Always a supremely competitive affair, the Ayr Gold Cup stands as one of Scotland’s biggest horse races. Held every September, it acts as the showpiece event of a three-day festival named after the race itself. At just six furlongs in distance, it tends to be over quickly but the consistently large fields make this such an exciting affair. The Gold Cup can field as many as 25 runners and it generally fills the maximum number of places. No doubt the large prize money has something to do with this as its £180,000 purse makes it the richest flat handicap in Europe.
Lethal Levi’s Record Breaking Run
This race is rarely easy to predict but the 2024 edition proved to be a particularly tricky year. One lucky punter somehow made the right call though and his successful Tricast bet earned him almost £80,000 from just a £2 wager. The payout was so large because the top three saw the victorious Lethal Levi (20/1) trailed by runner-up Silky Wilkie (66/1) and Korker (40/1) in third.
| Horse | Trainer | Jockey | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Lethal Levi (20/1) | Karl Burke | Clifford Lee |
| 2nd | Silky Wilkie (66/1) | Karl Burke | Sam Feilden |
| 3rd | Korker (40/1) | Karl Burke | Jason Hart |
| 4th | Aramis Grey (28/1) | Rae Guest | Callum Shepherd |
It was an interesting renewal of the £180,000 contest for a few reasons. One is that the front three were all trained by Karl Burke, who watched the action from his Middleham yard. This is a particularly impressive feat given he only had three runners in the race, although he does have history in the contest. Back in 1998 he scored a 1-2 finish with Always Alight and former race winner Daring Destiny.
It was remarkable to see all three stablemates bag themselves a 1-2-3 but what particularly stood out was the performance of Lethal Levi. The five-year-old’s three-length victory was the biggest winning margin this century. With a furlong to go, the Clifford Lee-ridden horse was a little behind the lead but had a clear path to the line near the stand’s side rail. At this point, Levi found an extra gear and flew past the competition in what was an expertly ridden performance.
Drawn out wide in lane 20, it has been thought that Lethal Levi received an unfavourable gate but this proved not to be the case. Stablemates Silky Wilkie (19) and Korker (24) were also drawn wide and in fact, no horse-drawn within the first 10 gates that managed to finish in the top nine places. Evidently, the better turf was located close to the stand’s side at Ayr and this enabled Lethal Levi to clock a very quick time. His winning time of 1:07:55 was a new course record for Ayr and over a second quicker than Ayr Gold Cup winner since 1986.
Other Ayr Gold Cup Records
First run in 1804, the Ayr Gold Cup is a historic race that has wowed spectators on Scotland’s southwest coast for over two centuries. Many of the records for this race were set back when it was a less competitive affair, however. Tom Dawson is the contest’s leading trainer with 15 wins, a number no modern trainer is ever likely to replicate. David Nicholls currently leads the way in the more modern era of the race but his total of six winners remains a long way off.
Similarly, the only three-time winner of the race, Dazzle, managed this feat between 1889 and 1891. Even winning the race just twice in the modern era is a huge achievement given the race consistently fills up its maximum of 25 places. There may be the odd non-runner on the day but you can usually expect at least 24 horses gunning for glory. Due to the competitiveness of the handicap, only two horses have recorded two wins in this race over the last century. Heronslea managed the double in 1930 and 1931 and more recently Funfair Wane did the same in 2002 and 2004. Incidentally at 33/1, Funfair’s second triumph makes him one of the race’s longest-odds winners. Since 1980, the contest has only seen one longer-priced champion, this being 50/1 Joveworth in 1989.
In terms of more recent record-setting, the race saw its first-ever dead heat in 2018 when Son of Rest and Baron Bolt could not be separated at the winning post. We also saw an eight-year-old winner in 2022 when Summerghand ridden by Daniel Tudhope stormed home late on. In doing so, Summerghand became the oldest horse to win this race since reliable records began. The David O’Meara gelding did try to retain his crown the following year and attracted good market support, setting off at 10/1 odds. It proved to be a very underwhelming afternoon though as the nine-year-old finished dead last, highlighting what an unforgiving race the Ayr Gold Cup can be.