Hog On Course For Ayr

Leading fancy Hogmaneigh has recovered from his run at York on Saturday and is on target for the totesport Ayr Gold Cup.

The Stuart Williams-trained gelding was a staying-on three-and-a-half-length third behind Fantasy Believer on the Knavesmire in the Ladbrokes Portland after getting hampered at the start.

He is none the worse for his exertions and Williams said: 'He's in great form and on course for Ayr.

'I thought he ran well at York under the circumstances. The ground had dried out a bit too much for him, he got squeezed a little bit at the start and didn't get a clear run through when he was making his run.

'I was pleased with the way he ran, although I was obviously disappointed he didn't win.

'Saleem (Golam) will ride him again. Unfortunately J-P Guillambert, who rode him in his first four starts and did a lot of work with him last year, has been banned for the last three times the horse has run and he's banned again on Saturday.'

Hogmaneigh is held in high regard by his trainer, who added: 'We've always thought he was a nice horse and we've trained him accordingly.

'I didn't risk him on the summer ground purposefully to keep him back for an autumn campaign with this race primarily in mind.

'We'll just hope for a good draw and hope for a good run through the race.

'After Saturday he'll have had three races in four weeks so we'll probably take a pull with him for two or three weeks and assess the situation.

'We plan to keep him for next year so I don't want to abuse him, he's still only a three-year-old. We are hopeful he'll be a nice horse for us for a few years to come.'

Hogmaneigh is currently vying for Ayr Gold Cup favouritism at around 8-1 with Borderlescott.

(C) PA Sport