Gold Cup (Group 1)

THE Gold Cup isn’t so much the feature of the day on Thursday, but the feature of the Royal Meeting as a whole and it produced a worthy winner as Kyprios (Aidan O’Brien/Ryan Moore) retained the crown he wore in 2022 before missing last year through injury.

The six-year-old looked as good as ever as he got the better of a great battle with Trawlerman (John and Thady Gosden/William Buick) who made the running and rallied bravely when the 11/10 favourite went past early in the straight.

Try as he might, however, Kyprios was in no mood to be outbattled and he gradually regained the upper hand in the last 100 yards to win by a length, with the runner-up’s stablemate Sweet William (Rab Havlin) staying on past beaten horses to claim a creditable third, six lengths in total behind Kyprios.

Trawlerman had lowered the colours of Kyprios in the QIPCO British Champions Long Distance Cup in October, and the rematch panned out in the same manner except that while Kyprios hadn’t the benefit of a prep run in the autumn, he came here on the back of two wins already this season, and that proven fitness was arguably the difference.

Given the nature of the issue that sidelines Kyprios last year, his trainer deserves huge credit for getting him back on a racecourse, never mind retaining a Gold Cup.

Million to one

Asked how likely Kyprios’ recover from injury had looked, O’Brien replied: “I’d say it is millions to one. It was really impossible to come back from what he came back from. He got an infection in his joint, and it got into the joint capsule.

“Usually what happens is that they lose the movement in the joint, and for a while he did, but it came back. It’s from the care that they all took to get him back. It’s incredible.

“At one stage, it didn’t look like he was going to live. Then it was getting him to stand, and then to walk, then to trot, then teaching him how to canter again, because he had to move all his body in different ways again.

“I thought at every stage it was never going to happen [but] when there are that many people working together in that kind of a special way, anything was possible. Nobody was trying to take credit for anything. Everyone was passing it on and working it out with each other.

“He stays forever. Ryan said going out, ‘I know he stays best, and he has the most speed as well.’ It’s easy to say that, but to make it happen like he did out there is another thing. Ryan gave him an unbelievable ride. Incredible. It wasn’t easy.

“The second horse passed him here last year, and the second horse came back at him. I could see Ryan biding his time, and he went there and went there - it’s masterful stuff, really.

“Every year Ryan rides, he gets better. Every year he has ridden for us, he gets better. He is the complete package and puts it all in, in every way – he is so committed, so straight, so loyal, so dedicated, such an athlete.”

Norfolk Stakes (Group 2)

THE action on Thursday started with the Group 2 Norfolk Stakes over five furlongs. Whistlejacket was sent off an odds-on favourite having earned rave reviews for his win in a listed race at the Curragh, but he could finish only fourth after getting outpaced in the middle of the race. Victory went to Karl Burke, Wathnan Racing and James Doyle as Shareholder scored at odds of 12/1.

Winner of Beverley’s 2-y-o Trophy on debut having been an expensive Breeze-Up purchase, Shareholder was a little slowly away but recovered to race powerfully on the far side and hit the front over a furlong out.

He again showed signs of greenness as he hung left in front, but comfortably held the challenge of Tropical Storm (Andrew Balding/Oisin Murphy) to win by a length, with a further head to Arizona Blaze (Adrian Murray/David Egan) who finished best of all to reverse Curragh form with the favourite as he edged third in a photo.

Burke said: “Shareholder did a hell of a lot wrong first time, but I knew he’d step forward from that, even physically. Although he was two or three kilos lighter coming here today than Beverley, he looked bigger and stronger. Great credit must go to Richard Brown; I know he had plenty of money to spend, but he’s bought very well.

“I think this is a very good horse, and he’ll stay six furlongs as well. I thought we were going to get nabbed a furlong out, and then he’s gone again. I love the way he stretched again in the last 50 yards.”

Pressed on future plans, Burke added: “I would say he’s speed. I think he will definitely stay six furlongs and I’m sure he’ll be a Commonwealth Cup horse. I don’t think he’ll be a Guineas horse - he hasn’t shown us that, although he relaxed very well today, so I suppose he has a chance.”

Ribblesdale Stakes (Group 2)

EYE-catching headgear is a Royal Ascot prerequisite and Port Fairy (Aidan O’Brien/Ryan Moore) did her bit in the fashion stakes as she landed the Group 2 Ribblesdale Stakes sporting a first-time visor.

As she did when winning the Lingfield Oaks Trial, You Got To Me soon established a big advantage and she was chased by the eventual winner, albeit at a respectful distance. The order didn’t change much until the straight where Port Fairy threw down a challenge to the fading leader, but Lava Stream (David O’Meara/Danny Tudhope) also came with a strong run, heading the winner a furlong out.

To her credit, Port Fairy responded gamely when passed and rallied to regain the advantage as the first two drew clear, winning by a hard-fought neck. Kalpana (Andrew Balding/Oisin Murphy) stayed on late to finish third, two lengths behind the 12/1 winner.

Port Fairy was showing improved form having been beaten narrowly in the Cheshire Oaks on her previous start, but she still started a bigger price than stablemate Rubies Are Red despite Ryan Moore seemingly preferring her to the Lingfield Oaks runner-up.

Lava Stream also deserves huge credit having looked sure to win when making a big move from the rear to lead well over a furlong out. She battled well and might well have won if delivered later in the piece and is progressing at a rapid rate having won a handicap off 74 just a few weeks ago.

This was a significant win for Ryan Moore, as it took him ahead of Frankie Dettori (81) in the list of leading Royal Ascot riders, but still some way behind Lester Piggott’s record of 116.

Explaining his decision to miss the Oaks with Port Fairy, O’Brien said: “We just thought Epsom was going to come too quick for her, so we gave her a bit of time. Ryan said maybe try a visor on her at home before coming here, so we put a visor on her the last day, and her work really stepped up. She looks like she’d be a lovely Irish Oaks filly now.”

King George V Stakes

A WIDE draw tends to be a help on the round course at Ascot and that was the case in the King George V Handicap as Going The Distance (Ralph Beckett/Rossa Ryan), drawn in stall 18, beat Neski Sherelski (Joseph O’Brien/Jamie Spencer) from stall 19, that pair making their moves late and wide after Highland Bling and Gasper de Lemos had set strong fractions for the mile and a half trip.

The latter did well to hang on for fifth given the gallop but the hold-up horses were favoured and Ryan had the patience to delay his challenge until after the home turn where he passed tiring rivals to lead inside the final furlong.

Neski Sherelski came from even further back and close to within half a length at the line, with Go Daddy (William Muir and Christy Grassick/Lewis Edmunds) the same distance away third having held every chance. The winner, racing in the colours of Marc Chan, was returned at 9/1.

ASK racing fans of a certain age whether they prefer jumps or flat racing, and the overwhelming response is the former; the reason for that, if you dig deeper, will be in the names that come out.

It’s the personalities that make the sport and the equine ones are much more engaging than the humans as a rule. Red Rum, Desert Orchid, Kauto Star, Sprinter Sacre, and Tiger Roll are names which will ease furrowed brows and bring smiles to the glummest faces.

The best flat horses tend to have much more fleeting careers, and as a result they rarely invoke the same affection that ‘Rummy’ and co have, but the existence of the Gold Cup at Ascot is the primary antidote to that.

Here we have a race that doesn’t just empty wallets but fills souls and engages hearts and minds in a way the Derby rarely does. Ardross and Le Moss, Sadeem and Royal Gait, Double Trigger and Kayf Tara, Yeats, Stradivarius and now Kyprios.

Admiration

The heroes and villains of the Gold Cup engender admiration and spark debate more than any sprinter, and the battles that ensue over the two and a half miles of Ascot’s demanding terrain are the stuff that becomes legend.

How did they ever consider cutting the distance of what has always been the jewel in Ascot’s crown. Madness.

In a two-mile contest the Gold Cup would have been a good race, in which Kyprios might have beaten Trawlerman by a similar margin but in more clinical style and with several beaten horses finishing close up.

The extra half mile makes the race, that 50-odd seconds of extra anticipation helping to build to a proper climax, but the real difference is that the distance asks more of top-class racehorses, making them show something beyond tactical speed and stamina, something like heart and character, and the front pair did not lack for those qualities.

Just as in October, Trawlerman made most of the running only to be headed early in the straight and while his winning rally that day was put down to a lack of fitness from Kyprios, Trawlerman showed that he had the stomach for a fight against a pitch-perfect Kyprios in the rematch, digging deep to come back alongside, and as he did so, he asked the same question of Ryan Moore’s mount.

The answer was affirmative, with Kyprios gathering himself again to renew battle and edge ahead for a second time. Trawlerman did not crack and kept his hooded head stuck out gamely, but the sheer class of Kyprios saw him inch inexorably ahead to win by a length.

Over two miles, Vauban might have finished a length or two behind the top pair, exaggerating his involvement in a thrilling race, but he was left behind as the heavyweights battled it out over the full 15 rounds.

The Gold Cup sees excellence on a constant basis because the trip asks for the sinews to be strained, and it leaves an indelible impression as a result. Long may it last.