Royal Ascot – Aidan O’Brien looks to Illinois in search for perfect 10 in Gold Cup

Illinois will go into unknown territory when he plays the role of super-sub for Aidan O’Brien in his search for a 10th victory in the Gold Cup at Royal Ascot.

The master of Ballydoyle handler has an unrivalled record in the two-and-a-half-mile feature, with the brilliant four-time winner Yeats, Fame And Glory, Leading Light, Order Of St George and dual scorer Kyprios all featuring on the roll of honour.

Kyprios looked well placed to make it a hat-trick after winning Ireland’s two key trials in the spring, but his subsequent retirement led to a shuffling of the pack and it was last month’s Ormonde Stakes winner Illinois who got the call-up.

O’Brien said: “Everything has gone well so far and we always thought he was a horse who could step into the role of a Gold Cup horse.

“We thought he could do that next year and he was standing in line behind Kyprios, but he’s had his run and it went well.

“We have always thought he would stay the trip, but it’s not until you go past the quarter (mile) pole in the Gold Cup that you find out.”

Trawlerman and Sweet William finished second and third respectively behind Kyprios 12 months ago and the John and Thady Gosden-trained duo are back for another tilt at Gold Cup glory.

Yorkshire Cup Run

Reflecting on Sweet William’s comeback third in last month’s Yorkshire Cup, Gosden senior said: “It was a great run at York as a mile and six (furlongs) would be on the sharp side for him.

“He enjoys the climb at Ascot and he’s solid at two and a quarter miles and as always two and a half takes him into no man’s land, but we’ve been very pleased with his preparation.

“He’s in great order and he’s a wonderful character. He does everything in his own time and hopefully his work (last week) will have sharpened him up nicely.”

Of Trawlerman, he added: “He won the Henry II well and is training nicely. He’s a different type of horse to Sweet William as Trawlerman likes to bowl along, whereas the other comes with a strong late run and to that extent they suit each other rather well as they are not trying to do the same job.

“There’s no Kyprios this year, but it will still be a smart field and it will be a good race with Illinois in there.”

French Hopes

French hopes are carried by Francis-Henri Graffard’s Candelari, who has come a long way since making a winning debut on the all-weather at Chantilly in early December, most recently impressing with a Group One triumph in the Prix Vicomtesse Vigier at ParisLongchamp.

Nemone Routh, racing manager for the late Aga Khan’s French Studs, said: “We’re very happy with the horse, he worked well last week and it looks like he’s taken his last run very well.

“The question marks are over whether he will stay the distance, we believe he will be because he finishes his races strongly but obviously that is an unknown, and he probably lacks the experience of the rest of the field.

“He only made his debut in December, so he’s only really been racing for six months, but then he’s not got as many miles on the clock as some of the others and I think he’s a natural stayer and a very genuine horse.”

Candelari

It would be quite a story if Candelari were to win what is arguably the biggest race of the entire week at Royal Ascot given he was very nearly moved on seven months ago.

“He is a horse who has taken us massively by surprise,” Routh added.

“We nearly sold him unraced in November but took him out during the week of the sale because he is so well-bred and he hadn’t had any major setbacks. He’s just a big horse who was quite immature and after we castrated him it took us a while to get him fit again.

“He’s obviously not a flashy worker as he’s a staying horse, but we just felt we’d give him a chance and then Francis found that first race for him on the Fibresand at Chantilly when he was incredibly green, he reared up in the stalls and lost 10 lengths at the start. If you watch the race it’s hilarious and he still won by eight lengths!

“He really did show us something that day and he’s never looked back. It shows that sometimes these horses just need time. They’re not fast, they’re not two-year-olds and he wasn’t really even a three-year-old, but if you give them time they can repay you and he has repaid us in spades.

“It’s been an amazing story already, we think he’s an improving horse and the good thing is he will have his ground as he needs good, fast ground to be at his best.