Glasses Up: a tribute to Ayr's record breaker

The seasons are a-changin’. From the fading embers of the sultriest summer in memory, to the dewy beginnings of autumn. 

From the speed and ceremony of the Flat, to the pure power and passion of the jumps. 

Yet for Ayrshire trainer Mike Smith and The Jolly Beggars syndicate who owned him, nothing can replace Glasses Up.

He didn’t just love Ayr, he bossed it. A record-extending 12th track win last month - secured with trademark tenacity, even at the age of 11, which made him such a favourite in these parts - earned Glasses Up the distinction of being only the second horse since Beverley specialist Rapid Lad in the late 1980s to reach a dozen victories at the same UK Flat course.

If Iris Dancer, who coincidentally beat him to that accomplishment only 48 hours earlier, is the Queen of Hamilton handicaps, Glasses Up is the unequivocally the King of Ayr’s.

This modern-day racing fairytale began just over eight and a half years ago, when Smith paid £2,000 to buy an already gelded, but still unraced, three-year-old out of Joseph O’Brien’s yard. 

A 28-1 success in a 1m2f Ayr novice on just his second start was the first of three wins in 2018 at what quickly became Glasses Up’s happy place. Another three followed in 2020.

Ask Smith, whose training base at Galston is only 15 miles from the winning line at Ayr, for a favourite memory, though, and he doesn’t hesitate in nominating Glasses Up’s 2025 course hat-trick. 

They were achieved in a spell of little more than three weeks last April and May, firstly over 1m5f then twice back at his preferred distance of 1m2f. It was also the only time Glasses Up won three races in a row.

“To do that at the age of 10 was just fantastic,” said Smith. “He was a lovely horse to train but also a very sound one, right throughout his life. We missed two months with him one year with a leg injury. Other than that, he barely missed a day. 

“My vet was in shortly after his final win at Ayr six weeks ago. I took him over to show him Glasses Up’s legs and he couldn’t believe how sound his joints were for an 11-year-old, especially one who loved fast ground. 

“That’s a huge testament to him for being the horse he was but also his soundness. It’s one of the reasons why we wrote such an amazing story with him.”

Glasses Up’s sole success away from his beloved home track came at Musselburgh in July 2021. At 1m6f, it was the longest distance he won over. As a Sky Bet Sunday Series race, it was also the most valuable.

Smith added: “I remember that day vividly, because he beat Wise Eagle by a short-head giving him 1lb! Not only that, they pulled four lengths clear of the third horse who’d won three in a row coming into that race and won again next time. It was arguably the best performance of his career.”

All told, that career comprised 112 races, including one swiftly aborted encounter with hurdles. Exactly half of those came at Ayr, where he added six seconds and six third-place finishes to his memory-making dozen victories. Save for a couple of £20 notes, he also earned £150,000 in win and place prize-money for The Jolly Beggars, a mainly local syndicate comprising a bunch of retired police officers taking their first step into racehorse ownership. 

In an era when the superpowers of the sport are sending sales-ring prices spiralling skywards, Glasses Up was glorious proof that there’s always hope for the wee guy.