With the latest renewal of Royal Ascot on the horizon, the question on everybody’s lips is whether or not Stradivarius and jockey Frankie Dettori can land a fourth successive Ascot Gold Cup — equalling the record set by the Aidan O’Brien-trained Yeats, who won the race four times on the trot between 2006 and 2009.
It’ll come as no surprise that Stradivarius, who is trained by John Gosden, is the heavy favourite in the horse betting market, and, given that 10,000 racegoers will flood the concourses of the Berkshire-based track, there’s no doubt that Ascot royalty Dettori will be up for the task at hand — and the punters will be hoping to see his trademark flying dismount.
So, as Stradivarius, Dettori and Gosden gear up for another crack at the sought-after Ascot Gold Cup, let’s take a look back at their three respective triumphs to date. Read on to find out more.
2018 – Stradivarius wins by three quarters of a length
Stradivarius pipped 9/2 shot Vazirabab over the line by just three quarters of length to win his maiden Ascot Gold Cup in 2018. The then four-year-old set off as the 7/4 joint-favourite alongside 2016 champion Order Of St George. However, the Aidan O’Brien-trained horse and jockey Ryan Moore could fare no better than fourth as Stradivarius stormed home in first after a thrilling finish. It was a seventh victory in the meeting’s showpiece race for Dettori and a 70th Royal Ascot victory in total.
“He was a lion, he fought everything off,” Dettori said after a flying dismount in front of the 70,000-strong crowd. “The crowd lifted him. I just wanted to time it right. I come alive here, I love it.”
2019 – Stradivarius wins by a length
With Dettori having already won aboard A’Ali (5/1), Sangarius (13/2) and 4/1 shot Star Catcher earlier in the day, many punters awaited Stradivarius for their four-folds, so it’s fair to say that the bookmakers would have watched on through their fingers as the stalls opened and the horses set off for the Gold Cup. Stradivarius, the even-money favourite, looked boxed in as the runners turned for home. However, Dettori expertly formed an opening and kicked Stradivarius into gear up the home straight, taking over Dee Ex Bee and Master Of Reality to win by a length.
“He is a phenomenon,” Gosden said. “Frankie is like a player who gets to the final of Wimbledon and then raises it to another level.”
2020 – Stradivarius makes it a hat-trick
Stradivarius etched his name into Royal Ascot folklore with a third victory on the spin last year. He marked his hat-trick triumph with one of his best performances, winning the showpiece race by an impressive 10 lengths. With unfavourable ground due to heavy rainfall, punters were beginning to worry that Stradivarius was going to miss out on a third victory. However, he creeped up on race leader Nayef Road around the furlong marker and stretched clear of the rest of the field to win fairly comfortably.
It’s a great shame there was no crowd present to see such a dominant display, but Dettori was still overcome with emotion afterwards, saying: “Even with no crowd I’m feeling quite emotional,” after claiming that he too was worried about the soft ground.
