Analyzing the Top Contenders for Royal Ascot 2024
There aren’t many meets bigger than Royal Ascot and the Gold Cup on the British horse racing calendar. In fact, with the amount of interest that it does get, it’s possible to argue that it’s one of the biggest races globally for the sport.
Royal Ascot is a festival that sees many horse racing enthusiasts gather together at the Berkshire racecourse, with several meets typically taking place across four days during the British summer. Of course, the weather doesn’t always play ball, but one thing can be guaranteed: top quality horse racing.
Ascot Gold Cup 2024
The 2024 Gold Cup will be the highlight of this year’s festival, as it is every year. Horses aged four or over will compete in the Grade 1 flat race, with this year’s field set to feature some of the top stayers, who are among the best at running over a significant distance.
A total distance of 2 miles, 3 furlongs, and 210 yards (4,014 meters) will be required to run, and it will be held on the festival’s third day. This year’s event will, therefore, take place on June 20, 2024, as the festival runs from June 18 through to June 21.
The race will feature 29 horses, thus making it one of the most competitive the sport has to offer on the flats.
Who is the favorite to win the 2024 Gold Cup?
Given that the horse racing event is a huge spectacle, many will be turning their attention and focus to the proceedings. Horse racing enthusiasts will have a keen interest as they watch the best stayers in the sport compete, while many others will be interested in the potential betting opportunities that will be available.
Horse racing is one of the biggest sports that has continued to attract sports bettors in its droves. It’s one of the sports many get involved in when there are meets as special as Royal Ascot taking place, leading to many taking a look at which horses could potentially enhance their experiences by winning the main races.
If you are considering or anticipating betting on the Ascot Gold Cup, then you may want to take a look at the early odds. According to the horse racing betting odds provided by Unibet, Kyprios is the leader in terms of being the favorite. He has odds of 3.00, with Tower of London available at an early price of 6.00. Courage Mon Ami and Vauban round off the shorter odds, with prices of 7.00 and 8.00, respectively. The rest of the field is priced at 13.00 or higher.
Kyprios won the race in 2022 when ridden by Ryan Moore, posting a time of 4:26.52. However, last year’s winner was Courage Mon Ami when ridden by Frankie Dettori, having been quicker with a time of 4:20.97. Therefore, it’s unsurprising to see both of these horses being backed well in the latest odds and markets.
Can Kyprios or Courage Mon Ami become the latest multiple-time winner?
Stradivarius was the last horse to be able to claim multiple victories in this race, but the Irish thoroughbred was a truly special horse during his racing career. In this particular race, he managed to win it three years in a row, having first won in 2018 before defending his crown in 2019 and 2020.
Before him, the last time we had a horse win the meet on multiple occasions was in the early 2000s, when Royal Rebel won it back-to-back in 2001 and 2002 with Johnny Murtagh on board.
There is still some time to go, but it’s hard to look beyond these two horses. However, there may be some concern regarding both in terms of their form, or lack of it ahead of the meet.
Both horses have not competed in a competitive race since 2023. Kyprios’ last victory came in October 2022, having come second in his two races in 2023, while Courage Mon Ami’s last victory was at last year’s Royal Ascot, in the race that he will compete in this year.
With what the odds are suggesting, it wouldn’t be out of the realm of possibility to see another multiple-time winner of the Ascot Gold Cup in 2024.
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