Fans of the sporting comeback will have found no more fertile ground in recent years than golf's Open Championship. The three most recent winners of the Claret Jug - Phil Mickelson, Ernie Els and Darren Clarke - have all been of a similar stripe, albeit in differing shades: men ostensibly past their best who, following a spark of resurgence, put it all together to land another big prize.
Golf's world number 17 Lee Westwood can take heart from recent Open history; not just in his own pursuit of a Major title, but also in the case of his main equine interest Hoof It, whom he owns jointly with his manager 'Chubby' Chandler.
Hoof It made his name a couple of summers back, winning the SkyBet six days after his owners' good friend Clarke took the Open and following it up a week later with a stunning success in the Stewards' Cup. That was described by Timeform at the time as being a Group 1 performance in a handicap, but frustration was to follow in the biggest races: Hoof It was drawn on the wrong side when finishing sixth in the Nunthorpe next time and was arguably unlucky when squeezed out in Dream Ahead's Sprint Cup.
The 2012 season was essentially a write-off for Hoof It, and it looked as though the glory days might be gone for good when he made a laboured reappearance this summer at York. The subsequent recovery has been gradual; rather covert at first in the Stewards' Cup and the Great St. Wilfrid (met trouble in both) but plain to see in the Sprint Cup, when a more positive ride saw him finish third to Gordon Lord Byron.
That effort at Haydock was still quite a way shy of Hoof It's very best form, but he needn't fully rediscover that level if he's to win at Ayr. He routed that Stewards' Cup field two years ago from a BHA mark of 111; now he needs only to win by a flared nostril from 107 to secure a return on odds which, at the time of writing, stand at 18.017/1. That looks a good price about such a plainly well-handicapped horse, especially if the rain doesn't arrive to the degree forecast and rider Graham Gibbons is in the same positive frame of mind as he was at Haydock.
There are, of course, dangers among Hoof It's rivals, currently 209-strong. The market has Jack Dexter as the one to beat. He's a dependable sprinter who has graduated from winning the Bronze Cup last year to Group 3 success on his latest start, but he's not been quite as progressive of late as that might imply and he'll need to step up if he's to defy a BHA mark of 110.
More threatening than Jack Dexter could be the unexposed pair immediately behind him in the betting. Baccarat comes here with a fine record to date, which includes success in the Great St Wilfrid last time on just his eighth start. He's gone up 7 lb for coming clear with the in-form Spinatrix on that occasion, which if taken at face value underplays what he achieved.
The strong-travelling Tropics is also well worthy of consideration. He was halfway to doing a Hoof It earlier this summer, winning the Sky Bet and going off favourite for the Stewards' Cup the following Saturday only to finish an admittedly respectable sixth at Goodwood. He has since got back on track by winning a listed race at Newmarket and has a racing style which should show him to best effect in these big-field handicaps.
Just like in the Open, it's generally been experience that has counted for most in recent Ayr Gold Cups with seasoned, well-handicapped sorts regularly coming out on top. Hoof It has already shown his resurgence to be well underway and, in the mould of Messrs Clarke, Els and Mickelson, can crown it with success in Europe's richest sprint handicap.
Recommendation:
Back Hoof It @ 18.017/1 in the Ayr Gold Cup
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