Trawlerman went one place better than 12 months ago as he made all to win the Gr1 Gold Cup by an emphatic seven lengths in a course record time.
With no Kyprios to worry about, Godolphin’s seven-year-old needed to see off a new brigade of stayers if he was to land this prize for the first time.
However, stamina doubts surrounding those rivals were laid bare by the son of Golden Horn, who was given a perfect front-running ride by William Buick.
William Buick and Trawlerman return (Pic – Megan Coggin)
Trawlerman had a two-length break on his rivals turning for home and that margin only widened once his stamina kicked in. Eventual runner-up Illinois briefly looked a threat before his run petered out, with Dubai Future a further seven lengths back in third.
This was a fifth Gold Cup success for Trawlerman’s co-trainer John Gosden, following three-time winner Stradivarius and Courage Mon Ami, whom he trained in partnership with his son Thady.
Trawlerman’s winning time of 4m 15.02s eclipsed the previous course record of 4m 16.92s set by Rite Of Passage 15 years ago.
Gosden said: “Trawlerman just goes off. I said to William ‘what did you do?’ and he said, ‘I threw the reins at him, he can judge pace better than me’, and off they went together and picked it up from five out. He is an out-and-out galloper and William judged it perfectly – it is not an easy thing to do over two and a half miles.
“On the basis he stays, if anyone is going to go by him, they will know they have been in a race, but they never got to him because he simply outstayed them. He is a wonderful old horse, and a great team look after him. He is a favourite, part of the furniture really.
“He ran Kyprios to a length last year and they were both all out. I think he deserved, with Kyprios not here, to come back and show that he is a proper horse. We like the Cup races and those lovely staying horses. I remember the great horses – Lester Piggott rode Sagaro and he could turn the last six furlongs in 1m.12s flat. That is what I like, a horse than can go the distance and then go, and you can’t catch them. That is style.”
Discussing plans for Trawlerman, Gosden said: “I think he should be aimed at coming back next year, and he shouldn’t be over-raced at all in between. Do not be surprised if you don’t see him again until the Henry II next year. That could be a reality. I will discuss it with Sheikh Mohammed, but he doesn’t need to be going to all these races. He might come back here in the autumn, he’s won that before, and then put him away.”
On his resurgent season, Gosden said: “Last year was tricky. We didn’t have the horses and it didn’t quite work out but everybody has worked very hard. We have aimed at this for four, five, six months. Some horses are aimed at it for a year, like the winner yesterday, so it’s great when it comes to fulfilment. It is down to the team.”
Buick said: “Trawlerman is a great horse. We tried the same tactics last year and we were only beaten by the great Kyprios. He has been such a good horse and is so genuine. John and Thady’s horses are in great shape.
“I was so happy with this fellow when he won at Sandown. He had a beautiful prep and was just so smooth throughout the race today; he’s really what you want in a two-and-a-half-mile race. I did not have to touch the brakes once. He was on autopilot; he knows his own speed and stays well, so I was just a passenger.
Asked where winning the Gold Cup sits in his list of achievements, Buick said: “Of course it’s right at the top. The Gold Cup is an extraordinary race. It is two and a half miles, an extreme distance, at Royal Ascot – it is an incredible place. This is the greatest week of horseracing. Trawlerman went down so narrowly in the race last year, so to get it right this year means the world.”
On Trawlerman’s margin of victory, Buick said: “You just have to keep going. It is a race that, when you get into the last half-mile, that is where you separate the horses that stay and don’t stay. That is when Trawlerman comes into his own.”
Aidan O’Brien said of Illinois: “We thought he would be a Gold Cup horse next year. The plan was for Kyprios to come here this year and Illinois would step up next year. The plan was for Illinois to go to the Coronation [Cup], so I was training him as a good mile-and-a-half horse. Then when Kyprios retired, we switched him to this race.
“We have to be happy with the run. He had a lovely preparation the last day. Maybe if we knew he was coming here straightaway, we might have had him going earlier and maybe lighter. He might go to Goodwood and I would imagine he will progress again. He got tired at the two-furlong pole today, like a lot of horses do, and we will see if we can improve him another little bit for this distance. It shows how good Kyprios was, as Trawlerman had been second to him a couple of times.”
Dubai Future’s trainer Saeed bin Suroor said: “He ran really well, and he stayed. Now we will drop him back to two-mile races, maybe Goodwood. I said to James McDonald to drop him in and get him to relax, but also that as a Dubawi, he must have speed. He is an amazing horse, who has won over a mile and a half and a mile and a quarter.”
Gr1 Gold Cup
1 Trawlerman (Godolphin) John & Thady Gosden 7-9-04 William Buick 85/40F
2 Illinois (D Smith, S Magnier & M Tabor) Aidan O’Brien IRE 4-9-03 Ryan Moore 9/4
3 Dubai Future (Godolphin) Saeed bin Suroor 9-9-04 James McDonald 28/1
8 ran
- *John & Thady Gosden – 71st Royal Ascot winner
- William Buick – 38th Royal Ascot winner
- *includes wins in John Gosden’s own right
