After two consecutive days when the forecast rainfall for Ascot was barely on nodding terms with the drenching actuality, it is probably unwise to point out that the prospects for Ladies’ Day, featuring the Gold Cup at 4.20, are much more promising. But you can only deal with the forecasts put in front of you and there is genuine hope of a dry afternoon on the biggest day of the week at the Royal meeting.
That would be good news for anyone with an expensive outfit to protect from the elements. Whether it is quite as much of a positive for the punters remains to be seen. Ascot’s ground drains more freely than it did in the past but it still has a reputation for turning a bit gluey as it does so and Stradivarius, last year’s winner and the favourite for the Gold Cup, is the most obvious example of a horse that might not find it entirely to his liking.
The latest going report from the course has just dropped on Twitter and Chris Stickels, the clerk of the course, reports that “the going this morning is now soft, good-to-soft in places”.
He adds: “It’s actually been dry since racing yesterday, but we did have 10mm of rain during racing yesterday afternoon. The forecast is better for today, it’s due to stay largely dry, with a risk of an occasional sharp shower this afternoon.
“There’s a decent breeze blowing up the track at the moment so we may see an improvement in the conditions as the day goes on. The forecast for the rest of the week is largely dry, with a reduced risk of showers for Friday and Saturday.”
It was good-to-soft when John Gosden’s magnificent chestnut took the stayers’ race on Champions Day last October, becoming the first Gold Cup winner for half a century to go unbeaten through all season. That, though, was a Group Two and his best form is all on good-to-firm ground. It is certainly something for punters to think about ahead of today’s race and it looks like they already are, with Stradivarius out to 6-4 from a price of 6-5 overnight.
The strength of this year’s opposition may also have something to do with that, as he faces up to last year’s Melbourne Cup winner in Cross Counter and also Mark Johnston’s Dee Ex Bee, who was within two lengths of winning the Derby when he finished second to Masar at Epsom last June. Capri, the 2017 St Leger winner, adds further quality to the line-up, bringing form that includes a three-and-a-quarter length fifth behind Enable in last season’s Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe.
Stradivarius will still start as one of the shorter favourites of the week, and with Frankie Dettori in the saddle after his fine double yesterday, the success, or otherwise, of the Gold Cup favourite is likely to a defining moment in the week-long battle between bookies and punters. The Oaks third Fleeting, in the Ribblesdale Stakes, and Pat Twomey’s exciting Irish two-year-old Sunday Sovereign, a recent purchase by the King Power Racing operation to run in the opening Norfolk Stakes, will be other big fancies today but Stradivarius is the one that really matters.
Chris Cook’s tips for the day are here and the action gets under way at 2.30pm.