Trawlerman and William Buick churn sweet melodies to swing Ascot Gold Cup

Trawlerman gave everything during his losing Gold Cup battle with Kyprios - 2024. Godolphin's ironclad warhorse broke his rivals on the wheel of a sustained gallop sweeping away the track record, plus zero sympathy.

After the stalls opened, it briefly looked like there was a super false pace, although, that could have been the heat-haze playing tricks. Trawlerman (William Buick 2-1), did not appreciate this, and soon had rivals well strung out behind him. Through intense topographical changes down the hill and then up from Swinley, there was no time when the light of hope was going to be allowed to flicker among chasers.

On so many big days already this summer. Aidan O'Brien has understood that the selective breeding made available to him by Coolmore partners meant he could play races like the Coronation Cup and Derby, as a game of stamina. Here, Illinois the improving youngster with a superior turn of foot, tried his luck. Gosden and their former protege, William Buick, understood how important it was to draw the sting out of their pursuer.

"It was very clear when we ran him a year ago in the Gold Cup, he went a bit steady but returned spot-on in the Henry II" said joint-trainer John Gosden, who was joining Saeed bin Suroor and Sir Henry Cecil as a claimer of five Gold Cups, second only to Aiden's nine - post-war period.

William declared, "From four out, I was going to notch it airways. If they stayed, they'd have to stay every inch. Waiting would have meant they could come for a pounce, but he’s an out-and-out galloper, who judged it perfectly, - not an easy thing to do over 2.5 miles."

Aside from William gaining his first Golden win, there are many reasons why the Clarehaven team and Godolphin, will derive pleasure from this strike.. Trawlerman was sired by the brilliant Golden Horn, a Derby, Eclipse, Irish Champion and Arc player, for John Gosden, and, Anthony Oppenheimer in 2015. Jayne McGivern now owns Golden Horn and wheeled around the parade ring like she had netted the 91st-minute goal in an FA Cup Final, after her belief in the horse as a stallion was vindicated.

For Sheikh Mohammed there was the first Gold Cup to celebrate since Colour Vision in 2012 – a seventh in all – and it seems likely that in the quest for a winning return to Asco, he will be keen to grant John and Thady Gosden their wish in giving the seven-year-old a light campaign in between.

Such news will be a relief to connections of Illinois and others, while Godolphin has a fine deputy in third-placed Dubai Future who, remarkably for a horse aged nine, is still largely unexposed at marathon distances.

Do not give up on Illinois as a stayer. Thrust into the Gold Cup cauldron after stablemate Kyprios was retired recently, Illinois travelled ominously well for Ryan Moore, but closing to within a couple of lengths of Trawlerman early in the home straight was the closest he came to the eventual winner, with Godolphin beating Ballydoyle in mega-power battles. Initial reaction was to look forward to a rematch with the winner at Goodwood. Not happening. Illinois might have the Sussex Downs largely to himself with Trawlerman ogling October's British Champions Day.

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Ryan Moore's triumph on Garden of Eden in the Ribblesdale Stakes day three of Royal Ascot, carried added significance, as it moved him past Edward Hide into a standalone tenth among Britain's winningmost Flat jockeys of all time.

A 2,594th British Flat success was enough to bolster one of the most impressive milestones of Ryan Moore's fascinating career, joining the likes of Sir Gordon Richards, Pat Eddery, Lester Piggott, Willie Carson and Frankie Dettori as one of the greatest-ever jockeys in British Flat racing history. He soon added to that tally when striking on Trinity College in the Hampton Court Stakes.

That was a fifth win at this year's Royal Ascot, who has taken his tally of winners at the royal meeting to 90 and is in pole position to win a 12th top jockey title. Ascot Racecourse Supports, the track's charity and community programme, has pledged £5,000 to the Retraining of Racehorses charity for each striker Ryan smolders this season. He remains a staggering 2,275 adrift of Gordon Richards in the top spot.