The Gold Cup
Group 1, Ascot 16:15 £700,000 guaranteed, 4yo plus, 2m 3f 210y, Class 1
Tweet Thursday 18th June 2026

The Ascot Gold Cup remains the ultimate examination of stamina on the Flat, and the 2026 renewal is already beginning to take shape around a new generation of stayers looking to etch their name alongside the greats.

At the head of the market is Scandinavia, who has done little to diminish his growing reputation with a smooth reappearance success at Navan. Already a dual top-level winner last season, his blend of class and stamina marks him down as a leading contender for this extended two-and-a-half-mile test.

Scandinavia oozes class in the @BAR1Betting Vintage Crop Stakes, striking for the duo of Ryan Moore and Aidan O'Brien 🏆 pic.twitter.com/IZY0GHtAuW

— Navan Racecourse (@NavanRacecourse) April 25, 2026

Scandinavia announced himself again with a straightforward triumph in the BAR 1 Betting Vintage Crop Stakes at Navan on April 25. Aidan O’Brien’s Justify colt won both the Goodwood Cup and the St Leger last term, proving himself to be a force to be reckoned with at the top level over a staying trip. Under Ryan Moore he was the 11-10 favourite when returning to action at Listed level, and a length-and-a-quarter win saw him installed as the 2-1 favourite for the Gold Cup at Ascot.

O’Brien said: “That was lovely, Ryan was delighted with him, he said he was very comfortable throughout the race.

“He’s a big horse, very relentless and he’s always coming home. He’s by Justify and he has that big, long relentless stride.

“He always went like a Cup horse and Ryan thought the same there, so delighted really. He won’t over-race (himself) and that’s good really.”

Next up for Scandinavia is a race won by many of the great Irish stayers, including by Kyprios for the last two years.

The Ballydoyle trainer added: “The Saval Beg (at Leopardstown) is the plan, that is what we are thinking. In the Gold Cup you don’t know (about the two-and-a-half-mile trip), but we are looking forward to him. He has the class and it’s great to have him.”

That profile – a relentless galloper with proven top-level form – is precisely what the Gold Cup demands, yet this is rarely a race won on potential alone. Among those set to oppose him is Trawlerman, a stalwart of the staying division whose consistency and proven stamina make him a formidable rival. His ability to sustain a strong gallop from the front or sit prominently gives him tactical versatility in a race where positioning can be crucial.

Great tussle!

Sweet William shows his class late on to deny Caballo De Mar in the Sagaro Stakes at @Ascot for John & @thadygosden and Rab Havlin... pic.twitter.com/XdNblLqK8o

— At The Races (@AtTheRaces) May 1, 2026

Sweet William rolled back the years with a performance full of grit and resolution, clinging on grimly to deny the late thrust of Caballo De Mar in a compelling renewal of the Longines Sagaro Stakes at Ascot on May 1— and in doing so, firmly reasserted his credentials for another crack at the Gold Cup at the Royal Meeting.

For so long one of the most dependable standard-bearers in the staying division, John and Thady Gosden’s admirable seven-year-old showed that neither age nor mileage have dulled his appetite for the fight. Last seen signing off 2025 with a second Doncaster Cup triumph before chasing home stablemate Trawlerman on British Champions Day, Sweet William returned here as the 5-6 favourite and, under another typically measured ride from Robert Havlin, dug deep in the shadow of the post to repel a relentless Caballo De Mar by a short head.

It was not flashy, nor was it straightforward — Sweet William rarely deals in the uncomplicated — but it was brave, and perhaps all the more significant for that. Ascot’s Gold Cup, where he finished third in 2024 and fourth last season, now looms once again as his principal midsummer target, and this was exactly the sort of hard-earned staying performance that keeps him firmly in the conversation.

“He’s a smashing horse,” said Thady Gosden. “He’s a year older now but he still retains all his enthusiasm. He’s beaten a very good horse there and the front two have come a long way clear of the third.

“He’s a horse who likes to keep you guessing. He was quite happy to stick his head up going up the straight and after two miles round there I think the jockey was having a good blow too afterwards!

“Rab gave him a fantastic ride and knows him like one of his own children at this point. He hit the front and was happy to stay there rather than go away from the second, but he was in front when it mattered.”

Bookmakers reacted by trimming Sweet William into 12-1 from 16s for the Gold Cup, and while connections have left the door ajar for an intermediate outing, the Berkshire showpiece remains the obvious objective.

“We’ll see how he comes out of it,” Gosden added. “The natural thing would be to wait for the Gold Cup, but there are other options beforehand. We’ll discuss it with his owner Mrs Philippa Cooper and make a plan.

“He’s a character and he certainly enjoys himself at home, but he also enjoys himself on track too.”

Yet for all the winner’s admirable tenacity, there was perhaps just as much encouragement — if not more — to be gleaned from the performance of Caballo De Mar, whose Gold Cup claims were enhanced considerably in defeat.

George Scott’s progressive stayer, already a Group One winner courtesy of his Prix du Cadran success last autumn, conceded weight all round and still looked the more powerful force at the finish, closing relentlessly on Sweet William all the way to the line. Over Ascot’s searching two and a half miles in June, and crucially on level terms, the margins could look very different indeed.

“It was an unbelievable run and a career best giving weight away all round,” said Scott. “The perfect trial for the Gold Cup.

“We know he stays two-and-a-half miles and he was coming back at the winner at the line there giving him 2lb, which is a lot over two miles.

“We’re looking forward to June now. He stays so well but for now it’s just disappointing he was beaten on the day.”

Caballo De Mar will tune up for Royal Ascot with a return to France for the Prix Vicomtesse Vigier at ParisLongchamp later this month, a race Scott hopes will take the edge off a horse who was almost too exuberant beforehand.

“He was too fresh today — he was like a bear trying to saddle him, I couldn’t get it on him,” he said. “He’s an amazing, tough horse and I can’t wait to see him back here in a Gold Cup off level weights.”

If Sweet William confirmed his enduring class here, Caballo De Mar may just have advertised himself as an emerging Gold Cup force in waiting. Their paths now seem destined to converge once more in June — and on this evidence, the staying crown at Royal Ascot could revolve around the pair of them.

Gold Cup (British Champions Series) (Group 1)
£700,000 guaranteed, 4yo plus, 2m 3f 210y, Class 1
25 entries
Going:

(Form as of May 05)

THE GOLD CUP - Past Results