There are those who insist – some with a conviction born of painful experience – that the Ayrshire Junior centre-half is the acme of toughness. They are wrong.
The toughest, most resilient human being is the Ayrshire punter. Irrefutable evidence for this assertion was provided on Ayr Gold Cup day on Saturday.
The wind howled, the rains came and the sun blinked on and off like some malfunctioning screen and the day seemed to be disappearing into a hole in the ground. The punter treated this with a cheerful contempt.
They came in their thousands – probably 10,000 – and in their totality resembled a huge wedding party. The young men were suited and booted and their female companions were attired for a Paris catwalk rather than an Ayrshire field. If they had been part of Napoleon’s army, Moscow would have been invaded despite the blizzards and the Russians would nowadays be speaking French. That tough.
They were rewarded by a day of racing, though that seemed in doubt for some considerable time. Monsoon season in the Borneo jungle was somehow transferred to south Ayrshire. The announcement that the going was heavy was the least surprising information since the leak that taxes will go up in the budget.
Saturday’s racegoers represented a wide range of backgrounds, all with a shared love of racing
The specific problem was a hole about a furlong from the finishing line. Men were looking into it. This caused a delay in racing and added to an air of gentle fury in broadcasting circles. There was a complaint about secrecy but racing went ahead after a delay with the prime races shown live on ITV3.
The mutters on screen about what the budget might mean to racing continued. They were shrugged off by the punters milling about the concourse. One told me: ‘There is a concern about betting shops closing. But they are done. Look about you. How many of these people spend an afternoon in the bookies? It’s all done on phones.’
It is mostly done on online betting sites, legal and illegal. Betting shops will close, jobs will be lost but gambling will continue. It was oddly revealing to see punters fiddling with their phones to place a bet in sight of real-life bookies. What do the on-course bookies think? Who knows, as a succession of them declined to comment.
Ladbrokes, though, had cause to celebrate. It sponsors this festival of racing and the nightmare scenario of losing Gold Cup day was avoided. Losing was thus reserved to the punters and they seemed to make a good fist of it. They had survived the elements and the fluttering away of hard-earned cash seemed but a minor discomfort.
The monsoon conditions earlier in the day brought challenges but couldn’t dampen spirits
Most had entered an alien environment for the day. Racing exists in its own bubble before being allowed out to play. The machinations of what makes a meeting work, what produces a winning horse, what goes into being a successful jockey is largely conducted out of sight and the magic is only revealed when the roar at the start is followed by thrilling cavalry charges and whoops from the winners.
It is an industry populated by the obsessed. It is a game where one loses much more than one wins. This applies to owners, trainers, stable staff and jockeys as much as it does to punters. There is an acceptance then of the realities of life that make the celebrations all the more wonderful.
Many people spend their lives in the sport with no hope of riches. They are wedded to racing by invisible but unbreakable bonds. Tristan Gordon was prepared for an afternoon where his keen eyesight would help him ‘spot’ horses for commentators. He was a work rider whose body grew beyond any hopes of a career as a Flat jockey. He has, though, been on the back of greatness.
‘I rode Economics in work,’ he says, referring to the winner of the Irish Champion Stakes. ‘You never forget being on a horse of that class.’
The action was delayed due to the heavy weather, with on-track repairs required at Ayr
There was a group race at Ayr – the only one to be run in Scotland – and that too provided routinely a champion of class. The winning prize money was £42,532 but connections will hope it proves a springboard for success beyond six furlongs.
The gold and silver cups produced thrills and engrossing narrative. The win by Silent X in the silver race provided trainer Bryan Smart with his biggest win in eight years. His wife, Vicki, was there to accept the cup after the 18-1 shot won £33,501 for owners. The rain was a blessing for connections. They knew the ground would suit the horse but had to wait anxiously for the ground to pass two inspections.
There was, fittingly, a tartan tinge to the winner of the big race. The £92,772 prize went to Scottish owner Evan Sutherland whose Pellitory obliged at 12-1. Sutherland has now claimed the prize twice and this was also jockey Danny Tudhope’s second triumph in the race. Tudhope, born in Irvine, won the race when he steered Summerghand to glory in 2022.
His success on Saturday was shaped by an early decision to tack left to what seemed the better ground. ‘We managed to get a nice tow over there and he travelled lovely through the race,’ said Tudhope.
Local lad Danny Tudhope claimed his second Gold Cup aboard the impressive Pellitory
He admitted he was “overwhelmed” by the success. ‘I can’t believe it. I said before I won it the first time that it was one of the bucket list races to win. I was then the first Scottish jockey to win in 50 years. I’m immensely proud and it’s quite overwhelming really.’
Trainer David O’Meara has now won the race three times and the Cork native shrugged off the conditions with a joke. ‘This would not even warrant an inspection in Ireland,’ he said with a smile.
There were fewer happy tidings away from the action. Betfred owner Fred Done warned that any increase in machine gaming duty will force his company to step away from sponsoring the Derby and other classics. Chancellor John Healey is reported to be raising that tax in next month’s budget.
Nicola McGeady, head of PR at Ladbrokes, was positive about the sponsorship of the Ayrshire festival. ‘The Ayr Gold Cup is one of the biggest sporting events on the Scottish calendar. You can tell by the numbers coming here how much it means to them and the heritage of this race means so much to us. We are super proud to be a part of it. We love it here.’
TV presenter Ed Chamberlin is worried about the impact government legislations could have
The sun then shone in tribute to this positivity. Ed Chamberlin, the ITV broadcaster, was sprinting from the course after completing his duties.
I asked him what the Ayr Gold Cup meant to him. ‘It’s history, heritage and the passionate support of all these people,’ he said as he raced past a packed stand. ‘This is a great sport. Tell the government.’
The sun dimmed. And then rain blew in. But that eventuality is always odds-on in Scotland.
