Royal Ascot will dominate the horseracing landscape this week as the festival of racing starts on Tuesday and runs through to Saturday.
Stradivarius headlines 15 remaining contenders for the Gr1 Gold Cup, the centrepiece of Royal Ascot on Thursday 17th June.
The hugely popular three-time winner has the chance to emulate Yeats, who recorded four consecutive Gold Cup victories between 2006 and 2009.
Can Stradivarius emulate Yeats?
Now a seven-year-old, Stradivarius returned this season with an impressive victory in the G3 Longines Sagaro Stakes at Ascot in April.
Bjorn Nielsen’s homebred, who is trained by John & Thady Gosden, is aiming for a fifth consecutive victory at Royal Ascot, with his first success at the meeting coming in the 2017 G2 Queen’s Vase.
Speaking on Friday at a media call presented by QIPCO British Champions Series on behalf of Ascot Racecourse, John Gosden said: “It would be extraordinary from the point of view that Stradivarius is still a full horse. He is not a gelding, and the geldings often race on a lot longer because they are not dealing with the distractions of life!
“This boy is very vociferous and an absolute riot to be around. He has always been very entertaining and has a great personality. I just tend to let him enjoy himself and, as long as he is enjoying himself, that’s all that matters.
“He likes to be first out in the mornings and when he sees other strings, he shouts and roars. He seems to particularly like the blue of Godolphin, which causes him to shout even more. Then he comes back, eats his grub, and goes to sleep. He can see all the horses going in and out, so he checks everything. I think if you had to take a world tour with him, there is quite a likelihood in the end that you would say ‘look, can you just shut up for a second!’. But that’s his nature, he is just an incredibly fun horse to be around.
“He is like part of the family now and when his owner-breeder Bjorn Nielsen comes to stay, he can look out of the guest room window and see Stradivarius saying hello to him. Full marks to Bjorn because he has bred this horse and raced him in the most sporting manner. I have nothing but respect for him to do that. He tried to breed a Derby horse and wound up with a wonderful cup horse.
“Stradivarius has won four Goodwood Cups, as well as Yorkshire Cups, Doncaster Cups, Lonsdale Cups. They put up the £1 million bonus two years running, thinking nobody would do it, and he knocked it off both years and finished the insurance company off. He has been remarkable. I think the toughest race of his life was actually his first Gold Cup against the great French stayer Vazirabad.
“He seems to love his training still and likes his racing. He can be very naughtily behaved beforehand and think he’s in the covering shed, but when it comes to the race, he gets down to the start and says ‘right, there’s a job to do, lets go’.
“He worked on the July Course last Tuesday and, touch wood, we are ready to go again. Frankie [Dettori] gave him a little canter this morning in front of the TV cameras and that all went smoothly.
“I have a lot of respect for the new boy on the block Subjectivist. And I have a lot of respect for Alan King’s horse Trueshan if he runs, although he may prefer a downpour. But there is no doubt Subjectivist adds a lot of spice to the race.”
The 2020 Derby hero Serpentine is a fascinating contender for Aidan O’Brien having been supplemented at a cost of £30,000.
Serpentine is set to become the first Derby winner to run in the Gold Cup since Blakeney in 1970. Ocean Swell in 1945 is the last Derby winner to win the Gold Cup.
O’Brien’s hand is strengthened further by 2020 Gr1 Irish Derby victor Santiago and Amhrann Na Bhfiann, who finished third behind Serpentine in the Derby.
Mark Johnston is doubly represented by last year’s Gold Cup second Nayef Road and Subjectivist, who routed the opposition in the G2 Dubai Gold Cup in March.
A strong line up also features Trueshan (Alan King), a dominant winner of the G2 QIPCO British Champions Long Distance Cup at Ascot in October, Gr1 Melbourne Cup victor Twilight Payment (Joseph O’Brien) and last month’s Gr2 Yorkshire Cup scorer Spanish Mission (Andrew Balding).
