Johnny Barnes, the Bermuda-owned thoroughbred, will take a stride into the unknown when he competes over six furlongs at The William Hill Ayr Gold Cup in Scotland today.

More accustomed to seven-furlong races, it will be Johnny Barnes’s first outing since undergoing rehabilitation near Highclere — the racing syndicate in Berkshire that oversees the Bermuda Thoroughbred Racing operation.

With the ground at Ayr soft, good to soft, the conditions should suit Johnny Barnes whose trainer John Gosden said the horse has been in excellent form since recovering from his niggling injuries.

He will be ridden by Robert Havlin in the hugely valuable race, worth £124,000 to the winner and featuring 25 runners, which starts at 11.35am Bermuda time.

Johnny Barnes’s odds stand at 20-1, with Growl, trained by Richard Fahey, the favourite at 10-1, having finished an eye-catching fourth in the Stewards Cup at Goodwood in July on his previous start.

The BTR are considering selling Johnny Barnes at the end of the season, believing it is time to cash in on its flagship horse.

Named after the island’s legendary well-wisher, who died at the age of 93 in July, the group-three winner is likely to be auctioned at the Tattersalls Horses in Training Sale in Newmarket, Suffolk, next month.