The Tattersalls Gold Cup
Group 1, Curragh 15:55 €500,000 guaranteed, 3yo plus, 1m 2f 110y
Tweet Sunday 24th May 2026

1 Almaqam 13/2
2 Bay City Roller 15/2
3 Saddadd 18/5
7 ran NR: Royal Rhyme Distances: 2l, ¾l, 6l
Time: 2m 6.80s (fast by 4.20s)

Shoemark Group 1 magic. Always been class. Always wanted to be part of a team. A lesson to us all - however badly you are treated never give up. And you can overcome anything. Ed Walker your dad would be so proud of you @curraghrace 💛🖤💛🖤 pic.twitter.com/17TWjxa4ZS

— Matt Chapman (@MCYeeehaaa) May 24, 2026

Almaqam delivered the Group One success Ed Walker had long believed was within reach with a brilliant performance at the Curragh.

Walker has often endured frustration with conditions for his talented middle-distance performer, who ended last season with a third-place finish behind Calandagan and Ombudsman in the Champion Stakes, but his patience was rewarded on the five-year-old’s seasonal return.

Sent off at 13-2 under Kieran Shoemark, Almaqam was always ridden positively, with his jockey moving him into an ideal position before asking him to strike approaching the straight.

The response was immediate as Almaqam displayed his class in style, leading home an all-British one-two-three with George Scott’s Bay City Roller finishing two lengths away in second and Roger Varian’s Saddadd, a half-brother to the winner, taking third.

It was a first Group One success for Almaqam and also a landmark victory for both rider and trainer, providing Shoemark with his first top-level triumph since Friendly Soul’s Prix de l’Opera win on Arc day in 2024 and Walker with his first since Makarova’s Abbaye success on the same card in Paris.

Following the performance, Coral cut Almaqam to 6-1 for the Prince of Wales’s Stakes at Royal Ascot.

Walker said: “Kieran was absolutely brilliant on him and has really got to know him. He’s a horse who needs waking up and engaging because he’s so laid-back. I thought he gave him a superb ride.

“Fair play to the horse because he hadn’t run for a long time and he dug really deep.

“It’s also a sigh of relief because I’ve spoken about this horse for long enough now, so it’s wonderful to finally see him do it. People were probably getting bored of me talking about him without him delivering.

“Hopefully this is his year and now we can really aim high.

“This is a seriously tough division and it won’t get any easier wherever we go, but he’s got a big one on the board now.

“It’s also my first winner in Ireland, so at least I can come back with a bit of confidence.”

Last year’s dual Oaks heroine Minnie Hauk was sent off the 4-6 favourite for Aidan O’Brien, but never threatened and finished a well-beaten fifth under Ryan Moore.

O’Brien said: “They jumped and after three furlongs the pace completely dropped away. Ryan gave her a chance but ended up at the back on a mile-and-a-half filly and had no chance from there.

“We’ll see what the lads want to do next, but Royal Ascot is certainly possible.

“She needs a truly-run mile and a quarter to be competitive, so we’ll just put a line through today.”

The Tattersalls Gold Cup (Group 1)
€500,000 guaranteed, 4yo plus, 1m 2f 110y
7 ran
Going: Good

Past results