Ascot Gold Cup

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Group 1 race
Ascot Gold Cup
The Ascot Gold Cup, 1834 by James Pollard
Location	Ascot Racecourse Ascot, Berkshire,
Inaugurated	1807
Race type	Thoroughbred - Flat racing
Website	Ascot Racecourse
Race information
Distance	2 miles 4 furlongs (4,023 metres)
Track	Grass, right-handed
Qualification	Four-year-olds & up
Weight	Assigned
Purse	£225000

The Ascot Gold Cup is a Group 1 flat horse race in the United Kingdom for four-year-old and above thoroughbreds. It is run over a distance of 2 miles 4 furlongs (4,023 metres) at Ascot Racecourse in June.

First run in 1807, the Gold Cup is traditionally held on Ladies' Day (day three) at Royal Ascot and is the feature event of the five-day racing festival.

Sagaro won the race three times in a row and there have been a number of two-time winners including Touchstone, Le Moss, Ardross, Prince Palatine, Gildoran and Kayf Tara. Renowned jockey Lester Piggott won the race eleven times.

Together with the 2 miles 2 furlongs (3,621 m) Doncaster Cup and 2 miles (3,219 metres) Goodwood Cup, the Ascot Gold Cup is part of Britain's Stayers' Triple Crown for horses capable of running longer distances. Only six horses have ever swept the series; Le Moss is the only horse to do it twice.

When Royal Ascot was temporarily moved to York Racecourse in 2005, the course had to be modified to allow the Gold Cup and other long distance races to be possible.

In 1970 Rosemary Lomax became the first woman trainer to ever win the Ascot Gold Cup. Lester Piggott earned the first of his eleven wins when he captured the 1957 race aboard Zarathustra.

[edit] Winners since 1950

Year	Winner	Age	Jockey	Trainer	Owner	Time
1950	Supertello	4	Doug Smith	John C. Waugh	W. Harvey	4:25.00
1951	Pan	4	Roger Poincelet	Etienne Pollet	Eugene Constant	4:22.40
1952	Aquino	4	Gordon Richards	Frederick Armstrong	H. H. M. Seeta Devi	4:29.60
1953	Souepi	5	Charlie Elliott	George R. Digby	George R. Digby	4:35.20
1954	Elpenor	4	Jacques Doyasbère	Charlie Elliott	Marcel Boussac	4:32.80
1955	Botticelli	4	Enrico Camici	Enrico della Rocchetta	Mario della Rocchetta	4:29.02
1956	Macip	4	Serge Boullenger	Charlie Elliott	Marcel Boussac	4:48.45
1957	Zarathustra	6	Lester Piggott	Cecil Boyd-Rochfort	T. J. S. Gray	4:23.93
1958	Gladness	5	Lester Piggott	Vincent O'Brien	John McShain	4:30.18
1959	Wallaby	4	Freddie Palmer	Percy Carter	Geoffroy de Waldner	4:34.02
1960	Sheshoon	4	George Moore	Alec Head	Prince Aly Khan	4:28.42
1961	Pandofell	4	Lester Piggott	Freddie Maxwell	H. Warwick Daw	4:30.32
1962	Balto	4	Freddie Palmer	Max Bonaventure	Andre Rueff	4:48.04
1963	Twilight Alley	4	Lester Piggott	Noel Murless	Lady Sassoon	4:52.95
1964	no race 1964
1965	Fighting Charlie	4	Lester Piggott	Freddie Maxwell	Lady Marie Bury	4:34.47
1966	Fighting Charlie	5	Greville Starkey	Freddie Maxwell	Lady Marie Bury	4:34.56
1967	Parbury	4	Joe Mercer	Derek Candy	Major H. P. Holt	4:36.05
1968	Pardallo	5	Bill Pyers	Charles Bartholomew	Suzy Volterra	4:35.84
1969	Levmoss	4	Bill Williamson	Seamus McGrath	Seamus McGrath	4:25.60
1970	Precipice Wood	4	Jimmy Lindley	Rosemary Lomax	R. J. McAlpine	4:27.35
1971	Random Shot *	4	Geoff Lewis	Arthur M. Budgett	Mrs. J. Benskin	4:41.39
1972	Erimo Hawk *	4	Pat Eddery	Geoffrey Barling	Y. Yamamoto	4:28.69
1973	Lassalle	4	Jimmy Lindley	Richard Carver, Jr.	Zenya Yoshida	4:33.46
1974	Ragstone	4	Ron Hutchinson	John Dunlop	16th Duke of Norfolk	4:35.01
1975	Sagaro	4	Lester Piggott	François Boutin	Gerry Oldham	4:48.60
1976	Sagaro	5	Lester Piggott	François Boutin	Gerry Oldham	4:26.15
1977	Sagaro	6	Lester Piggott	François Boutin	Gerry Oldham	4:28.25
1978	Shangamuzo	5	Greville Starkey	Michael Stoute	Mrs. E. Charles	4:27.30
1979	Le Moss	4	Lester Piggott	Henry Cecil	Carlo d'Alessio	4:25.22
1980	Le Moss	5	Joe Mercer	Henry Cecil	Carlo d'Alessio	4:28.40
1981	Ardross	5	Lester Piggott	Henry Cecil	C. A. B. St. George	4:51.23
1982	Ardross	6	Lester Piggott	Henry Cecil	C. A. B. St. George	4:35.24
1983	Little Wolf	5	Willie Carson	Dick Hern	7th Earl of Carnarvon	4:24.36
1984	Gildoran	4	Steve Cauthen	Barry Hills	Robert Sangster	4:18.81
1985	Gildoran	5	Brent Thomson	Barry Hills	Robert Sangster	4:25.19
1986	Longboat	5	Willie Carson	Dick Hern	Richard Hollingsworth	4:22.11
1987	Paean	4	Steve Cauthen	Henry Cecil	9th Baron Howard de Walden	4:33.26
1988	Sadeem *	5	Greville Starkey	Guy Harwood	Sheikh Mohammed	4:15.67
1989	Sadeem	6	Willie Carson	Guy Harwood	Sheikh Mohammed	4:22.68
1990	Ashal	4	Richard Hills	Harry Thomson Jones	Hamdan Al Maktoum	4:28.58
1991	Indian Queen	6	Walter Swinburn	Lord Huntingdon	Sir Gordon Brunton	4:23.90
1992	Drum Taps	6	Frankie Dettori	Lord Huntingdon	Yoshio Asakawa	4:18.29
1993	Drum Taps	7	Frankie Dettori	Lord Huntingdon	Yoshio Asakawa	4:32.57
1994	Arcadian Heights	6	Michael Hills	Geoff Wragg	John Pearce	4:27.67
1995	Double Trigger	4	Jason Weaver	Mark Johnston	Ron Huggins	4:20.25
1996	Classic Cliche	4	Michael Kinane	Saeed bin Suroor	Godolphin	4:23.20
1997	Celeric	5	Pat Eddery	David Morley	Christopher Spence	4:26.19
1998	Kayf Tara	4	Frankie Dettori	Saeed bin Suroor	Godolphin	4:32.36
1999	Enzeli	4	Johnny Murtagh	John Oxx	HH Aga Khan IV	4:18.85
2000	Kayf Tara	6	Michael Kinane	Saeed bin Suroor	Godolphin	4:24.53
2001	Royal Rebel	5	Johnny Murtagh	Mark Johnston	Peter Savill	4:18.92
2002	Royal Rebel	6	Johnny Murtagh	Mark Johnston	Peter Savill	4:25.64
2003	Mr Dinos	4	Kieren Fallon	Paul Cole	Constantine Shiacolas	4:20.15
2004	Papineau	4	Frankie Dettori	Saeed bin Suroor	Godolphin	4:20.90
2005	Westerner *	6	Olivier Peslier	Elie Lellouche	Ecurie Wildenstein	4:19.49
2006	Yeats	5	Kieren Fallon	Aidan O'Brien	Sue Magnier & Diane Nagle	4:20.45
2007	Yeats	6	Michael Kinane	Aidan O'Brien	Sue Magnier & Diane Nagle	4:20.78

* Rock Roi finished first in 1971 and 1972 but was twice disqualified – for testing positive for bute (1971) and for interference (1972).
* The subsequent Champion Hurdle winner Royal Gait finished first in 1988 but was relegated to last place following a Stewards' Inquiry.
* The 2005 race took place at York Racecourse.

[edit] Earlier winners

[edit] References

• PedigreeQuery.com
• Racing Post:
  • 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997
  • 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007
• tbheritage.com

[edit] See also

• Horseracing in Great Britain
• List of British flat horse races