Order of St George class of field

When Order of St George is beaten, the loss comes in one of Europe’s most important races.

In the last 12 months, Order of St George has won five stakes, including the Group 1 Irish St. Leger last September. He has been beaten twice in that span, finishing second in the Group 1 Ascot Gold Cup last June – a race he won in 2016 – and fourth in the Group 1 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe last October.

Order of St George’s outstanding record in marathon races will make him the favorite for Thursday’s $662,500 Ascot Gold Cup, the main race on the third day of five at the prestigious Royal Ascot meeting, which continues through Saturday.

A 6-year-old who has won 13 of 24 starts, Order of St George is trained by Aidan O’Brien for the Coolmore partnership. O’Brien and Coolmore have combined to win a record seven Ascot Gold Cups, including four straight runnings with Yeats from 2006-2009.

Order of St George was beaten a short head by Big Orange in a thrilling running of the Ascot Gold Cup last year. Big Orange was taken out of training last month with a suspensory injury.

Without Big Orange, Stradivarius has emerged as a leading threat to Order of St George. Trained by John Gosden for Bjorn Nielsen, Stradivarius was third behind Order of St George in the Group 2 British Champions Long Distance Cup at Ascot last October, and was a three-length winner of the Group 2 Yorkshire Cup at 1 3/4 miles at York on May 18 in his only start this year.

By winning the Yorkshire Cup, Stradivarius is eligible for a $1.32 million bonus if he can accomplish the daunting task of winning three more races – the Ascot Gold Cup, the Goodwood Cup on July 31, and the Londsale Cup at York on Aug. 24.

The Gold Cup is the lone Group 1 race on a Thursday program with two Group 2 races – the $132,500 Norfolk Stakes for 2-year-olds at five furlongs and the $265,000 Ribblesdale Stakes for 3-year-old fillies at 1 1/4 miles.

American trainer Wesley Ward may have the favorite in the Norfolk with the filly Shang Shang Shang, who won her debut in a maiden race at 4 1/2 furlongs at Keeneland on April 26. Joel Rosario has the mount.

O’Brien has leading contenders in Sergei Prokofiev and The Irish Rover, although Sergei Prokofiev was entered in the Group 2 Coventry Stakes on Tuesday.

Wild Illusion, second as the favorite in the English Oaks on June 1, is expected to be favored in the Ribblesdale Stakes. Sun Maiden, a recent winner at Salisbury trained by Michael Stoute, is well regarded for her stakes debut and third start in the Ribblesdale.