Ascot Gold Cup Entries: Stradivarius, Kyprios and Trueshan feature in 13 entries
John & Thady Gosden's Stradivarius will bid for a record-equalling fourth win in the Gold Cup at Royal Ascot on Thursday 17th June, and the legendary stayer is one of the star attractions amongst 13 entries received for the Group 1 marathon event, which is the feature on day three of the Royal meeting. We take a look at the latest Gold Cup entries here and touch on the latest betting...
A winner in 2018, 2019 and 2020, Stradivarius failed in his quest to emulate the mighty Yeats by winning four Gold Cups at last year's Royal Ascot as Subjectivist stormed to glory, but that raider will not line up this season due to injury. Now, eight years old, Stradivarius may lack the spark of yesteryear, but he still showed that he can perform to a high level when he won the Yorkshire Cup on his seasonal reappearance, and the 4/1 second favourite is sure to prove extremely popular with punters, with Frankie Dettori sure to ride him again.
Alan King's Trueshan is arguably the premier stayer in training at the moment, but the Barbury Castle inmate is in dire need of cut in the ground, if he is to produce his best, and if there's a lack of rain then King won't let his star line up. A fine winner of the Long Distance Cup on British Champions Day at Ascot, Trueshan showed his class that day, but with the likely to remain relatively settled in the coming week then it's no shock to see him drift in the betting to a current 5/1 chance.
The aforementioned Yeats was trained by the legendary Aidan O'Brien, and the master of Ballydoyle is hoping he can another superstar stayer on his hands in the shape of Kyprios, who is currently the 5/2 market leader, and he has warmed up for this contest with two impressive wins. A fine victory over Search For A Song in the Listed Vintage Crop Stakes at Navan on his first start this season, the four-year-old son of Galileo then cruised to Group 3 glory at Leopardstown, when sent off at prohibitive odds. He will need to improve again to down the aforementioned heavyweight duo, but he has the potential to be the next dominant stayer and is the most fascinating runner in the entry list.
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Ralph Beckett's Scope will be another four-year-old like Kyprios aiming to down some older, more experienced rivals and the Teofilo colt who won the Listed Noel Murless Stakes at Ascot last season then went on to win the Group 1 Prix Royal-Oak in France. Beckett's charge beat Skazino that day, and could be a fly in the ointment of the fancied trio at the top of the betting.
Richard Hannon's Mojo Star was a fine runner-up in the 2021 Derby at Epsom at huge odds and then chased home Hurricane Lane in the St Leger at Doncaster to show he could be an improving stayer. Tenth in the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe on his final start, the four-year-old could make his season reappearance in this event, which is sure to be a tough order for a progressive sort.
Second in the race 12 months ago, the Tony Mullins-trained seven-year-old mare Princess Zoe will attempt to go one better in this year's renewal and she warmed up for the event with a fine win in the Sagaro Stakes at Ascot, and she's currently available around the 10/1 mark.
Of the others, former Triumph Hurdle winner Burning Victory could line up for WIllie Mullins, while the likes of Wordsworth and recent Chester Cup winner Cleveland could add significant depth to the O'Brien charge, with Tashkhan, Earlofthcotswolds, Alignak and Bubble Smart completing the 13-strong entry list.