Stradivarius deserves plenty of respect as he seeks his Gold Cup hat-trick, but the bookmakers have him too short
Stradivarius deserves plenty of respect as he seeks his Gold Cup hat-trick at Royal Ascot on Thursday but the bookmakers have him very short indeed at 4-7 after a couple of defeats. After all, it is just 13 days since he chased Ghaiyyath’s tail in the Coronation Cup, which is hardly a conventional Gold Cup preparation.
At 10-1, Moonlight Spirit (3.35) is an interesting alternative, since the Godolphin horse seems on his way to becoming a decent stayer. He was run down late by Technician in France last autumn but has been gelded since and could prove a different proposition this year. Nayef Road has to be taken seriously after his Sagaro success on his first attempt at two miles. Rain would be a problem for Mark Johnston’s chestnut, but if the storms miss Ascot he should get into the argument.
Related: Lord North leaves rivals standing for classy Royal Ascot success
Ascot 1.15 Tritonic 1.50 Walkinthesand (nb) 2.25 Monarch Of Egypt 3.00 Battleground 3.35 Moonlight Spirit 4.10 Great Ambassador (nap) 4.40 African Dream
Newmarket 1.00 Sunset Breeze 1.30 Legion Of Honour 2.05 Arigato 2.40 Kanmoor 3.15 Twpsyn 3.50 Al Aasy 4.25 Lyrical 5.00 Purdey's Gift
Redcar 4.20 Locket 4.50 Nortonthorpe Boy 5.25 Yorkshire Pirlo 6.00 Upstaging 6.30 Ginger Max 7.00 Dream Location 7.30 Merryweather 8.00 Make It Rain 8.30 Chinese Alphabet 9.00 Gold Arch