Order of St George is set to return to action later this month in the Ascot Gold Cup – the race he won in 2016 when he prevailed by three lengths under the hands of Ryan Moore. If successful again at the Berkshire racecourse, he will become only the third horse in the last 20 years to do so, while at the same time he will provide his trainer Aidan O'Brien his eighth victory. The talented stayer scored in a Listed race at Leopardstown on his final run before the Royal meeting last month – bookmakers reacted to that win by making him their short-price favourite for the 2m4f contest on June 22.
At the age of five, this could be Order of St George's final season in training at the Ballydoyle stable in Ireland. He will be looking to become only the second horse of that age to win the Ascot Gold Cup in the last seven years as the most successful age category since 2000 has been four-year-olds who have come out on top seven times since then. Ryan Moore is expected to take up the ride on the favourite as he has the luxury of choosing which of the Ballydoyle horses he will partner up with at the big meetings.
Who Are the Challengers to Order of St George?
The leading threat to Order of St George's chances of defending his crown in the Qipco British Champion Series event, according to the betting, is Vazirabad who, as of June 10, is second best in the betting at 6/1. The French-trained horse will be making his first trip across to Royal Ascot this year. He has though won outside his home country as he was successful back in March at the 2017 Dubai World Cup meeting in the Group Two Dubai Gold Cup which is run over 2m. The five-year-old has won 11 of his 16 starts so is clearly a very consistent horse. The one question mark surrounding Alain De Royer-Dupre's runner will be his stamina as he has never been beyond 2m before.
What makes the Ascot Gold Cup fascinating every year is watching former Classic winners step up in distance just like 2015 St Leger champion Simple Verse is doing this year. A horse can gallop up to speeds of 42mph, according to an infographic produced by sports bookmaker Betway Insider; however, this race also requires stamina. A pronghorn would be perfectly suited for this 2m4f contest as they can sprint up to 53mph and are able to run for miles at half their top speed. Unfortunately, horses are unable to do that so inside the closing stages they have to battle as best they can. The Amlin Plus-sponsored trainer Ralph Beckett will be hoping his horse Simple Verse will be able to be as effective at Ascot over the 2m4f than he was at the middle-distance trips last year. If that is the case, the son of Duke of Marmalade will have an excellent chance on day three of the meeting.
O'Brien Set for a Big Week at Royal Ascot
As well as having the short price for the Ascot Gold Cup, Champion Irish Trainer O'Brien has a number of leading chances across the week. Once of those is Caravaggio, who is running in the Commonwealth Cup, which is the leading sprint race of the meeting for three-year-olds. This is one of the newest races on the schedule and since it was launched in 2015, O'Brien has yet to train the winner. Caravaggio is unbeaten in five racecourse starts, with the biggest win of her career coming last August in the Group One Phoenix Stakes at the Curragh. He made his seasonal reappearance in the Group Three Lacken Stakes, where he prevailed by just under five lengths ahead of Psychedelic Funk. 2000 Guineas winner Churchill is set to return to action at Royal Ascot, where he is the odds-on favourite in the St James's Palace Stakes and will be looking to following in the footsteps of last year's winner Galileo Gold who did the Newmarket and Ascot double before retiring. The three-year-old colt is unbeaten since he suffered defeat on his debut at the Curragh. He picked up the fourth Group One of his career in the Irish 2000 Guineas on his most recent start.
If O'Brien is to win the leading trainer prize at Royal Ascot this year he will have to overcome John Gosden who is his leading threat from the UK as he is predicted to have a series of winners across the week including Jack Hobbs who will take on Ulysses in the Prince
