GREAT Ambassador is a worthy favourite for this afternoon’s Virgin Bet Ayr Gold Cup. The Exceed And Excel gelding has progressed markedly this season since joining Ed Walker and dropping to six furlongs.

Winner of a novice stakes over seven furlongs as a juvenile for Ralph Beckett, he only raced three times last season as a three-year-old, but he shaped with a lot of promise on his final run last year at Kempton in October, and he delivered on that promise when he won a six-furlong handicap back at Kempton in March on his first run for Ed Walker.