THE story of the weekend has got to be the notable Silver and Gold Cup double at Ayr landed by the Richard Spencer, Phil Cunningham, George Wood combination, and it’s the horse that won the first leg that looked particularly impressive, writes Page Fuller.

Candy finished off last season in fine form, racking up a hat-trick of wins once the rain arrived in September.

George Wood kept it simple at Ayr, taking full advantage of his speed from the stalls and dictating his own fractions in front.

Ayr is a track that pays to be quick away, with 22% of winners over six furlongs ranking the fastest horse to 20mph. That compares to 18% of winning horses over six furlongs on the turf in Britain and Ireland as a whole.

Candy has ranked in the top two fastest horses to 20mph in eight of his last 10 starts, and Saturday was no exception. He reached 20mph in 2.29 seconds, which was the fastest of the race, and the 10th quickest time recorded by any horse at the meeting. It set the race up perfectly for him.

His win time was also quite impressive. His Time Index of 6 out of 10 was the highest of the meeting, and his win time was 0.25 seconds faster than the Gold Cup an hour later. What was even more noteworthy, was the fact that he was carrying 8lb more than Run Boy Run, the winner of the Gold Cup.

The rain should be set in for autumn now and, with it, is Candy’s chance of bagging some valuable late season prizes.