John Arnold looks ahead to one of the most competitive sprint handicaps of the season. He takes a deep dive into the race and picks out three runners not to ignore for the Scottish showpiece. History: The Ayr Gold Cup, first established in 1966, is one of the most prestigious sprint races in the UK and is held annually at Ayr Racecourse in Scotland. Designed for thoroughbred horses aged three years and older, this exciting flat race is run over a distance of 6 furlongs and ha
After pinpointing the first three home in the Ebor Handicap, John Arnold returns with two worth following in the final classic of the season as he dissects the St Leger. History: The St Leger Stakes, inaugurated in 1776, is the oldest Classic horse race in the world, held annually at Doncaster Racecourse. Established by Colonel Anthony St Leger as a way to promote horse racing in the area, the race was originally planned as a local event but quickly gained popularity, becomi
For the second week running, Mickael Barzalona and the famous colours of the Aga Khan stole the headlines as Rayif landed the Group 1 Prix Jacques le Marois. The complexion of the race changed dramatically last Tuesday following the shock announcement that unbeaten star Bow Echo had been retired and would therefore miss the Deauville showpiece. While the news came as a huge disappointment to racing fans across the globe, who had hoped to see more of the hugely talented colt,
The two-year-olds take a good chunk of the limelight on the opening day of Doncaster's St Leger meeting, with three of the five live races featuring the youngsters as we preview every race shown live on ITV this Thursday. 13:15 DONCASTER A third-place finish behind the impressive Sun Goddess at York looks among the strongest pieces of form on offer, and that gives Speed Of Sound obvious claims on her handicap debut. Richard Spencer's filly should find this a slightly easier a
Alan Morris heads to both Epsom and Doncaster for his best bets of the day this Thursday. 16:52 EPSOM A few of these have shown their best already this year in lower grades and are looking a little exposed at the back end of the season. Royal Bodyguard should be in the mix but Wild Dahlia looks to have more potential to progress beyond this grade and the early favourite. The 3yo filly can be forgiven a disappointment on softish going over further around Hamilton from a wide