Day three at Royal Ascot on Thursday is the middle afternoon of the meeting and centrepiece in every sense of the word. Gold Cup Day at Ascot commands top billing.
Trainer Aidan O’Brien will bid to win a record-extending ninth Ascot Gold Cup as his star stayer Kyprios looks to regain the crown. Here we look at some of the major races on Thursday’s ITV card at Royal Ascot and give pointers on how you might go about finding some winners.
Gold Cup Day at Ascot: Diamond Rain (3.45 Royal Ascot)
Top trainer Charlie Appleby will be confident that his unbeaten filly DIAMOND RAIN (3.45) can take her record on the track to 3-3 by winning the Group 2 Ribblesdale Stakes for three-year-olds. The daughter of Shamardal did not race last season at two, instead debuting here at Ascot in May over a mile. William Buick had his filly anchored in the rear throughout that Class 2 novice heat and they challenged out wide of rivals in the home straight, with every yard of the trip needed to get Diamond Rain in front.
From there, it was straight to Newbury and a 1m2f Listed contest in the middle of last month. She was not the favourite; that distinction went to Roger Varian’s Ejaabiyah – winner of her only start before and her only start since – but Diamond Rain was much too good on the day. Buick’s filly got to the front with a minimum of fuss and really powered through the line, leaving the impression that further improvement will be forthcoming at this mile-and-a-half distance.
Gold Cup Day at Ascot: Kyprio (4.25 Royal Ascot)
The most prestigious race of the entire meeting is of course the Gold Cup, a contest laced into the fabric of British racing history. Aidan O’Brien’s name features in more chapters of this races’ history than anyone, with his record tally of eight wins, and it could be nine after KYPRIOS (4.25) takes his chance now. He won this race in 2022 amid a six-race unbeaten season that yielded four successive Group 1s.
A minor setback meant he did not defend the crown last June and when he did return he was beaten in the Irish St Leger and the Long Distance Cup here on Champions Day, settling for second in both instances. This season has gone very much to plan, with wins in the Vintage Crop at Navan and the Levmoss Stakes at Leopardstown taking his overall record to 10 wins in 14 career starts.
He remains unbeaten when racing beyond two-miles and this test is optimal once more. He can turn away the likes of Vauban, Trawlerman and Gregory to win a second Gold Cup.
Gold Cup Day at Ascot: Arctic Thunder (5.05 Royal Ascot)
A proper Royal Ascot cavalry charge in store here with a maximum field of 30 set for the Britannia Stakes over the straight mile course. The likes of Qirat and Volterra are recent winners and unexposed types with plenty more to offer, but the market has done a good job in identifying their chances. Perhaps a little less so with the Andrew Balding-trained ARCTIC THUNDER (5.05).
He is now 2-4 in his career after a winning turf debut over 7f at this venue in May, when he had to really show some guts to get the verdict. He was a 7f Kempton Polytrack winner in January, while his February fourth over a mile at that venue came in a race won by no less than the subsequent Newmarket 2000 Guineas hero Notable Speech, with next-time-out Listed Newcastle winner Cuban Tiger in second spot. This Night Of Thunder colt is not overburdened with 8st 13lb on his back now and should give David Probert a good spin.
Gold Cup Day at Ascot: Thursday Tips
Diamond Rain to win The Ribblesdale Stakes (3.45, Royal Ascot)
Kyprios to win The Gold Cup (4.25, Royal Ascot)
Arctic Thunder to win The Britannia Stakes (5.05, Royal Ascot)
By Adrian Mills
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