No trainer has a stronger hand in the William Hill Ayr Gold Cup than David O’Meara.
The Upper Helmsley trainer has five horses guaranteed to make the final field on Saturday – and the quintet could all head to the Scottish showpiece.
"At the moment I’d say Summerghand will definitely run, Intisab will also run as will Arecibo and Gulliver who ran well in Ireland on Sunday. Cold Stare is the only doubt at the moment. He wants it very soft and it looks like it could dry out to good ground by Saturday," O'Meara explained.
Here’s David full guide to his Ayr Gold Cup hopefuls:
GULLIVER
He’s a strange horse, in the first half of the race, as happened at the Curragh on Sunday, he sometimes never travels then comes alive. When he did at the weekend he got stopped twice and found himself with a load of ground to make up. He absolutely flew home and we felt had he got a clear run he might have beaten Buffer Zone. Obviously the winner picks up a five-pound penalty for that win at Ayr which gives Gulliver a good chance of turning him over.
ARECIBO
This a very good horse but one that has just flattered to deceive a couple of times now. You could make an argument he might be better held up in a very strongly-run five furlong race. That said it is the Ayr Gold Cup and the ground is drying out so we’re going to take our chance with all our runners. He’d want them to go very hard and collapse a little up front I’d say – that would be his ideal set-up on Saturday.
SUMMERGHAND
He’s run very well in all the top sprint handicaps this year. He ran a blinder in the Wokingham, finished fourth in the Unibet Stewards’ Cup and was a shade unlucky not to be second or third. He’s been very consistent and chased home Dakota Gold in the William Hill Great St Wilfrid last time. He won’t mind the ground whatever it is at Ayr, you could say the quicker the better for him, and at the moment he’s just about the shortest price of our runners.
INTISAAB
He isn’t getting any younger but ran a nice race at Doncaster last week to finish third over six-and-a-half in a very small field race. They didn’t go very quick and then sprinted two-and-a-half furlongs out which caught him a little flat footed. He then came home strongly when he got going. The nature of the race at Ayr, with a big field and hopefully plenty of competition for the lead up front, will be absolutely ideal for him.
COLD STARE
I don’t really know what my best chance is. The draw will have a lot to do with it and if it does dry up at Ayr that might make this horse the outsider of my five but he’s very effective given his conditions. They all need to be drawn close to the pace and get plenty of luck in running.
