Richard Gauthier Collection
Ayr Racecourse
Although some records indicate that a race meeting took place in the vicinity of Ayr in 1576, when the starter and his assistant were both shot in the leg, the first results published from Ayr were in 1771 when Phillipo, owned by Sir John Douglas, won a £50 race. By 1777 the meeting, held at the burgh moor at Bellisle, had extended to five days, but it was to be a further 27 years before the inaugural running in 1804 of the Ayr Gold Cup, at that stage a 2 mile race, which was won by Chancellor. He repeated the feat the next year for owner Lord Cassillis. On Monday 15th October 1804 Ayr staged His Majesty’s 100 Guineas Plate over 4 miles which saw Lord Belhaven’s Brandon defeat sole rival Mountpleasant, owned by Mr Lupton. The next day the inaugural running of the Ayr Gold Cup took place over 2 miles.
Tuesday 16th October 1804
Ayr Gold Cup over 2 miles
1. Chancellor, by Trimmer, owned by Lord Cassillis 1 1
2. Unnamed colt by Hamilton, owned by Sir H Dalrymple 2 dr
3. Unnamed bay horse owned by Mr Oswald 3 dr
In 1824 the famous Western Club were formed to promote the interests of racing in the area and, for the first time, the Racing Calendar recorded the fixture as the "Western Meeting". The Ayr Gold Cup became a handicap race in 1855 but it was to end in controversy when Thomas Aldcroft dismounted from the first passed the post before returning to the winners enclosure and was duly disqualified, the race being awarded to John Dory. The course at Bellisle was a very tight, oval course, with bends so sharp that some thought them dangerous, and at the start of the 20th century the Western Club sought a suitable site for a new course. In 1904 they found what they were looking for, purchasing 150 acres on the Craigie estate. On Wednesday 18th September 1907 the new course opened and within a year there were four regular fixtures. Meanwhile, the Belleisle course was left behind to become the very successful Seafield Golf course. Racing ceased during the war years, resuming in 1919 when the Ayr Gold Cup was won by Lord Derby’s Beresina. During the Second World War the course was taken over by the Army for the duration of the War, but racing resumed soon afterwards. The year 1950 was an important year in the progression of the racecourse when Ayr staged its first National Hunt fixture, and reaped a reward in 1966 when, following the closure of Bogside, Ayr hosted the Scottish Grand National won by African Patrol. In 1974 Red Rum triumphed in the Scottish Grand National; a statue now acts as a celebration of that famous victory.
The course offers an impressive 35 days of racing annually, including ten Festival or Feature days. The highlight remains the Ayr Gold Cup staged in mid-September.
1983 The Ayr Gold Cup was won by Polly’s Brother trained by Peter Easterby and ridden by Kevin Hodgson
1983 The Scottish Grand National was won by Canton trained by Neville Crump and ridden by Kevin White
1984 The Ayr Gold Cup was won by Able Albert trained by Peter Easterby and ridden by Mark Birch
1984 The Scottish Grand National was won by Androma trained by Jimmy Fitzgerald and ridden by Mark Dwyer
1985 The Ayr Gold Cup was won by Camps Heath trained by Frankie Durr and ridden by Wendyll Woods
1985 The Scottish Grand National was won by Androma trained by Jimmy Fitzgerald and ridden by Mark Dwyer
1986 The Ayr Gold Cup was won by Green Ruby trained by Toby Balding and ridden by John Williams
1986 The Scottish Grand National was won by Hardy Lad trained by Jumbo Wilkinson and ridden by Micky Hammond
1987 The Ayr Gold Cup was won by Not So Silly trained by Alan Bailey and ridden by Gary Bardwell
1987 The Scottish Grand National was won by Little Polvier trained by John Edwards and ridden by Peter Scudamore
1988 The Ayr Gold Cup was won by So Careful trained by Jack Berry and ridden by Nicky Carlisle
1988 The Scottish Grand National was won by Mighty Mark trained by Frank Walton and ridden by Brian Storey
1989 The Ayr Gold Cup was won by Joveworth trained by Mike O’Neill and ridden by Jimmy Fortune
1989 The Scottish Grand National was won by Roll-a-Joint trained by Chris Popham and ridden by Brendan Powell
1990 The Ayr Gold Cup was won by Final Shot trained by Peter Easterby and ridden by John Lowe
1990 The Scottish Grand National was won by Four Trix trained by Gordon W Richards and ridden by Derek Byrne
1991 The Ayr Gold Cup was won by Sarcita trained by David Elsworth and ridden by Brett Doyle
1991 The Scottish Grand National was won by Killone Abbey trained by Arthur Stephenson and ridden by Chris Grant
1992 The Ayr Gold Cup was won by Lochsong trained by Ian Balding and ridden by Francis Arrowsmith
1992 The Scottish Grand National was won by Captain Dibble trained by Nigel Twiston-Davies and ridden by Peter Scudamore
1993 The Ayr Gold Cup was won by Hard to Figure trained by Ron Hodges and ridden by Ray Cochrane
1993 The Scottish Grand National was won by Run for Free trained by Martin Pipe and ridden by Mark Perrett
1994 The Ayr Gold Cup was won by Daring Destiny trained by Karl Burke and ridden by Jason Tate
1994 The Scottish Grand National was won by Earth Summit trained by Nigel Twiston-Davies and ridden by David Bridgwater
1995 The Ayr Gold Cup was won by Royale Figurine trained by Martin Fetherston-Godley and ridden by Darryll Holland
1995 The Scottish Grand National was won by Willsford trained by Jenny Pitman and ridden by Rodney Farrant
1996 The Ayr Gold Cup was won by Coastal Bluff trained by David Barron and ridden by Jimmy Fortune
1996 The Scottish Grand National was won by Moorcroft Boy trained by David Nicholson and ridden by Mark Dwyer
1997 The Ayr Gold Cup was won by Wildwood Flower trained by Richard Hannon Snr and ridden by Dane O’Neill
1997 The Scottish Grand National was won by Belmont King trained by Paul Nicholls and ridden by Tony McCoy
1998 The Ayr Gold Cup was won by Always Alight trained by Karl Burke and ridden by John Egan
1998 The Scottish Grand National was won by Baronet trained by David Nicholson and ridden by Adrian Maguire
1999 The Ayr Gold Cup was won by Grangeville trained by Ian Balding and ridden by Kieron Fallon
1999 The Scottish Grand National was won by Young Kenny trained by Peter Beaumont and ridden by Brendan Powell
2000 The Ayr Gold Cup was won by Bahamian Pirate trained by David Nicholls and ridden by Adrian Nicholls
2000 The Scottish Grand National was won by Paris Pike trained by Ferdy Murphy and ridden by Adrian Maguire
2001 The Ayr Gold Cup was won by Continent trained by David Nicholls and ridden by Darryll Holland
2001 The Scottish Grand National was won by Gingembre trained by Lavinia Taylor and ridden by Andrew Thornton
2002 The Ayr Gold Cup was won by Funfair Wane trained by David Nicholls and ridden by Adrian Nicholls
2002 The Scottish Grand National was won by Take Control trained by Martin Pipe and ridden by Ruby Walsh
2003 The Ayr Gold Cup was won by Quito trained by David Chapman and ridden by Tony Culhane
2003 The Scottish Grand National was won by Ryalux trained by Andy Crook and ridden by Richard McGrath
2004 The Ayr Gold Cup was won by Funfair Wane trained by David Nicholls and ridden by Paul Doe
2004 The Scottish Grand National was won by Grey Abbey trained by Howard Johnson and ridden by Graham Lee
2005 The Ayr Gold Cup was won by Presto Shinko trained by Richard Hannon Snr and ridden by Seb Sanders
2005 The Scottish Grand National was won by Joes Edge trained by Ferdy Murphy and ridden by Keith Mercer
2006 The Ayr Gold Cup was won by Fonthill Road trained by Richard Fahey and ridden by Paul Hanagan
2006 The Scottish Grand National was won by Run for Paddy trained by Carl Llewellyn and ridden by Carl LLewellyn
2007 The Ayr Gold Cup was won by Advanced trained by Kevin Ryan and ridden by Jamie Spencer
2007 The Scottish Grand National was won by Hot Weld trained by Ferdy Murphy and ridden by P J McDonald
2008 The Ayr Gold Cup was won by Regal Parade trained by David Nicholls and ridden by William Carson
2008 The Scottish Grand National was won by Iris de Balme trained by Sean Curran and ridden by Mr Charlie Huxley
2009 The Ayr Gold Cup was won by Jimmy Styles trained by Clive Cox and ridden by Frankie Dettori
2009 The Scottish Grand National was won by Hello Bud trained by Nigel Twiston-Davies and ridden by Paddy Brennan
2010 The Ayr Gold Cup was won by Redford trained by David Nicholls and ridden by Frankie Dettori
2010 The Scottish Grand National was won by Merigo trained by Andrew Parker and ridden by Timmy Murphy
2011 The Ayr Gold Cup was won by Our Jonathan trained by Kevin Ryan and ridden by Franny Norton
2011 The Scottish Grand National was won by Beshabar trained by Tim Vaughan and ridden by Richard Johnson
2012 The Ayr Gold Cup was won by Captain Ramius trained by Kevin Ryan and ridden by Pat Smullen
2012 The Scottish Grand National was won by Merigo trained by Andrew Parker and ridden by Timmy Murphy
2013 The Ayr Gold Cup was won by Highland Colori trained by Andrew Balding and ridden by Oisin Murphy
2013 The Scottish Grand National was won by Godsmejudge trained by Alan King and ridden by Wayne Hutchinson
2014 The Ayr Gold Cup was won by Louis the Pious trained by David O’Meara and ridden by James Doyle
2014 The Scottish Grand National was won by Al Co trained by Peter Bowen and ridden by Jamie Moore
2015 The Ayr Gold Cup was won by Don’t Touch trained by Richard Fahey and ridden by Tony Hamilton
2015 The Scottish Grand National was won by Wayward Prince trained by Hilary Parrott and ridden by Robbie Dunne
2016 The Ayr Gold Cup was won by Brando trained by Kevin Ryan and ridden by Tom Eaves
2016 The Scottish Grand National was won by Vicente trained by Paul Nicholls and ridden by Sam Twiston-Davies
