Timeform’s guide to racing at Ayr, featuring the key facts and figures ahead of the Ayr Gold Cup Festival.
Timeform's Ayr course guide
Left handed, galloping oval track. The round course is about twelve furlongs long with a run-in of four furlongs. The turn approaching the straight is slightly downhill, and it's possible for those prominent to gain an advantage once in line for home. The straight course is particularly wide, allowing for sprints with a maximum field size of 25, making it rare for the runners to stay in one group in big-field events. A course whose character changes dramatically on account of the going; it's one of the most gruelling in the country on heavy ground.
Leading active jockeys at Ayr
Sorted by strike rate since the start of 2017 (minimum 25 rides)
- Danny Tudhope 17.28% (42-243)
- Andrew Breslin 16.67% (13-78)
- Paul Mulrennan 16.01% (49-306)
- PJ McDonald 15.6% (22-141)
- Ben Curtis 15.47% (28-181)
Other points to consider
- Paul Mulrennan has ridden the most winners at the course since the start of 2017 with 49. Danny Tudhope is next on the list with 42.
- Andrew Breslin (£61.27), Duran Fentiman (£57.00) and Graham Lee (40.15) all post a healthy-level stake profit at the course.
- Tom Marquand has had only seven rides at the course in the last five seasons but they have resulted in four winners. Andrea Atzeni has had three winners from his seven rides.
Leading active trainers at Ayr
Sorted by strike rate since the start of 2017 (minimum 25 rides)
- Tristan Davidson 24.14% (7-29)
- Archie Watson 20.59% (7-34)
- Dianne Sayer 19.51% (8-41)
- Katie Scott 18.75% (9-48)
- Brian Ellison 18.18% (6-33)
Other points to consider
- Jim Goldie has sent out more winners than anyone else on the Flat at Ayr since the start of 2017, with his 62 winners coming at a strike rate of 10%.
- Tim Easterby's 31 winners from 231 runners at a strike rate of 13.42% have resulted in a level-stake profit of £55.16.
- Mike Smith has also fared well with his runners at the course. His 37 winners from 284 runners have come at a respectable strike-rate of 13.03% and produced a healthy level-stake profit of £51.62.
- William Haggas and Sir Mark Prescott have a superb record at Ayr when making a rare trip from Newmarket. Haggas has had nine winners from 15 runners at a strike rate of 60%, while Sir Mark Prescott has had four winners from nine runners at a strike rate of 44.44%
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