race of 2 miles. It became a handicap in 1855, and its distance was cut to 6 furlongs in 1908. The Ayr Gold Cup is now the richest sprint handicap in Europe. It is presently sponsored by William Hill.

Among its most popular winners was Roman Warrior, who became a national hero in Scotland after carrying top weight to win by a short head in 1975; he remains the last Scottish-trained horse to have won the race.

The current maximum number of runners is 27, taken from the highest-weighted horses entered for the race. Those eliminated are offered the chance to compete for the Ayr Silver Cup,and the next 27 to accept the offer run in that consolation race. Those still elimanted from the Silver are then offered the chance contest the Ayr Bronze Cup, which was introduced in 2009. Again, there are a maximum of 27 runners in this race. The results of the Bronze and Silver Cups, both run over the same course and distance, may hint at a possible draw advantage in the Gold Cup, although often the winners in each race have been drawn far apart.

The Draw

There is often much debate concerning the effect of the draw (the allocation of stall positions from which the horses start the race), and whether there is any advantage in being drawn low, middle or high. Horses with the highest stall numbers run on the stands' side, while those with low numbers are on the far side. However, there are no apparent trends when comparing the draw positions of previous winners.

The draw now takes place in public two days before the event at Ayr Racecourse. As the names of the runners are drawn, the trainer (or representative) is given 60 seconds to choose an available stall number for the horse.

Winners since 1986

• Weights given in stones and pounds.

Year	Winner	Age	Weight	Jockey	Trainer	Draw	SP	Time
1986	Green Ruby	5	8-11	John Williams	Toby Balding	17	025.0025/1	1:10.60
1987	Not So Silly	3	7-10	Gary Bardwell	Alan Bailey	4	012.0012/1	1:15.29
1988	So Careful	5	7-07	Nicky Carlisle	Jack Berry	6	033.0033/1	1:14.54
1989	Joveworth	6	8-00	Jimmy Fortune	Mike O'Neill	6	050.0050/1	1:14.92
1990	Final Shot	3	8-02	John Lowe	Peter Easterby	8	012.0012/1	1:13.80
1991	Sarcita	3	8-10	Brett Doyle	David Elsworth	18	014.0014/1	1:09.36
1992	Lochsong	4	9-00	Francis Arrowsmith	Ian Balding	28	010.0010/1	1:15.51
1993	Hard to Figure	7	9-06	Ray Cochrane	Ron Hodges	8	012.0012/1	1:09.05
1994	Daring Destiny	3	8-00	Jason Tate	Karl Burke	29	018.0018/1	1:14.61
1995	Royale Figurine	4	8-09	Darryll Holland	M. Fetherston-Godley	27	008.008/1	1:11.11
1996	Coastal Bluff	4	9-10	Jimmy Fortune	David Barron	28	003.003/1 F	1:09.54
1997	Wildwood Flower	4	9-03	Dane O'Neill	Richard Hannon	24	014.0014/1	1:11.64
1998	Always Alight	4	8-07	John Egan	Karl Burke	8	016.0016/1	1:16.12
1999	Grangeville	4	9-00	Kieren Fallon	Ian Balding	17	011.0011/1	1:11.16
2000	Bahamian Pirate	5	8-00	Adrian Nicholls	David Nicholls	7	033.0033/1	1:13.47
2001	Continent	4	8-10	Darryll Holland	David Nicholls	22	010.0010/1	1:09.70
2002	Funfair Wane	3	9-03	Adrian Nicholls	David Nicholls	16	016.0016/1	1:11.76
2003	Quito	6	8-06	Tony Culhane	David Chapman	10	020.0020/1	1:09.90
2004	Funfair Wane	5	8-06	Paul Doe	David Nicholls	8	033.0033/1	1:16.15
2005	Presto Shinko	4	9-02	Seb Sanders	Richard Hannon	2	012.0012/1	1:12.45
2006	Fonthill Road	6	9-02	Paul Hanagan	Richard Fahey	6	016.0016/1	1:12.70
2007	Advanced	4	9-09	Jamie Spencer	Kevin Ryan	22	020.0020/1	1:12.91
2008	Regal Parade	4	8-10	William Carson, Jr.	David Nicholls	20	018.0018/1	1:15.48
2009	Jimmy Styles	5	9-02	Frankie Dettori	Clive Cox	15	014.0014/1	1:11.35
2010	Redford	5	9-02	Frankie Dettori	David Nicholls	17	014.0014/1	1:10.26
2011	Our Jonathan	4	9-06	Franny Norton	Kevin Ryan	12	011.0011/1	1:15.35

References

• Racing Post:
  • 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997
  • 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007
  • 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011

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• galopp-sieger.de – Ayr Gold Cup.
• pedigreequery.com – Ayr Gold Cup – Ayr.
• The Breedon Book of Horse Racing Records. Breedon Books. 1993. p. 183. ISBN 1-873626-15-0. 

See also

• Horseracing in Great Britain
• List of British flat horse races