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The staying division should discover a new star in the 2m4f Gold Cup on Thursday of Royal Ascot.
With the retirement of Stradivarius at the end of the 2022 season, there is room for a new champion at the top of the division and there are a few horses vying for the title.
Course and distance winner Coltrane heads the market for Andrew Balding, having won the Ascot Stakes at last year's Royal Meeting. He went from strength-to-strength in the following months, recording a devastating ten-length victory in the Listed Esher Stakes at Sandown and a hard-fought defeat of Trueshan in the Group 2 Doncaster Cup Stakes. The six-year-old looked better than ever on his winning return in the Group 2 Sagaro Stakes and deserves his spot at the top of the betting.
Eldar Eldarov is trying the distance for the first time and shaped as though he would appreciate the test when staying on into second behind Giavellotto in the Group 2 Yorkshire Cup. Connections of the winner have swerved this race due to the horse's lack of performance at Ascot, but you could definitely put a case forward that Eldar Eldarov would have reversed the placings anyway. He was a good St Leger winner as a three-year-old and is expected to feature in the top rankings of the staying division for years to come.
Aidan O'Brien has enjoyed a strong start to the Royal meeting and is double-handed with Emily Dickinson and Broome. The four-year-old filly is the fancied runner of the pair as a Group 3 winner at the Curragh over two miles last season. She returned with a comfortable victory in the Listed Vintage Crop Stakes over 1m6f on heavy ground but failed to fire when down the field at Leopardstown subsequently. The daughter of Dubawi does travel strongly through her races and there is a possibility this could be a touch too far.
Of the Ballydoyle duo, Broome appeals as a previous Group 1 winner over 1m4f. After a fairly lacklustre second half of last season, O'Brien has switched the son of Australia to staying distances and he has re-found his form. The seven-year-old relished his first attempt over two miles when winning the Group 2 Dubai Gold Cup at Meydan in March and was not disgraced when beaten one-and-a-half lengths into third in the Group 2 Yorkshire Cup.
The unexposed Courage Mon Ami steps into Group company for the first time and could face an uphill task despite his obvious ability. He won twice as a three-year-old in novice company on the all-weather and was gelded over the winter. The John & Thady Gosden-trained son of Frankel returned with a comfortable victory over 1m6f in a Goodwood handicap and steps up in trip for the first time.
The 2021 Gold Cup hero Subjectivist is having his third run since a long-lay off (618 days) and should not be entirely dismissed as one of the few runners with proven form in this race. He was soundly beaten into third by Broome in the Group 2 Dubai Gold Cup in March, but further improvement is expected. His Gold Cup victory came on good-to-firm ground, so he's more than capable in these conditions.
WIN: SUBJECTIVIST
PLACE: BROOME