The Gold Cup – not, officially, the ‘Ascot’ Gold Cup, mind you – is the oldest race run at Royal Ascot, having been established in 1807, during the reign of King George II, and is currently scheduled as the fourth race on the third day of the five-day meeting. A prestigious Group 1 contest, worth £650,000 in prize money, the Gold Cup is run over the marathon distance of two-and-a-half miles and, as such, regularly attracts the crème de la crème of staying talent in Europe.
Four-time winner Yeats (2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009) was one of nine winners, so far, for leading trainer Aidan O’Brien and is the most successful horse in the history of the Gold Cup, while Lester Piggott, with 11 winners between 1957 and 1982, remains the most successful jockey. Yeats aside, the roll of honour also includes the likes of Sagaro and Stradivarius, who both won the race three years running, plus a plethora of dual winners down the years.
Nowadays, the Gold Cup is open to horses aged four years and upwards, but was historically open to three-year-olds, albeit that the last of that age group to win was Gainsborough in 1918, when the race was run at Newmarket during World War I. At the time of writing, six of the last 10 winners were four-year-olds and seven of the last 10 winners were sent off joint or outright favourite. It is also worth noting that trainers Andrew Balding and Willie Mullins have a distinctly poor record in the Gold Cup in recent years.