Almeraq to strike Ayr gold en route to bigger things

IF Almeraq has any pretensions of living up to his Group One engagement, he really needs to be winning the Fergie and Myra Happel Ayr Gold Cup Trial Handicap.

- By NICK ROBSON

The three-year-old represents powerful connections, being owned by Shadwell and trained by William Haggas.

Haggas has him in the Stewards’ Cup and he will almost certainly need to strike gold in Scotland off his mark of 90 just to have a chance of getting into that fiercely competitive Goodwood handicap.