Ger Lyons has one of the most powerful strings in
Irish Flat racing and his rare runner in
Britain this weekend is a hot favourite for the Ayr Gold Cup
Who wants to win the Ayr Gold Cup? Not the Irish, you might think, judging by the fact that the great sprint handicap has been going since 1804 and it took until last year for a raider to win it. But, in the case of Ger Lyons, at least, you’d be wrong.
There are many races the County Meath trainer would like to win but the Ayr Gold Cup, the latest edition of which is run on Saturday afternoon, has been high on the list for the past dozen years, dating back to the day his Benwilt Breeze was first home of the 14 that raced against the far rail but got collared in the shadow of the post by the 20-1 shot Advanced. “Since then, I’ve been itching to be the first Irishman to win it,” Lyons says.