7/2 favourite Nahaarr flew home to land a substantial gamble in the QTS Ayr Gold Cup.
William Haggas and Tom Marquand were completing a big-race double following the earlier success of Adeyybb in the Doonside Cup but it looked unlikely at the furlong pole with the market leader nearer last than first and seemingly going nowhere.
However he found his stride in the nick of time and thundered home to reel-in Spanish City (22/1) and win, going away, by
Mr Lupton (10/1), Soldier's Minute (20/1) and Kynren (12/1) filled the minor placings.
"Its been a cracking day for William Haggas and Sheikh Ahmed, the owner, who have been massive supporters of mine," the winning jockey beamed.
"To be fair this horse surprised me with how well he picked up in that ground and I was galloping into the back of more horses in that one race than I had in my entire life, he was travelling that well, and he showed an exceptional turn of foot to pick them up.
"He had the perfect mix of speed and ability to get the job done today."
Speaking from his home in Newmarket, Haggas said: “It’s been a good day. We had 15 seconds in about a week and six of those were beaten a short head, so we deserved a bit of luck and thankfully we’ve got it today.”
Of Nahaarr, he added: “I watched him the whole way, obviously. He missed the break, which I think was a deliberate tactic as Tom felt he raced a bit freely at Goodwood and he didn’t want that to happen again today.
“I think he would have been an unlucky loser if he hadn’t won. I’m not sure what we’ll do with him now. I’m just pleased things have gone well for him today.”
Haggas and Marquand completed a treble on the card with 9/2 chance Johan in the Luxury Staycations At Western House Hotel Handicap.
Bookmaker reaction:
Michael Shinners - Sky Bet: “In what looked a typically competitive Ayr Gold Cup, the heavily backed Nahaarr gave favourite backers something to cheer after being backed into 7/2. We often get horses very well backed in these heritage handicaps, although the gamble rarely come off. It certainly did today and has meant it’s been a good day for quite a few Sky Bet customers."
Paul Binfield - Paddy Power: “Any time the favourite wins a big betting heat like the Ayr Gold Cup is likely to be bad for the books, but punters got behind Nahaarr in no uncertain terms today forcing him into 7/2 market leader from 6s with us this morning and he emulated his backers’ enthusiasm with a marvellous turn of foot to produce a pretty horrendous result for us.”
