Hero jockey lands stunning 116/1 Ayr Gold Cup raceday double
George Wood was making a big noise at Ayr along with trainer Richard Spencer and owner Phil Cunningham
George Wood was all rock 'n' roll as Run Boy Run completed a magical big-race double on an unforgettable day at Ayr.
And the thrilled jockey was able to savour a sweet hat-trick with Candy winning Silver and Liverpool victorious in football’s Merseyside Derby.
Wood, trainer Richard Spencer and owner Phil Cunningham were in Scottish dreamland as they bagged both big races.
Run Boy Run landed the £180,000 Ladbrokes Ayr Gold Gold when putting his head down to deny Desert Falcon with Jubilee Walk third and well-backed 5-1 favourite Purosangue in fourth.
The 12/1 shot’s win came just over an hour after the trio linked-up with Candy to bag the Silver Cup at 8/1 and chalk up an astounding 116/1 double.
Wood became the first jockey to do the Gold-Silver double since James Doyle in 2014 and said: “We flew up on Thursday with a big team of 11 runners and to come away with the two big ones is great. I’m sure we’ll have a party.
“I think he [Run Boy Run] really enjoyed the ground. I always thought he had a big one in him, but he just had slight excuses, I think, whereas here conditions were all in his favour.
“It turned out the draw was on the right side and it’s just great. I’ve had a lot to do with him this year and he always runs his race, he’s always thereabouts and deserves a big one. It’s great for Richland and Phil.
“I had clear run, stayed in the straight line, kept it simple. We thought the high draws might be more favourable as it has been in the past, but all week they’ve been winning up that far side, so we were coming here confident.”
Candy was also a delight and Wood continued: “He’s very straightforward as well, he jumps and he’s a very quick horse. He’s a classy horse on this ground and it’s nice of him to show it because he was a little bit disappointing at the start of the year. Hopefully, we’ve got him back now.”
As if Wood’s mood could barely have got better, yet the Anfield result capped his day and he added: “It’s been awesome, yeah. We’re playing well this season and keep it up.”
Trainer Spencer was equally thrilled. He was clear on TV beforehand about the chance of Run Boy Run and said afterwards: “He ran really well in the Portland [Handicap] the other day and George and I had a chat afterwards.
"He was sort of thinking he didn’t go hard enough. I said to him we were going to rock and roll.
“We thought we were on the wrong side with the draw, but he’s very fast and holds a good cruising speed. We came up here with a lot of chances and I didn’t think we’d wait until Saturday to get a winner, but the team at home has done a great job.”
He’s already eyeing the 2026 big one after Candy’s success as he added: “The ground is the key to him. He seems to just relish it, holds high cruising speed and can keep it going. I’m delighted. We could hopefully be coming back here next year for the big one. So fingers crossed.”
Cunningham, who had last month’s Stewards Cup winner Two Tribes in the Gold Cup contest, said: “It’s absolutely amazing, I don’t know what to say I’m quite emotional. What about the jockey! I can’t thank him enough.
“We’ve had winners here before, but we’ve made the decision at the start of the year we’re going to target a few festivals and have a bit of fun. Fun we’ve had, but you still need a winner to make it a little bit more special and we’re very, very lucky.”
While the day belonged to the trio, there were other notable successes for the huge crowd with Catching The Moon landing Scotland’s only Group race winning the Firth of Clyde for trainer Richard Fahey.
Thunder Roar got favourite backers off a flyer before Almeric also landed favouritism at 13/8 in the Doonside Cup.
Almeric’s jockey Oisin Murphy completed a short-priced double when Nobody Knows won at 5/4 before the meeting was signed-off in stunning style by Scotsman Jim Goldie.
The local hero had four winners over the first two days of the big meeting and added Jannas Journey and Midnight Lion to the tally in the final two events, the latter given a superb from-the-front ride by Kilmarnock girl Lauren Young to score at a massive 25/1.