Scottish racing’s showpiece Flat meeting hangs in the balance after track officials at Ayr were forced to abandon the first two days of the Western meeting due to waterlogging.
This was the first time that the Western meeting has been lost to weather since 2012 but Graeme Anderson, the clerk of the course, said he had no alternative.
The track was hit by 17 millimetres of rain in the previous 24 hours which resulted in a section of the home straight being deemed not fit for racing.
“We were expecting the amount of rain we had, but we weren’t expecting it would do this to the track,” Anderson said.
“We’ve walked the entire track and it’s absolutely fine in the back straight, but when you get to the two-and-a-half-furlong mark there’s a patch of ground that is false and muddy. Hopes had been high that the course would be fit for racing today, with an 8am inspection planned, but Anderson chose to abandon that card last night.
He remains hopeful of tomorrow’s card, which features the William Hill Ayr Gold Cup, going ahead, but a further inspection will take place
at noon.
“The area of ground that was causing us a problem has improved
a bit after a dry day, but not enough
to race tomorrow,” Anderson said. “We will have a look at noon tomorrow to see where we stand for Saturday. We could obviously do without any more rain.
“We are hopeful of going ahead – it is the biggest card of the year here so we have to remain hopeful.”
The score for the field for the Gold Cup read Richard Fahey 8 Scotland 1.
Fahey, who has twice trained the winner of the race, opted to spread his options when the draw was made.
The effect of the draw can generate almost as many theories as climate change and while Tim Easterby chose stall six when Golden Apollo was first out of the drum, David O’Meara elected for stall 18 when Edward Lewis was the next one out.
Keith Dalgleish chose eight for Clem Fandango, the sole Scottish-trained runner in the race and attempting to become the first home winner since Roman Warrior in 1975, and Charlie Hills went for stall two with Shanghai Glory, the ante-post favourite.
Fahey admitted that while he favoured a low-number draw – his choice was stall seven for Eastern Impact – he was not convinced as to how the race might play out on the ground.
“In the last couple of seasons it looked like the Bronze, Silver and
Ayr Gold Cups you wanted to be low – but it could be different this year,” he said. “We’re not racing today, the track generally gets a bit chewed up for the high numbers, with most of the races run middle to stands’ side. It could be different this year so I’ve got some high as well.”
One of those is Stamp Hill, in stall 24, who is the chosen ride for stable jockey Paul Hanagan. “I was very sweet on Toscanini,” Fahey said.
“But heavy ground would be a worry and Stamp Hill might be
a progressive horse.”
Stamp Hill’s place in the field is a measure of the quality within the Gold Cup. He won the valuable International Handicap at Ascot in July and is currently rated at 98. He only just scraped into the race while 20 years ago the bottom-weighted runner was rated 11lbs lower.
“You’ve nearly got to be badly handicapped to get in it,” Fahey said.
Fahey and Hanagan will now be hoping they run the race.
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