Tabor to land gold

Side with progressive filly Plaisir d'Amour to give owner Michael Tabor yet another big race victory in the Ladbrokes Ayr Gold Cup at the Scottish track this afternoon.

Tabor's blue and orange silks have been carried to victory with monotonous regularity this season. Who will forget Danetime's success in Glorious Goodwood's Stewards' Cup after so narrow a failure in the Wokingham at Royal Ascot?

Certainly not the owner if stories of the size of his bets are to be believed.

The Tabor money was down for both those events and judging by the ante-post market for today's 29-runner cavalry charge, the owner may have invested further although, perhaps, not to the same extent.

For Plaisir d'Amour has headed the betting since her victory over Tiler in York's Eagle Lane Handicap.

On that occasion Neville Callaghan's charge had to overcome trouble in running but managed to assert her authority close home and may be better value than the half-length margin she held at the line.

Three-year-olds have a decent record in this, Europe's richest sprint handicap, with four of the last 10 winners coming from the age group.

With that in mind, together with her near perfect draw - 26 of 29 - she can further enhance Tabor's claims to be owner of the year when the awards are handed out.

Westcourt Magic can continue trainer Mick Easterby's successful season by landing the consolation Ladbrokes Ayr Silver Cup.

This race will give punters a real guide to the benefit offered by the draw for the main event and the four-year-old, another set to come out of a stands' side gate, looks ideally placed to repeat his August Chester victory.

Since then, of course, he has finished down the field in the Portland Handicap but can bounce back to give his wily trainer yet another victory in what is proving one of his best seasons numerically.

There should be a ding-dong battle between the representatives of father and son trainers John and Ed Dunlop in the Faucets For Pembrey In Wales Doonside Cup with father John's Ghataas set to get the better of junior's Winter Romance.

Ghataas has performed admirably this season, winning twice in five attempts and performing admirably in his other three outings - including a Windsor defeat by Annus Mirabilis last time.