Ben Linfoot picks out three points of interest from day three of Royal Ascot as Trawlerman was crowned in the Gold Cup.
Trawl the new staying King… for now
So, Kyprios’ legend grows in retirement.
His old rival Trawlerman is the new staying king in his absence, the son of Golden Horn simply too strong for Illinois after a comfortable victory in the Gold Cup under a buoyant William Buick.
“I told him to do what he did at Sandown in the Henry II,” said John Gosden afterwards and Buick did just that, for all this was over half a mile further in the red-hot heat of a scorching Royal Ascot against better opposition.
Dictating the tempo up front from the outset, the Trawler never looked in trouble and he eased away for a seven-length success, Illinois the one to chase him home, he in turn seven lengths clear of Dubai Future in third. Second twice to Kyprios at Ascot, while getting a neck verdict over him in the 2023 Long Distance Cup when Aidan O’Brien’s horse was below his best, that old form proved to be the strongest as Ballydoyle’s new kid on the block was put in the shade.
It’s worth remembering Trawlerman is seven, though, so Illinois, three years his junior, could still be the heir apparent to his old stablemate. He did little wrong here in truth, just simply outstayed on his first venture over a marathon distance.
For now, though, the Trawlerman is king, over this extreme trip in any case, though a rematch over two miles with the runner-up in the other Cup races could be interesting. Indeed, back over two miles, this could be a mini-series to savour.
Merchant on the road to… somewhere
Lots of nice stories were doing the rounds about Merchant ahead of his victory in the King George V Stakes Handicap. The affable Harry Herbert was telling all and sundry that William Haggas rang him up and asked to train the horse when Highclere first bought him, something he never does. Then there was another phone call from Haggas last week asking HH if he could spend £6,000 to enter him in the King George (the Group 1 in July, not this handicap).
‘This is where you’re meant to talk me out of it,’ he’s supposed to have said. Herbert didn’t, far from it, and he’s still in the midsummer highlight, for all that it looks a bit of a pipedream after Thursday's come-from-behind length victory under Tom Marquand.
However, Haggas talked in depth afterwards about how this horse started to cough yesterday, before he slipped going into the saddling box. In that context – and considering the race was hardly run to suit a closer either – maybe Merchant could end up being King George class.
‘Who knows how far he will go?’ says Haggas. ‘That might just be froth,’ Herbert says of the fancy entry. Highclere won the King George with Harbinger in 2010, his Timeform rating of 140 still discussed with reverence in Timeform Towers, and while Merchant has a long way to go in that lofty context, his handicapping days are surely over after this very likeable success.
Darwin evolution set to be enthralling
Aidan O’Brien’s domination of the two-year-old races at Royal Ascot this week continued as Charles Darwin confirmed himself as the banker of all the bankers with a dominating success in the Norfolk Stakes.
The No Nay Never full-brother to Blackbeard was quick and slick out of the stalls and bar a momentary flat spot, where he was briefly taken on by Sandal’s Song and Ameeq over a furlong out, there wasn’t a moment’s doubt about this result. Two-and-a-quarter lengths clear at the line, he proved a league above his contemporaries leading to a bunch of questions. What will he be as a three-year-old?
Could he possibly stretch to a mile or is he a pure sprinter? Will we even see him at three given Blackbeard retired at two? Could he take on his elders at two and beat them in the Nunthorpe? With the latter question in mind thoughts drifted back to Acapulco, the last Coolmore-owned juvenile to have a go in the big York sprint. She won the Queen Mary in equally dominant style and only gave way to the brilliant Mecca’s Angel when sent off 13/8 on the Knavesmire in 2015.
If Charles Darwin does head to Yorkshire, we might well see him go off a similar price.
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