Horse In Profile: Kyprios

This is an informative time of the season, with plenty of Classic trials and Royal Ascot pointers happening on both sides of the Irish Sea. We could see Aidan O’Brien’s awesome stayer Kyprios this week, as he gears up for another Ascot Gold Cup bid.

He could line up in the Group 3 Saval Beg Levmoss Stakes at Leopardstown on Friday and as he has won two of the last three renewals, victory will be expected. Here we take a close look at his profile and glittering career thus far.

Getting off to a slow start

The 122-rated seven-year-old managed to win on debut as a two-year-old and he scraped home in a pretty average Galway maiden. Things didn’t go to plan when sent over to Newmarket for the Zetland Stakes after that and he was beaten after a furlong.

He returned to winning ways in an average event at Cork on his first start at three but flopped again in the Lingfield Derby trial after that. We then didn’t see him for the rest of the season, which did him the world of good in hindsight.

A switch is flicked at four

Kyprios began his four-year-old campaign with an easy success in the Vintage Crop Stakes, which was his first start over 1m6f. He then made his three rivals look silly when winning this race in 2022 by 14 lengths.

The Ascot Gold Cup then beckoned and he took the step up to 2m4f in his stride, gamely getting the better of Mojo Star. Another three Group 1 victories were to follow in 2022 and he established himself as the class act in the division.

Narrow successes in the Goodwood Cup and Irish St Leger were followed by an utterly dominant display in the Prix Du Cadran on Arc weekend. He even drifted violently over to the inside rail but still finished 20 lengths in front of the runner-up.

It’s a shame that injury ruined his season in 2023 and it’s entirely likely that he would have three Ascot Gold Cup wins to his name now and several more Group 1s.

Back to his awesome best in 2024

Aidan O’Brien kept Kyprios busy last season, and he ended up with a perfect seven-from-seven record. The son of Galileo was better than ever, and he had plenty in hand when winning the Vintage Crop and this race before his Gold Cup bid.

He saw off the Trawlerman to gain a second success in the Royal Ascot showpiece and oozed with class. More Group 1 success followed with very cosy victories in the Goodwood Cup, Irish St Leger and Prix Du Cadran.

The Long Distance Cup at Ascot on Champions’ Day could have been a bit of a landmine after a long and successful campaign, but he produced a thoroughly professional performance once again to score by two-and-a-quarter lengths.

No alarms or surprises at Leopardstown

It’s hard to see any shocks happening if he lines up at Leopardstown on Friday, as his class is matched by his consistency. There are six potential rivals that he could face, two of whom are stablemates, and none of them can lay a glove on Kyprios.