THE Scottish Stewards' Cup has attracted the full house it deserves at Hamilton tonight when a maximum field of 16 will slog it out for the £35,000 contest.
Not that slog is really the right word to use in the circumstances as this six-furlong dash will be no 15-rounder, nor will it come down to the survival of the fittest. It will be short, sharp and, for associates of the winner, very sweet. The har
d part is deciding exactly who the ecstatic connections will be.
Zomerlust bounced back to his best when scoring at York on Saturday, and even a six pounds penalty still leaves John Quinn's runner looking a well handicapped individual now that he's struck form – and the assistance of joint champion jockey Seb Sanders can do no harm.
Last year's winner Knot In Wood returns to Lanarkshire in search of a repeat, and with Richard Fahey's string in blinding form he could hardly be ignored. He may not be quite good enough to win, but the remarkable Pawan deserves a mention on what will be his 114th start.
Aberdeenshire-owned Blue Tomato scored over course and distance last time out so is clearly at the top of his game as well, although it's just a pity his handler Dandy Nicholls wasn't a wee bit more au fait with winning big sprints.
Our idea of the winner, however, is Everymanforhimself who was successful over the minimum trip at Beverley last time out but is equally at home when tackling an extra 220 or so yards.
Jim Goldie is fancied to lift the opener with Papa's Princess, stablemate Wind Shuffle is entrusted with the nap in the last, and, since he did us a turn on yesterday's card, Guest Connections can hardly be cast aside like an old rag.
Tony Culhane's return to the saddle 24 hours ago failed to produce a fairy tale ending, albeit he only had the one mount after intended partner Grit was withdrawn, but a few of his weighing room colleagues fared better with the winners being well spread out among the jocks.
Andrew Elliott kicked off proceedings aboard Suzie Quw and Andrew Mullen weighed in with victory on Flashy Max before Tom Eaves, Robert Winston and Neil Brown came good on Wells Lyrical, Grazeon Gold Blend and Splash The Cash.
The full article contains 394 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
