Gold Cup (Ascot)

Euronymous

Euronymous

Senior Jockey
Joined
Jan 6, 2005
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I think Tuesday apart this looks like the race of the week. It's got a good punting shape to it as well. Manifest is three points shorter in the market than Ask and that is just plain wrong. The latter loves Ascot, won last year's Yorkshire Cup just as impressively as Henry's horse did last month and should stay given that he's won over two miles on soft ground and is by Sadler's Wells out of a Rainbow Quest mare. Yeats showed that nowadays you need that touch of class to win a Gold Cup and for that reason I think Age of Aquarius is probably worth a cover bet.

Nothing else appeals at the odds.
 
I'd be very interested in Holberg if he ran. He's still entered but I assume the Hardwicke is a possible alternative target at the meeting.
 
I'm looking to back Ask, but haven't as yet. Was also sort of thinking about Darley Sun, but he might be slightly out of his depth I suppose.
 
Surely there is only one Gold Cup and therefore no need for the parenthesis? Save them for the imposters.
 
I think Age of Aquarius is slow, and will look like so at any distance.

I agree about Ask and Holberg (were he to run).
 
I like Ask in this. Think he is a huge price at 7/1

He has won first time out for the last three years and was not beaten far in the KG last year while winning his three other races including the Coronation Cup.
 
I've taken the 40/1 available about Bannaby who looks a massive price if back to the form that saw him lift the Prix Du Cadran a couple of years ago - he's had a solid build up to the race back home in Spain with a 10f win in Madrid last time out and you know his trainer wouldn't send the horse abroad if he wasn't up to it (also won Group 1's with Suances and Equiano in Europe).

Looks a very big price to me.
 
We've had this debate before about Bannaby IS, I still can't see what piece of form buts Bannaby (even at his best) within 10 lb of a typical Ascot Gold Cup winner.
 
Powerscourt said:
I like Ask in this. Think he is a huge price at 7/1

He has won first time out for the last three years and was not beaten far in the KG last year while winning his three other races including the Coronation Cup.
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I've been waiting for this horse to run in this race (I fancied him strongly last year, but he wasn't allowed to take his chance). So I've decided to bite the bullet and wade in on Ask this afternoon, while the attention is on AOA.
 
Just looking at the prices for the race DJ of Kasbah Bliss compared to Bannaby should show that one of them is totally wrong - with Kasbah beating a very unlucky in running Bannaby prior to the Cadran in 2008 with Bannaby reversing the form when both were upped to 2m 4f a few weeks later, yet one is 7/1 and the other 40/1.

The placing behind Yeats in late 2008 isn't a bad piece of form over 2m but Bannaby is a better horse at 2 1/2m than over any of the distances he's been running over in recent years and I doubt that MDS would be running him if he didn't think he could do himself justice (see Aranel in last years Jersey).

There are doubts about plenty of the leading contenders regards the trip amongst other things and here we have a horse we know stays, know goes on a firm surface, has won in the top grade and he's priced at 40/1 by the firms. There's the chance he'll bomb at Ascot or might not even run but I'd rather be taking 40/1 about than be backing any of the front five in the market at their respective prices.
 
Fast ground remains a worry for me with Ask - I see they need to water this weekend. Plus is it is first time out so he could get away with it.
 
No - I see the point regarding the horses form and it's not exactly recent form that I'm looking at, plenty of faith in the trainers ability and he's not getting younger but at the prices I think he's worth the risk :)
 
Galileo said:
Fast ground remains a worry for me with Ask - I see they need to water this weekend. Plus is it is first time out so he could get away with it.
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I'm not expecting the going to be too much of an issue, although I agree it looks like we're in for fine weather at least at the beginning of next week, so it could dry up a bit. However, I don't think he needs soft going to be seen at his best. Yes, it helps to bring out his stamina (now that the penny has dropped that he needs a trip),but after all he has won at Group 1 level on good and will improve for stepping up in this.
 
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Can't get away from Manifest - was hugely impressed by the horse (on looks mainly -stunning scopey animal).
 
jinnyj said:
Can't get away from Manifest - was hugely impressed by the horse (on looks mainly -stunning scopey animal).
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Manifest was very impessive in the Yorkshire Cup and has not done much wrong before that as well as being relatively unexposed. So he has a lot going for him. However he was off the radar for this before his last run, which is the only bit of form to suggest he is good enough here. On balance at his price I'm against him.
 
I don't think he was off the radar for this before the Yorkshire Cup. His John Porter run was most encouraging and was the race that suggested he could make a real impact in Cup races. The timeform report for that race says he was 'an excellent prospect for a Cup campaign....and he can't fail to win races this year'
 
SteveM said:
I'm looking to back Ask, but haven't as yet. Was also sort of thinking about Darley Sun, but he might be slightly out of his depth I suppose.
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I look forward to your dosage figures for the race, Steve, if you're willing to put them up.:)
 
My fear is that Ask has been off since October and very fast ground by Thursday will be against him .
 
Ask has won first time out in 2007, 2008 and 2009, and won off a 3-month break last autumn. If anything, I'd see his lack of a run as a positive, certainly no negative.
 
Final declarations...

Ask
Bannaby (FR)
Kasbah Bliss (FR)
Purple Moon (IRE)
Rite of Passage
Tastahil (IRE)
Age of Aquarius (IRE)
Akmal
Darley Sun (IRE)
Kite Wood (IRE)
Manifest
Montaff
Clowance
 
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