Ayr Gold Cup favourite Poet’s Place drawn 12
With doubts surrounding which side of the track jockey’s will undertake for the Ayr Gold Cup on Saturday, horses drawn in the middle (last year’s winner Jimmy Styles came from stall 15) seem to have been given the initial advantage heading into Europe’s richest sprint handicap.
The current favourite is Poet’s Place and supporters would have been given further encouragement about his chances as he was drawn in stall 12. But this race has been a graveyard for favourites over the past 25 years with only one obliging, so there could still be question marks about the five-year-old’s chances despite the attractive-looking draw.
Second favourite Hawkeyethenoo’s connections were also satisfied with a middle draw, securing stall 16 in trainers Jim Goldie’s quest to win the prestigious sprint handicap.
Henry Candy’s colt Signor Peltro was the first out of the hat, the experienced trainer deciding that stall 22 was the perfect place for his horse, who needs to be held-up in his races to mount a serious challenge. Sprint-king Dandy Nicholls is obviously under the impression that being drawn high is an advantage as Evens and Odds (21), Striking Spirit (27) and the hugely fancied Victoire De Lyphar (24) will all will make their charge from the far rail.
With five runners withdrawing from the race at the declaration stage, it was earlier revealed that Johannes and Arganil sneaked into the race, drawing stall 1 and 2, respectively.
Trainers will be watching closely tomorrow, with the running of the Bronze Cup giving them a fairer assessment of whether their decisions on the draw are correct.
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