Stroll in the rain for the treble star
STRADIVARIUS came home unaccompanied as Frankie Dettori’s mount strung them out for a Gold Cup hat-trick.
The 4-5 favourite played a solo as John Gosden’s star stayer had 10 lengths to spare over runner-up Nayef Road with a further eight to Cross Counter in conditions turned soft by rain.
The win added to his Ladies’ Day victories of 2018 and 2019 and racked up a quartet of Royal Ascot wins.
The six-year-old chestnut is now among the Gold Cup immortals – only Sagaro (1975, 1976 and 1977) and Yeats (2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009) have won the iconic two-and-ahalf-miler three times – and
Gosden said: “It was a superb performance.
“He has that exciting thing – a turn of foot. Sagaro was trained by a great friend, [the late] Francois Boutin, and ridden by Lester Piggott. He was something, and Yeats was a phenomenon. To have a horse mentioned in that bracket is what it is all about.”
Stradivarius, winner of the Queen’s Vase at the fixture in 2017, is 5-1 with Paddy Power to equal Yeats’ feat of four Gold Cups. “I am so proud of the horse,” said Dettori. “He is a joy. He will go down as one of the great stayers.”
Roger Varian was in red-hot form with a 320-1 treble, courtesy of
(Wolferton Stakes),
(Jersey Stakes) and
(Britannia) – the latter pair taking jockey Jim Crowley’s tally for the first three days of Royal Ascot to six.
Mountain Angel’s win came at the expense of the Aidan O’brien-trained favourite Sir Dragonet, but he still managed a victory when won the Listed Chesham Stakes.