Stradivarius Attempts to Match Yeats in Gold Cup

Out of all the scenarios the team behind Stradivarius  could have envisaged as they scrupulously planned for their star stayer's tilt at a record-equaling fourth Gold Cup (G1), a deluge of rain before the race was perhaps the last thing in their minds.

Yet after two scorching days at Ascot, a yellow weather warning for thunderstorms has been issued by the Met Office that covers the entirety of June 17, which was plainly not the image joint-trainer John Gosden had in mind for Stradivarius as he attempts to match Gold Cup legend Yeats , winner of the royal meeting's signature race four times in a row from 2006.

"The more of this rain that is forecast to fall, the more it compromises his chances," said Gosden. "We all wanted to see him on summer ground which he hasn't raced on at Ascot for a long time, and it's just a shame the race wasn't on Wednesday.

"He has shown in the past he can handle soft but it's not his favorite, and it brings others into the equation who prefer those conditions. We'll take our chance and we'll see if he can match Yeats, but we could have done without it."

Rain is not a disaster for Stradivarius, two of his three Gold Cups were won on soft ground, but it is the imponderable of how much rain might fall that is the worry.

Although the ground was officially soft on Champions Day in October, it was proper autumn ground and Stradivarius was never at the races as he finished a distant 12th of 13. His only try on heavy came on his previous start when he finished seventh in the Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe (G1).

Those defeats left him with questions to answer going into this season but he looked full of verve when scoring in the Longines Sagaro Stakes (G3) at Ascot in April and he now has the chance to go one better than Sagaro himself, who won three Gold Cups in succession from 1975.

Gosden added: "He's in great form and has pleased us in his preparation and he's had a perfect run into the race. He went the Sagaro route this year which he won well and we were very happy with his piece of work on the July course last week."

The 7-year-old's jockey Frankie Dettori is equally pleased with his homework but admits he is nervous before his mount's record-equaling bid.

Dettori, who recorded his 75th winner at the royal meeting on Wednesday, said: "I'm not lying, I'm nervous. I'm not going to get over-excited, I have a job to do. It's a lot more runners than I thought, a couple of horses I haven't met before, and then the question mark of the race, so it's a lot of things to worry about.

"He still has to turn up. I'm very pleased with the horse, his homework has been good, his demeanor is good. We're trying to do something that's rare, only Yeats has done it, so I'm not going to count my chickens yet. I've still got to go out there and me and him have to go out there and perform our very best and get over the line.

"It's a big milestone. I was nervous when I rode Enable  in my third Arc, I was nervous with Palace Pier , but nervous is good, nervous means that you care, that you still have your eye on the ball. I know how to channel my emotions and hopefully I channel it in the right way."

King Hopeful for Rain

While the connections of Stradivarius would love nothing more than for the thunderstorms to tip-toe their way around Ascot, Alan King will have a huge smile on his face if the worst of the weather predictions come true.

King saddles group 2 scorer Trueshan , who relishes soft ground and has already beaten Stradivarius when storming away with the QIPCO British Champions Long Distance Cup (G2) in the mud at Ascot in October.

Second to the classy Japan  in the tote+ Pays You More At tote.co.uk Ormonde Stakes (G3) on his comeback last month, Trueshan is lightly raced for a 5-year-old and an official rating of 118 may not yet be his ceiling.

"I'm hoping the rain comes and lots of it," said King on Wednesday. "If we don't get much rain he won't run, it's as simple as that. Thunderstorms can be very localized but it does look as if they're going to get it."

Delighted with his horse's form, King added: "Everything has gone great and we'll see what the morning brings.

"His run at Chester was perfect. I had to get him out and I was delighted with him. He just goes through the motions at home but he's doing everything we're asking of him, but we do need rain and plenty of it."

Johnston Bidding for Own Four-Timer

Stradivarius is not the only one going for a fourth Gold Cup win, with Britain's winning-most trainer Mark Johnston bidding for his own four-timer after landing the race in 1995 with Double Trigger and in both 2001 and 2002 with Royal Rebel.

This time he saddles Nayef Road , who finished just a length behind Stradivarius in last season's Al Shaqab Goodwood Cup (G1), and the hugely exciting Subjectivist , a group 1 winner in last season's Prix Royal-Oak (G1) and last seen in action waltzing away with the Dubai Gold Cup Sponsored by Al Tayer Motors (G2) at Meydan in March. 

"Subjectivist's last two runs have been the best of his life and he looks to be both tremendously progressive and so much better at two miles than at shorter trips," Johnston told QIPCO British Champions Series.

"That's why we hold out so much hope that Subjectivist might be the biggest threat to Stradivarius in the last couple of years. He's obviously not been beyond two miles, but we are pretty confident he'll stay.

"Nayef Road is going to Ascot on the back of two disappointing performances but while his second in the Gold Cup last year was with cut in the ground, we had previously always thought he was better on fast ground."

He added: "Give in the ground wouldn't worry Subjectivist, as it was heavy in France and until he went to Dubai the doubt was whether he could handle fast ground. You'd have to say he was even better on it."