Racing: Hopes N Dreams on course for Gold Cup

Hopes N Dreams nicely sums up her owner Jimmy Chua as she fulfilled one of his ambitions with a convincing victory in the John Akehurst Handicap at Epsom yesterday.

Trainer Kevin Ryan will surely have other runners in the William Hill Ayr Gold Cup as he looks to complete a hat-trick in next month’s prestigious handicap, but Chua would be delighted if his five-year-old mare can be part of the team. A further rise up the weights will be required as Hopes N Dreams collected this six-furlong event, named after the late local trainer, with a rating of just 87.

Although she barely showed in the Great St Wilfrid consolation race last time, it was a different story under a front-running ride from Jamie Spencer as she struck at odds of 8-1. Five of Hopes N Dreams’ six previous wins had been at Hamilton, three of them this summer, and Chua said: “I live locally and I’ve always wanted to see one of my horses win here. She’s a very nervous filly and can get upset in the stalls but Jamie rode her perfectly. She is a Hamilton specialist, but Epsom isn’t a completely different type of course and we were quietly confident. She’s 
entered in the Ayr Gold Cup and I’d love her to go there.”