ONLY those of a certain "vintage," ie old fogies like me, will remember when going doon the water at the Glasgow Fair was de rigueur as we used to say in upmarket Lanarkshire.
The fact Ayr allowed all senior citizens free entry to yesterday's meeting may, therefore, have cost the bookies plenty as there must have been a few racegoers who bet on memories and remembered the good old days when they were a Rothesay Dancer.
Jim Goldie's mare could never be described as a frequent winner but she's admirably consistent and that was rewarded when she came out top in a fillies' handicap that even the layers found difficult to get an angle on.
Rothesay Dancer was sent off co-favourite of three.
Peter Monteith made it a tartan double on the day when saddling Shy Glance to collar Annibale Caro late on, the winner yet another notch on the bed-post of the upwards and mobile Borders pilot Neil Brown.
"Neil just sat and sweated when he couldn't get a gap but he has given the horse a very good ride and is a lad with a future," said the Rosewell handler.
Am I miffed, Mr Monteith, that Shy Glance beat the Scotsman selection into second place? You better believe it. The Eric Alston pair of Invincible Lad and No Grouse combined to give the Preston handler a 28-1 double, the duo both ridden by the bang in form David Allan.
There was further Scottish success when Greg Fairley steered Surour to victory for his guvn'or Mark Johnston as the latter confirmed his Yorkshire yard is very much back on song.
The early running was made by 66-1 outsider Liberty Trail but Surour, carrying the colours of Hamdan Al Maktoum, was never that far off the pace and gradually wore down the leader to score by just under a length.
"That was satisfying," admitted Johnston. "We were dropping him back to six furlongs, but we took the chance on the basis of this being a more galloping track and got away with it.
"We will see how the handicapper rates him and he step back up to seven furlongs and go for a nursery."
Those who latched on to the fact that John Gosden had sent just one runner to the meeting in the shape of Capucci and took this as a statement of intent, backing the Newmarket raider accordingly, were left disappointed and slightly less well-off, Gosden's charge spectacularly failing to justify his starting price of 1-2 when finishing unplaced behind Boy Blue.
It was less of a wasted trip north for fellow Headququarters visitor Aleatrics who romped home in the finale for Sir Mark Prescott, in the process leaving any idiot who thought the ten-furlong trip would be too short for the gelding with egg on their face.
Thankfully, I like eggs!
This afternoon's action won't set too many pulses racing but old timer Thewhirlingdersvish has been performing well enough of late to suggest he's still capable of winning, even at the age of ten, and he's fancied to do so in Beverley's long distance handicap.
Ten stones plus is a fair weight for any horse to be lumbered with but that's what the nap Ornella will have to lump to victory in the finale at Brighton.
Just watch her do it.
Formerly trained in France, the filly is now with Hughie Morrison and has slowly but surely been getting to grips with racing this side of the water.
She only scraped home by a neck on her latest outing but even then, it looked as if there was a little more to come, a theory that will be put to the test at the seaside venue this afternoon.
The full article contains 636 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
