- Source: Ayr Gold Cup
The Ayr Gold Cup is a flat handicap horse race in Great Britain 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.
History
The event was established in 1804, and it was originally held at Ayr's former racecourse at Belleisle. In the early part of its history it was restricted to horses bred and trained in Scotland. It was initially contested over two separate heats of two miles, and was subsequently a single race with a two-mile distance.
The Ayr Gold Cup became a handicap in 1855, and it was shortened to about a mile in 1870. The Belleisle track closed in 1907, and the race was relocated and cut to 6 furlongs in 1908.
The lightest winning weight in the race since it became a sprint is 6 st 13 lb (44 kg). This was carried to victory by Marmaduke Jinks in 1936. The heaviest is 10 st (63½ kg), the burden of Roman Warrior in 1975. The latter horse, trained at Ayr by Nigel Angus, is the most recent winner trained in Scotland.
The field for the Ayr Gold Cup is formed from the highest-weighted horses entered for the race. The maximum number of runners is currently twenty-five. Those eliminated are now offered the chance to compete in the Ayr Silver Cup, a consolation race introduced in 1992. An event for horses excluded from that race, the Ayr Bronze Cup, was established in 2009.
Records
Winners since 1980
Weights given in stones and pounds.
Earlier winners
See also
Horse racing in Great Britain
List of British flat horse races
References
Paris-Turf:
"1983"., "1984"., "1985"., "1987".
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, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017
2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024
External links
Race Recordings (1971-2003) youtube.com
galopp-sieger.de – Ayr Gold Cup.
pedigreequery.com – Ayr Gold Cup – Ayr.
Abelson, Edward; John Tyrrel (1993). The Breedon Book of Horse Racing Records. Breedon Books. pp. 183–185. ISBN 1-873626-15-0.