The flat weekend revolves around one of the season’s pre-eminent sprint handicaps. The Ayr Gold Cup is always so well subscribed that there are two reserve races throughout the weekend, with the Gold Cup itself the main race on the Saturday card north of the border.
Andrew Mount has two selections in the feature race of the day, with two more tips from Ayr and one at Newcastle to begin the weekend.
Ayr Racing Tips (Saturday 19 September 2026)
It is Gold Cup day at Ayr and Andrew Mount has a huge four selections at the track, including two to take against the field in the feature handicap.
1.20 Ayr – Thunder Roar (1pt e/w – 7/1 bet365, Hills)
Autumn expert Thunder Roar took this 1m Class 2 handicap last year and runs off a 3lb lower mark this time around. The Tony Coyle and Kaine Wood-trained seven-year-old son of Night Of Thunder copes well with soft/heavy going as his pedigree suggests and has won juts once from 20 starts in the January to August period. His record in September-October stands at 23112422184102 (4-14), improving to 2311222112 (4-10) away from Ascot.
2.30 Ayr – Toyotomi (1pt e/w – 11/2 bet365, Hills)
Toyotomi looked unlucky when tenth of 24 in the Bold Lad Premier Handicap at the Curragh last week and, while David O’Meara’s 25-1 shot would probably not have beaten easy winner Coul Angel been if he had not repeatedly been denied a clear passage, he would have finished in the frame at least. His earlier sixth to Ayr Gold Cup hope Flash Harry at Goodwood was another solid effort – he emerged second best of those to come from off the pace – and the ground at Ayr has come in his favour. The booking of Oisin Murphy looks significant and while we can’t be sure whether stall 4 will prove helpful or not, the pace is centre/far side and he’ll be switch off in the ear, ideal given the forecast strong headwind.
3.40 Ayr – Rock On Thunder (0.5pt e/w – 66/1 Hills, Ladbrokes, Coral) & Candy (0.5pt e/w – 16/1 general)
Kevin Ryan has a good record in the Ayr Gold Cup, and I can’t resist a small interest on Rock On Thunder who, as the name suggests, is another son of Night Of Thunder. The three-year-old is winless since his juvenile debut but has had a wind operation since beating only one home at Chester in early August and that could bring about improvement. His trainer does well with horses returning from wind surgery, scoring with 21 of the 147 qualifiers (14.3%) for a profit of £12.75 at SP (+£49.21 at Betfair SP after commission). The three-year-olds are 14 from 70 (20%) for a profit of £29.38 at SP (+£55.24 BSP) and his stall 11 draw could prove handy, as he should get a good tow into the race from stablemate Volterra, drawn nearby in stall 9.
Candy landed the Ayr Silver Cup in good style last season to take his record over 6f in the autumn months to 11141 (4-5), with the sole defeat when 28-1 for a 19-runner handicap at Ascot when not looking ideally happy at the track (he’s 0-5 at the Berkshire venue). He’s been beaten out of sight in three runs this year, but all came on good or faster going and he’s clearly been laid out for today’s contest. The first-time hood could help, and he has his ground conditions.
Newcastle Racing Tips (Saturday 19 September 2026)
Andrew also has a selection late in the afternoon at Newcastle, his tip running in the opening race.
4.10 Newcastle – Someone’s Wish (0.5pt e/w – )
Someone’s Wish used to run best during the September-October period when trained by Gordon Elliott in Ireland, recording early-autumn figures (jumps and all-weather only) of 111318 (4-6), with the sole unplaced effort on October 31st when he’d already peak for the year. The six-year-old joined Par Morris in the spring and, after two runs down the field at Wolverhampton/Pontefract, he looked on his way back when an 11-1 runner-up in classified company on Lingfield’s Polytrack in mid-August. He was sent off at just 9-2 at Wolverhampton shortly afterwards, but Ryan Kavanagh pressed the pace out wide on this usually held-up performer and helped set it up for the closers before weakening into a 20-length ninth of 11. The first three home came from midfield or further back and it’s safe to ignore. He returns to a more suitable 1m2f trip today and a patient ride could see him in the frame at a big price.
Andrew Mount’s Best Bets Today
1.20 Ayr – Thunder Roar (1pt e/w – 7/1 bet365, Hills)
2.30 Ayr – Toyotomi (1pt e/w – 11/2 bet365, Hills)
3.40 Ayr – Rock On Thunder (0.5pt e/w – 66/1 Hills, Ladbrokes, Coral) & Candy (0.5pt e/w – 16/1 general)
4.10 Newcastle – Someone’s Wish (0.5pt e/w – )
Andrew Mount’s Horse Racing Tips – Saturday 19 September
FAQs: Today’s Racing Tips
What are today’s racing tips?
Andrew Mount provides his best bets at Ayr and Newcastle.
Which racecourses run on Saturday 19 September?
Ayr, Newbury, Chester, Newmarket, Newcastle, Gowran Park.
Who is Andrew Mount?
Andrew Mount is a professional tipster with over a decade of experience following UK and Irish racing. He combines form study, market moves and trainer intelligence to identify value bets each day, and shares his tips daily on X as @TrendHorses.
When were today’s tips published?
Today’s tips were published at 3.06pm on Monday 14 September 2026.
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