Royal Ascot Gold Cup Tips: Who will succeed Kyprios?

Day three of Royal Ascot is the home of the Gold Cup, the most prestigious staying contest of the year in the UK.

Run over 2m4f, this extreme test has been dominated by some of the great stayers in recent years, including Stradivarius and Kyprios, with the latter's recent retirement paving the way for a new champion.

A field of eight have been declared for Thursday’s race and our expert has picked out a pair to follow.

Betfred Betting Offer

4.202m. 3f. 210yds. 8 Declared.
Gold Cup (Group 1) (Class 1 ) of £650,000.00 4-y-o plus

• Formscan
• Race Info

1st - €368,615.00 2nd - €139,750.00 3rd - €69,940.00 4th - €34,840.00 5th - €17,485.00 6th - €8,775.00 Going - Good to Firm. 

Formscan - Following the retirement of dual winner Kyprios, Aidan O'Brien relies on the highly talented Illinois as he bids for a record-breaking 10th winner of this illustrious event. However, top-tier success has been elusive for the son of Galileo, who will be stepping into uncharted territory over this marathon trip. That is not the case with the 2024 runner-up, TRAWLERMAN, who has a major chance of going one better this year. The John and Thady Gosden-trained gelding stays well, is effective on the forecast going and enjoyed an ideal preparation by defeating Coltrane by five lengths in the Henry II at Sandown. His stable companion Sweet William and the unexposed French raider Candelari are also capable of being on the premises.

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  Odds Shortening Odds Lengthening

42	1st	Trawlerman	7/4 9/4	2/1
81	2nd	Illinois	6/4 9/4	9/4
74	6th	Candelari	7/2 11/4	5/2
38	4th	Sweet William	9/1 13/2	8/1
25	3rd	Dubai Future		22/1
16	5th	Coltrane		28/1
53	p.u.	Wonder Legend		33/1
67	7th	Yashin		40/1
Betting Percentage				117%
Each-Way Terms				3 1/5

 

4²

Trawlerman 8

2/1

1st

Rating: 118

• Odds

Price

E/W

Moves

2/1

3 1/5

8¹

Illinois 5

9/4

2nd

Rating: 116

• Odds

Price

E/W

Moves

9/4

3 1/5

7/4 9/4 16:10

7⁴

Candelari 5

5/2

6th

Rating: 118

• Odds

Price

E/W

Moves

5/2

3 1/5

3⁸

Sweet William 7

8/1

4th

Rating: 116

• Odds

Price

E/W

Moves

8/1

3 1/5

2⁵

Dubai Future 10

22/1

3rd

Rating: 116

• Odds

Price

E/W

Moves

22/1

3 1/5

1⁶

Coltrane 9

28/1

5th

Rating: 112

• Odds

Price

E/W

Moves

28/1

3 1/5

5³

Wonder Legend 6

33/1

p.u.

Rating: 108

• Odds

Price

E/W

Moves

33/1

3 1/5

6⁷

Yashin 7

40/1

7th

Rating: 106

• Odds

Price

E/W

Moves

40/1

3 1/5

Candelari

Hopes will be high at Ballydoyle that last year’s St. Ledger second Illinois can take up the mantle from Kyprios, and he has been well supported to do so, currently trading at 13/8 favourite.

However, with equally strong claims but at a bigger price, CANDELARI is selected to come out on top. The progressive son of Frankel recently made it four wins from five starts in his short career when bolting up in the Group One Prix Vicomtesse Vigier at Paris Longchamp

That was a deeply impressive performance against some established top-level stayers. The way he finished his race over the 1m71/2F trip suggests he will have every chance of getting this step up in trip.

He has achieved a high level of form in a short space of time under his excellent and bang in form trainer Francis Henri Graffard, who had an impressive winner at this meeting last year.

He remains open to plenty of progress and, as a gelding, could be a leading force in this race for years to come. His ability to handle fast ground is unknown but he appeals as the one to be with.

Wonder Legend

Trawlerman is the standard setter in this contest having run a mighty race behind Kyprios last year, however, with preference for Candelari at the front of the market, one to be interested in at a bigger price to hit the places is WONDER LEGEND for the in-form James Ferguson yard.

The son of Sea The Stars has a bit to find with the principles on official ratings but he continues to show progressive form and it remains to be seen where his limitations lie.

A step up to 2miles brought further improvement in Newcastle’s All Weather Championships Marathon Handicap, where he took apart a competitive field in the manor of a horse destined for Group Company.

He was value for more than the four-and-a-half length winning margin and lowered the course record by over a second. His strength at the finish that day suggests he will have a chance of staying this extra distance.

The switch back to turf shouldn't be an issue if he copes well with the fast ground and he could cause a surprise against the proven group operators