Becoming as rare a piece of work as the brand of instrument after which he is named, Stradivarius (Ire) (Sea the Stars {Ire}) returns to Royal Ascot on Thursday looking to join a band of staying nobles whose names have been written more than once on the G1 Gold Cup honour roll. In contrast to the fast conditions he encountered 12 months ago when outgaming Vazirabad (Fr) (Menduro {Ger}), Bjorn Nielsen's millionaire faces a potential slog this time with rain continuing to dog Berkshire's theatre of dreams. Like all the greats of this cherished division, the beloved chestnut is also met by a new cast a year on as would-be marathon stars appear from all angles. They include the remorseless Dee Ex Bee (GB) (Farhh {GB}), with his humourless galloping style certain to fit Thursday's edition and the swashbuckling class act from the G1 Melbourne Cup in Cross Counter (GB) (Teofilo {Ire}), who would have been best served had the rain stayed away.
Yeats (Ire) had similar examinations after he first caught Ascot unawares in 2006, with allcomers attempting to subsequently dethrone him to no avail. Stradivarius is no Yeats, with his style tailored more to a swift closing effort than the grinding nature of the Ballydoyle giant's method, but a win in this particularly strong edition in these gruelling conditions would move him ever closer to his own portion of immortality. There was nothing in his return winning performance in the May 17 G2 Yorkshire Cup to suggest he had lost either enthusiasm or dexterity following his winter break and the march is on for more “Cup” glory after his high-achieving manoeuvres from here to Goodwood to York and back here again last season.
Soft-ground Gold Cups are not uncommon, with the 2016 renewal won by Order of St George (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) and the 2012 version taken by Colour Vision (Fr) (Rainbow Quest) carried out on an easy surface, but Wednesday's deterioration in conditions has moved this one into another dimension. There was always going to be a time when Stradivarius would have to win ugly and this is it. He did manage to capture the G2 QIPCO British Champions Long Distance Cup in October on soft, but that was against lesser opposition and trainer John Gosden is well aware that his flagbearer will have to raise his game.
“If it rains a lot he is up against it,” the master of Clarehaven warned. “He has that great weapon for a two-and-a-half miler in that he has a phenomenal turn of foot. If it goes soft, it blunts his turn of foot and leaves him vulnerable. It won't be his scene if it turns into a slog on softer ground, because he has got a lot of class and that will favour the boys who have got to grind it out. I don't see the standard being any higher–he was just very effective on good-to-firm ground last year. He is not a big horse, but he has the ability in the last two furlongs to turn it on.”
Gosden is well aware of the burden connections carry into each task that Stradivarius undertakes now that he is such a high-profile campaigner. “To a degree, I share the view he is becoming a people's favourite,” he added. “He is in the Cup races and people enjoy them and he was the champion stayer last year.” Frankie Dettori will feel the pressure most, but having ridden over 60 winners here helps. “He has become the people's favourite horse,” he said. “The great thing about him is that he wears his heart on the sleeve and he never goes down without a fight and people appreciate that.”
Mark Johnston knows how epic the Gold Cup is, having conquered the great prize with Royal Rebel (GB) (Robellino) twice in 2001 and 2002 and with Double Trigger (Ire) (Ela-Mana-Mou {Ire}) in 1995, and will not have been disheartened by the rain for Dee Ex Bee. “We are relishing the extra half mile, not concerned about it,” he said of Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Maktoum's 4-year-old who had the class to be second in the G1 Epsom Derby. “Double Trigger was very much the classical stayer–he was 16.2 and tall and lean. Dee Ex Bee is far thicker-set and heavier, but on form and pedigree he's got all the credentials. He's been what we have been dreaming of for many years and he's all we imagined he would be.”
One of the those that Dee Ex Bee fell foul of in 2018 was Cross Counter, who broke Goodwood's mile-and-a-half track record when taking his measure in the G3 Gordon S. in August before his Flemington heroics. Like Blue Point (Ire) (Shamardal), he comes here on the back of a break since winning on World Cup night, but on the form of his success in the two-mile G2 Dubai Gold Cup he has to improve to lay a glove on Stradivarius. “He's a horse that has done well from three to four and I don't think he's plateaued out,” Charlie Appleby said. “What he's done over two miles, you cannot fault him. Stepping up in trip again, you don't know, but if he improves for it then it opens up even more possibilities.”
Supporting the centrepiece are a clutch of quality encounters kicked off by the G2 Norfolk S. in which King Power Racing's acquisition Sunday Sovereign (GB) (Equiano {Fr}) occupies favouritism and has a rock-solid feel. Having beaten Tuesday's G2 Coventry S. winner Arizona (Ire) (No Nay Never) by three lengths over six furlongs at The Curragh May 6, Paddy Twomey's exciting prospect registered a seven-length rout of his rivals in a Tipperary conditions race over this trip on soft ground June 4.
American Pharoah has his first Royal Ascot runner in the Apr. 19 Aqueduct maiden special weight scorer Maven for Richard Ravin and Wesley Ward while Ryan Moore has opted to ride the May 22 Cork maiden winner Mount Fuji (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}) from Aidan O'Brien's duo.
A fascinating G2 Ribblesdale S. sees Anthony Oppenheimer represented by two homebreds taking on the May 31 G1 Epsom Oaks third Fleeting (Ire) (Zoffany {Ire}). The William Haggas-trained Frankellina (GB) (Frankel {GB}), who was runner-up in the May 15 G3 Musidora S. and sixth in the Oaks, is met by 'TDN Rising Star' Star Catcher (GB) (Sea the Stars {Ire}) who was third behind the re-opposing Queen Power (Ire) (Shamardal) in the Listed Haras de Bouquetot Fillies' Trial S. at Newbury May 18. “I honestly don't favour one over the other and that is why we are running them both,” their owner-breeder commented. “When Star Catcher was beaten at Newbury, Frankie Dettori came back and apologised because he felt he should have won; he said he should have made more use of her because she was running on again at the line, she finished full of running. She should be really suited by stepping up in trip–that is what we are hoping. Frankellina had the two quick runs in the Musidora and the Oaks, but she did a really nice piece of work the other day which is why we are keen to run her. I'd absolutely think Ascot should suit her more than Epsom, because she is a big filly.”
Royal Ascot always offers connections of runners in the Epsom Classics a temptation to come back to the races quickly, but that is not the case in the G3 Hampton Court S. where all 15 avoided the Derby. Juddmonte's TDN Rising Stars Headman (GB) and Sangarius (GB) are both by Kingman (GB) and enter the mix with an abundance of promise. The former, who represents Roger Charlton's stable, took the London Gold Cup H. under a stopping weight at Newbury last time May 18, while Sir Michael Stoute's Listed Flying Scotsman S. winner Sangarius was third under a penalty behind the subsequent G1 St James's Palace S. runner-up King of Comedy (Ire) (Kingman {GB}) in Sandown's Listed Heron S. May 23. Khalid Abdullah's racing manager Teddy Grimthorpe said of the latter, “His work has been solid. Sir Michael is bringing him in great shape. We have always had it on our mind that he might be a mile-and-a-quarter horse, even from when he was a 2-year-old, so this is an interesting opportunity for him.”
Of Headman, who bids to emulate his half-brother Time Test (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) who took this off a win in the London Gold Cup in 2015, he added, “Everything he has done since that victory has pleased Roger. This was always the race in mind we had for Headman after Newbury. You never quite know how much is between them. We've put the pink cap on Sangarius mainly because he has listed form, which Headman hasn't. But Headman is also by Kingman, which is important to us.” Also by Kingman is King Power Racing's Fox Chairman (Ire), who was an eyecatcher when third behind the St James's Palace S. hero Circus Maximus (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) in the Listed Dee S. at Chester last time May 9.
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