Pellitory wins Ayr Gold Cup for Tudhope and O'Meara
Pellitory won the Ayr Gold Cup at Ayr on 19 September 2026.
The 4-year-old held on in the 15:40 feature to take first prize of £92,772 for trainer David O’Meara, owner Evan Sutherland and jockey Danny Tudhope, according to BBC Sport and Racing TV. The wait was worth it. Racing had been held up for a lengthy delay after heavy rain overnight and on Saturday morning.
Course staff carried out two inspections before the meeting was cleared to go ahead. The going — how soft the ground is — had been the morning’s big question.
For Tudhope, it was a second win in Scotland’s most famous sprint handicap, a race where better horses carry more weight to level the field. He previously won the Gold Cup in 2022 on Summerghand. That victory made him the first Scottish winner of the race in 50 years.
This time he did it over six furlongs, or three-quarters of a mile, on a horse better known at further. Pellitory had never been brought back to six furlongs before. He carried 9st 0lb off an official rating of 98 in a 25-runner field.
Tuco Salamanca finished second. Joint-favourites Binhareer and Far Above Dream did not place.
The drop in trip was the gamble. Pellitory had built his season over seven furlongs, with three wins already to his name this term, including a handicap at Haydock, Racing Post and The Sun reported. He had also won the previous year’s Ayr Silver Cup, the consolation race for horses that do not make the Gold Cup cut.
He was listed at forecast odds of 33-1 for the Gold Cup. That price reflected the switch to sprinting, not his form.
What makes this stand out is how Ayr rewards course knowledge. The straight six furlongs at Ayr is flat, fast and frantic with a big field. Horses can get lost in the pack. Tudhope kept Pellitory in daylight and asked him at the right moment.
For fans, this means a progressive sprinter with options. A horse that stays seven furlongs and now wins over six is useful. O’Meara has a 4-year-old who handles soft ground and a charge through 25 runners.
