Gold Cup Group 1 | British Champions Series | Class 1 | 4YO plus Winner £368,615 - 12 entered to run Last year’s race Winner: Courage Mon Ami Jockey: Frankie Dettori Trainer: John & Thady Gosden Owner: Wathnan Racing Age: 4 Weight: 9st 3lbs Starting Price: 15/2 Season Form Figures: 1 Previous Best: 1st - Class 2 Handicap, Goodwood (May 2023) By Paul Jones Kyprios is set to start a short-priced favourite to regain the Gold Cup he won in 2022 but was forced to miss last year due to injury. We have had many dual Gold Cup winners (plus Yeats winning it on four successive occasions as well as both Stradivarius and Sagaro three times running) but there is also a precedent from the start of the century for a previous winner to regain his title, as Kayf Tara managed to do back in 2000 after winning the 1998 renewal (and finishing fourth in 1999). In fact, 22 horses have won the Gold Cup more than once, though the only other winner to regain it was Anticipation way back in 1819. Successful in both his prep races in Ireland this season at long odds-on both times, Kyprios could well start at a shade of odds-on here in the absence of reigning title holder Courage Mon Ami, whose connections are still set to be represented by current ante-post second-favourite Gregory, who won the Queen’s Vase at this meeting last year. As many as 17 of the last 18 winners have been very findable in the market, with just one winner (Trip To Paris at 12/1) sent off bigger than 15/2. Three Queen’s Vase winners since 2012 went on to win the following year’s Gold Cup and five in total during that limited time period, given that Stradivarius went on to win it twice more. Given his subsequent exploits, there’s every chance that Kyprios would have been another, as he was set to run in the 2021 Queen’s Vase during his three-year-old season before being withdrawn after becoming upset in the stalls. Gregory justified evens favouritism to win last year’s Queen’s Vase over 1m6f but has shaped as if he wants further in his three subsequent starts (and defeats when beaten around 5 lengths in each of the Great Voltigeur, St Leger and Yorkshire Cup), so improvement seems highly likely over this extra three quarters of a mile. He appears to be the leading four-year-old contender - unless St Leger winner Continuous happens to take up his entry - with that age bracket having won nine of the last 12 runnings. Coltrane won the Sagaro Stakes for the second year running early last month, and last season he almost pulled off the Ascot double after finishing ¾ of a length behind Courage Mon Ami in the Gold Cup, so could he go one place better this year? Colour Vision (2012) and Estimate (2013) both contested that Group 3 trial before going on to win the big one at Ascot. The statistical sticking point to Coltrane’s chance is that he is now a seven-year-old. Prior to Yeats, only one other winner going back to 1929 had been aged seven or older, with Stradivarius trying and failing twice to become the next. Therefore, history tells us that only exceptional horses over the age of six tend to win the Gold Cup, and stayers don’t get much more exceptional than Yeats, who won here as a seven and eight-year-old. At the age of eight, you would have to think that Trueshan - who won the Doncaster Cup and Prix du Cadran last season and is a three-time winner of the Champions Long Distance Cup at this course - missed out on his best chance to win this when pulled out due to fast ground on two occasions during his prime. Coltrane beat Caius Chorister and Sweet William in the Sagaro Stakes, and that pair then fought out the finish to the Henry II Stakes, where the places were reversed with Trueshan in behind - as he also was in the Sagaro. Seven of the last 15 British-trained Ascot Gold Cup winners contested that Group 3 trial at Sandown. In fact, the Henry II has been the most productive Gold Cup guide over the last three decades, featuring ten Gold Cup winners - six of which finished placed at Sandown. Aidan O’Brien has won the Gold Cup on eight occasions going back to Yeats’ first success in 2006. Will he solely rely on Kyprios from his five entries this time around? If so, he took O’Brien’s favoured route to the Gold Cup of the Vintage Crop followed by Saval Beg, which he has used on many occasions in the past. Godolphin have won five Gold Cups going back to 1996 but their only entry this time is Trawlerman, who got back up to beat Kyprios by a neck here on Champions Day, though the runner-up likely committed too soon and will be much happier over this extra four and a half furlongs. In fact, he did very well to overcome a moderate gallop to win a tactical running of the 2022 Gold Cup. The aforementioned pair pulled over 13 lengths clear of Sweet William back in third last autumn. Up until 2010 the previous ten winners had already won a Group 1 or 2 contest, but since then Rite Of Passage, Estimate, Trip To Paris, Kyprios and Courage Mon Ami have all won the Gold Cup having not won previously at such a level. In fact, last year’s winner was having his first run in any Group race, in what was just his fourth career start. A total of 23 of the last 29 winners had won earlier in the season, however. Can the draw be a factor over 2m4f? The six winners prior to Courage Mon Ami last year were all drawn no higher than stall 7, so maybe there is a little something in that? Estimate (2013) was the last winning mare, and prior to that it was Indian Queen in 1991. Their only two entries here are Caius Chorister and Sumo Sam. The French have won one just Gold Cup since Sagaro in 1977 and have no entries this time. At a glance summary Positives Likely to start no bigger than 15/2Trained by Aidan O’Brien Won the Gold Cup or Queen’s Vase previously Four-year-olds Owned by Godolphin Contested the Henry II Stakes Won earlier in the season Drawn lower half Negatives Aged 6+