Attention switches north of the border next week.

Scotland stages its biggest and most important fixture of the year with the three-day "Western meeting" at Ayr which starts on Thursday.

The highlight is Saturday's Ladbrokes Ayr Gold Cup, one of the season's most valuable sprint handicaps whose popularity has led to the creation of a consolation "silver cup" for those denied a run in the big race.

Ante-post betting on the six-furlong feature, to be shown live by Channel 4, is currently headed by recent Goodwood winner Masha-Il, Stewards' Cup victor Superior Premium and Portland Handicap scorer Cadeaux Cher.

The BBC will cover all three days of a potentially-informative meeting at Newbury.

Thursday's action features the Doubleprint Arc Trial while the most interesting race on Friday may be the Haynes, Hanson and Clark Conditions Stakes which can be an early stepping-stone to the Derby.

Main events on Saturday are the Group Two Bonusprint Mill Reef for two-year-olds and the £75,000 Courage Handicap.

Irish eyes will be on the weekend's two Group One events at the Curragh.

On Sunday it is the turn of the stayers in the Jefferson Smurfit Irish St Leger.

And 24 hours later the juveniles are put to the test in the Aga Khan Studs National Stakes - which has fallen to future Classic winners Desert King and King of Kings in the last two years.

lGary Carter was the man in form at Goodwood yesterday with a 116-1 treble on Hujoom, Somayda and Mutaahab, the first two trained by John Dunlop and the other by that trainer's son Ed.

Mutaahab was the 100-30 outsider of three for the Bellway Homes Stardom Stakes but he made just about all the running and fought on really well to beat the odds-on Glamis by half a length.

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