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THE Ascot Gold Cup has always been one of the highlights of the week at the Royal meeting and it is nice to see a bit of strength in depth in this year’s renewal after some flimsy races through the last few years.

Very few horses stay the two-and-a-half-mile trip at a fair pace, but the ability to act on the prevailing fast ground is also of paramount importance especially as any watering will have evaporated by the time this great race comes around at 4.15 with rising temperatures forecast.

Last year’s St Leger winner, Scandinavia, is set to start favourite as he bids to give Aidan O’Brien an amazing 10th win in the race with of course, the legendary Yeats his greatest and most loved past winner.

As always, until a horse runs over this extended trip, you never truly know if they will stay the distance and with the bookmakers offering around 13/8 about the market leader, I am quite happy to let him win at that price. 

Second on the list is the 2025 winner Trawlerman, who doesn’t always get the praise he deserves. The faster the going and the quicker they gallop, the better for him and he goes well when fresh, still in what appears to be a better race than last year it will be some training performance to see him successfully defend his title following a 243-day break.

Third favourite, Rahiebb is closely matched up with the favourite in two runs and he battled on tenaciously to land the Yorkshire Cup first time up. I am not of the opinion though that two and a half miles will hugely suit him, so for my each-way play in this famous race I am going to have a wager on last year’s Queen’s Vase winner CARMERS.

He stepped up to two miles successfully on his four-year-old debut, winning with his head in his chest and even though that was a fairly moderate contest, I think that this son of Wootton Bassett has been crying out for a real trip to bring his stamina into play. There is little doubt that he has a class gap to bridge with the market leaders here, but I am relying on the step up in trip to bring about sufficient improvement to do so.

Day three is without a doubt another real test for us punters, but I have already had a strong play on MAHO BAY (5.35) in the Hampton Court Stakes. Charlie Appleby’s charge was set to be an Epsom Derby contender until he blew out in the Lingfield Derby Trial, but he simply didn’t act on the track. He missed the big race at the beginning of the month and the step back down to a mile and a quarter on a flatter track will surely be more his cup of tea.

As far as the rest of the card is concerned, the seven furlongs of the Buckingham Palace Handicap Stakes has always been a favourite punting ground for me and I quite like the chance of GREAT ACCLAIM (6.10) who is taken to reverse recent Victoria Cup form with The Wizard of Eye. I also like the look of NOLA SOUL (2.30) in the opening Chesham Stakes and GUILDMASTER (3.05) at a big price in the King George V Handicap over a mile and a half.