ADVANCED A WORTHY WINNER OF GOLD CUP

ADVANCED A WORTH WINNER OF GOLD CUP
SCOTLAND'S biggest and best flat race meeting of the year more than lived up to its billing last week with three great days of racing at Ayr's totesport Gold Cup Festival.
Racing aficionados all agreed that this year's meeting will go down as one of the best ever and the highlight of the week, the totesport.com Ayr Gold Cup, produced a worthy winner in Advanced trained by Kevin Ryan and ridden by title chasing jockey Jamie Spencer.
Advanced, a 20/1 chance, came late and fast on the stands rail to collar Benwilt Breeze(22/1) and win by a neck with 100/1 shot Patavellian back in third. To underline the quality of the race the winner is rated 109, the third highest rated horse in the history of the race to win it.
First Minister Alex Salmond presented the Gold Cup to winning connections and later he said : "The Ayr Gold Cup is one of my favourite sporting occasions. It was a great day and Ayr Racecourse looks magnificent."
Friday's totesport.com Silver cup proved easy pickings for both the winner Utmost Respect and the punters. The Richard Fahey trained, Paul Hanagan ridden three year-old was gambled from 7/1 in the morning to 11/4 favourite and landed the odds by a comfortable length and a half from Northern Dare (14/1).
Saturday's eight race card was probably one of the best in terms of quality in the 100 year history of racing at the course and the classiest race on the card was the Doonside Cup. This Listed Race was won in some style by Anna Pavlova (4/1), trained by Richard Fahey and ridden by Paul Hanagan. The filly came with a wet sail to win by a length and three quarters from Dunaskin (50/1).
Trainer Brian Smart saddled a useful two year old filly in the shape of Unilateral to land the £60,000 Laundry Cottage Stud Firth Of Clyde Stakes in the hands of Frankie Dettori. The 5/1 shot battled bravely to hang on by three quarters of a length from Broken Applause (9/1).
Smart also had a winner on Friday when Captain Gerrard (5/6 fav), ridden by Tom Eaves, won the James Barr Chartered Surveyors Harry Roseberry Stakes for the South Ayrshire Cup by two lengths from Look Busy (12/1).
Other Saturday winners included Kevin Ryan's Cobo Bay (14/1), ridden by Darryll Holland in the You Can't Predict FA Nursery; Fremen (7/1), trained by Dandy Nicholls and ridden by son Adrian in the totescoop6 Ayrshire Handicap and Commando Scott (7/2 fav), ridden by Royston Ffrench and trained by Ian McInnes, in the Kelvin KBB Handicap.
The meeting got underway on Thursday when the feature race, the Knight Frank Handicap for the Kilkerran Cup was won by The Grey Berry (7/1) in the hands of Paul Hanagan for trainer Tim Walford.
Top jockeys at the meeting were Hanagan and Adrian T Nicholls each with four winners.
Crowds were up on each of the three days with 13,000 viewing the Gold Cup on Saturday - more than 2000 up on last year - and 6,300 attending Ladies Day Final on Friday more than 700 up on 2006.
Ayr Racecourse General manager William Gorol said : "It was a truly memorable meeting - great crowds, great racing and on Saturday great weather."
Ayr next races on Thursday October 4 with the first race at 2.20 pm. For further information go online at www.ayr-racecourse.co.uk or call 0870-8505666.

ADVANCED A WORTHY WINNER OF GOLD CUP

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