By Greg Wood at Royal Ascot • June 19, 2026 • Sport
Scandinavia, ridden by Ryan Moore, beat Trawlerman in a compelling Gold Cup and Aidan O’Brien said: ‘It was a very special day for myself and everybody in Ballydoyle’
For all the talk of fierce rivalries here this week, the fact of it is that no current trainer has even come close to Aidan O’Brien’s achievements at this meeting since Harbour Master, at 16-1, gave him his first Royal Ascot winner in 1997. Almost three decades later, O’Brien became the first trainer to saddle a century of Royal Ascot winners as Scandinavia clawed his way past Trawlerman in the closing stages of a compelling Gold Cup, and there is little sign that he is even pondering when it might be time to call it a day. One hundred Royal Ascot winners, and one in 10 of those has now come in the showpiece event of the week, after the moment of generational shift when the eight-year-old Trawlerman, the defending champion, finally yielded to his four-year-old rival within sight of the line. Trawlerman had seemed to have Scandinavia’s measure just a few seconds earlier, but perhaps the lack of a prep run before Thursday’s race also told in the final strides as Scandinavia ground him down. John Gosden, Trawlerman’s trainer, is the closest active trainer to O’Brien in the all-time list with 72 winners, while Sir Michael Stoute, the record holder until O’Brien replaced him in 2023, trained 82. O’Brien has also won the trainers’ title over the course of the meeting no fewer than 13 times – Gosden has four – and he is seemingly a decent mentor of humans, too, as his main rival for a 14th title at this year’s meeting seems likely to be his oldest son, Joseph. “There are so many people involved to help a horse get this far,” O’Brien said. “Ryan [Moore] was incredible on Scandinavia, he nursed him and nursed him. “He was perfect until Oisin [Murphy, on Caballo De Mar] came up and took his slot a little bit. Ryan had to manoeuvre round him and, at the same time, he minded him and didn’t waste any gas. He got him into a position where he wanted him, for one last surge.” Scandinavia’s win on Thursday firmly established the son of the US Triple Crown winner Justify, as the new master of the staying division, and it is easy to see him running up a sequence in the Gold Cup over the next two or three seasons unless an even younger star emerges on the staying scene. He was just a head in front of Trawlerman at the line, but the runner-up was attempting to become only the second eight-year-old winner since 1900, and it is very hard to see him back here next year at the age of nine. It was another nine lengths back to Gosden’s seven-year-old second-string, Sweet William, and Carmers, a distant sixth, was the next four-year-old across the line. O’Brien paid a rich tribute to his staff at Ballydoyle stable before considering the latest historic achievement in his remarkable career. “It’s a very special day for myself and everybody in Ballydoyle,” the trainer said. “It’s just incredible really. It’s something that we wouldn’t dream of thinking about because for that to happen, you could not believe. “Even this week, it’s literally one race at a time and you don’t even think what it could be or whether it could happen because it’s so competitive, so hard to win races here. “We knew the second horse was a great horse, very brave. He joined him and you don’t know until you go past that two-furlong marker what’s really going to happen, but we felt he was very brave, he’s always showed that in every race. He’s relentless. He cruises.” Scandinavia’s win was also a popular one with the punters, as like so many of O’Brien’s past winners here, he was backed relentlessly in the run-up to the race to set off as the 11-8 favourite, having been joint-favourite at 5-2 with Trawlerman earlier in the day. The biggest reported bet was £120k at 5-2, to return £300k. “We love to be competitive,” O’Brien said. “We love the competitive nature of everything, and we like everybody building up around the race because that’s what everyone has to feel. “It was unusual today. We listened and I was able to hear everybody. The crowd was very big and the cheer went up when they turned in, but when he went to the front, the sound went up, and the noise got louder and louder, and that’s what it’s all about. What can I say? It was just an incredible feeling.” Moore, who was partnering his 96th winner here, paid his own tribute to the trainer who has done so much to take him to the verge of his own century. “Aidan identifies these horses and brings them here absolutely jumping out of their skins,” Moore said. “I am lucky to ride them. The answer with Aidan is he won’t care [about the 100 winners]. He will probably be thinking about the next 100. That is what separates him.” Sun can shine brightly in Commonwealth Tony Bloom, the chairman of Brighton & Hove Albion, is rightly renowned for spotting a bargain in football’s transfer market and his filly Venetian Sun could demonstrate a similar knack for racehorse recruitment when she goes to post for the Commonwealth Cup at Royal Ascot on Friday. The super-agent Kia Joorabchian, also a familiar name to football fans, splurged around £24m at Tattersalls Book 1 sale in 2024 on 25 lots, and has not, as yet, enjoyed a significant return on his investment. Bloom, by contrast, bought two lots at the same sale for just under £400,000, including Venetian Sun for 240,000 guineas (£252,000), and she has already won £438,000 on the track with the strong possibility of plenty more to come. Venetian Sun (3.05) has finished in the first three in all but one of her seven starts, when a non-staying 11th in the 1,000 Guineas in May, and was an emphatic winner of the Sandy Lane Stakes when dropped back to six furlongs for her next start. She has several pounds in hand of Friday’s field on that form, and has also shown an affinity for Ascot when winning the Albany Stakes at this meeting last year. Royal Ascot 2.30 Sun Goddess is potentially the pick of Aidan O’Brien’s juveniles at this year’s meeting and will take all the beating from stall 17. Royal Ascot 3.40 Gary and Josh Moore’s Mondo Man finished fifth in the French Derby in 2024 and fourth in the King Edward VII at this meeting. He was an improved performer over hurdles this winter and the booking of Christophe Soumillon – for just his second ride for the yard – also catches the eye. Royal Ascot 4.20 Precise turned the tables on her stable companion True Love when running out a comfortable winner of the Irish 1,000 Guineas and will be fancied to confirm the form in the day’s second Group One contest. Royal Ascot 5.00 Gavin Cromwell is more familiar as a jumping trainer but he has saddled two winners from eight runners at the royal meeting and Quiet Mutiny, well drawn in 25, looks sure to relish this step up in trip. Royal Ascot 5.35 Water To Wine, the favourite, has looked potentially top-class in two wide-margin wins so far, but Causeway, who was in the Derby until the overnight stage, is a very different calibre of opponent. Royal Ascot 6.10 Richard Spencer’s Gold Digger is potentially much better than her opening mark of 94 and the likely strong pace should be just what she needs.
Source: The Guardian
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