Son rising for Gold Cup

● Stack’s charge is backed for Ayr prize

Irish-trained Son Of Rest is the new 8-1 favourite with sponsors William Hill for Saturday’s Ayr Gold Cup after being second to Havana Grey in the Group 1 Derrinstown Stud Flying Five Stakes at the Curragh on Sunday.

The four year-old finished with a flourish to go down by half a length and trainer Fozzy Stack said yesterday he was likely to run in the £200,000 event. He said : “The more rain the better – he loves it soft.”

No Irish-trained horse has ever won Scotland’s richest Flat race and Adrian Keatley’s G Force is the other hope from the Emerald Isle.

At the head of the weights is Cardsharp, the Mark Johnston-trained three-year-old.

Other interesting horses who stood their ground at the latest entry stage yesterday include the Richard Fahey-trained pair Kimberella and Growl, David Barron’s Great St Wilfrid winner Gunmetal, Tim Easterby’s Flying Pursuit and Perfect Pasture from the Mick Easterby yard.

Meanwhile, Bombyx is fancied to defy top-weight in the feature race on the opening afternoon of the three-day fixture at Yarmouth.

Trained by James Fanshawe, the three-year-old has shown himself to be a useful performer this term. Following two solid efforts at the start of the season, he was odds on to beat one serious rival at Doncaster in July, and did so with the minimum of fuss.

He was tried in Group Three company at Goodwood, in what was a tidy renewal of the Gordon Stakes and, while Cross Counter and Dee Ex Bee were too good, there was no disgrace in his third-place.

The Dan Hague, Yarmouth’s Number 1 Bookmaker Handicap offers a good chance to return to winning ways.