Ayr of invincibility about Osborne ahead of Gold Cup

William Dobbie Published: 5 hours ago

History-maker Saffie Osborne teams up with last year's winning trainer Richard Spencer in Saturday's feature Ayr Gold Cup.

A maximum field of 25 are set to go to post ahead of one of the most frenetic, competitive and highly-anticipated handicaps of the entire Flat campaign. Just two favourites have justified their odds in this race over the last 10 years; a selection of big-price winners at 12/1 (twice), 20/1 (twice) & 28/1 tell you just how hard it is to win this.

However, Newmarket handler Spencer will be hoping that he has cracked the winning formula as he bids to create history north of the border.

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Ayr Gold Cup

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Run Boy Run (18/1) gave Spencer his maiden Ayr Gold Cup victory 12 months ago and he is back again, this time with the chance to become the first back-to-back winner of the race in almost a century.

Sporting first-time blinkers, the five-year-old may have winning claims given he is just 5lbs higher than he was when passing the post in first last year. George Wood is back onboard but he does need to put a few poor efforts behind him and get back to something like the form that saw him finish third at Ascot in July.

If Spencer doesn't win it with him, then he might just come away with the winning prize anyway with Twilight Calls (10/1). Last week's St Leger-winning jockey Osborne is booked to take the ride and he sneaks right in at the bottom of the weights off a mark of 95. With 39 races under his belt, the eight-year-old is well into the latter stages of his career but if anyone can conjure up a magic moment from the saddle at the moment, it looks like being Osbourn.

4/1 favourite Binhareer brings a much more unexposed profile to the party and has significantly less miles on the clock than a lot in here. He has winning form at the track, finished fourth in a Group 3 last time out and has proven that he can handle a slower surface earlier in his career.

Quite similarly, Andrew Balding's Dance In The Storm (15/2) may still be on the up and capable of a lot more back at sprinting trips. Victorious in a brace of Chester handicaps earlier in the summer at seven furlongs, a drop back in distance might be in his favour, especially on a slower surface. Fourth in a competitive Constantine Handicap at York when last seen, connections will have been delighted to see third-place Coul Angel hack up in a 24-runner contest at the Curragh on Irish Champions Weekend.