It was a case of business as usual for the Gosden team as joint trainers John and son Thady Gosden welcomed in Trawlerman after the Gold Cup, the third day on the trot that the yard had taken the day’s feature event at Royal Ascot, the UK’s showcase flat meeting.
Trawlerman had visited the Royal meeting twice previously and had been beaten both times, once in 2022 in the Duke of Edinburgh Handicap when finishing down the field and last year when he finished a gallant runner-up to the champion stayer Kyprios in the Gold Cup.
There was no Kyprios in the way this time around and with similar tactics to those that had brought them so close last year, Buick led from the get-go and no one ever looked likely to catch him as he relentlessly galloped his rivals into submission, upping the ante furlong by furlong as jockey William Buick delivered a masterclass in front-running.
Buick, who had ridden Ombudsman to win for the yard in the same Godolphin colours 24 hours earlier in the Prince Of Wales’s Stakes, was winning his first Ascot Gold Cup and after the race was full of praise for the horse, “I didn’t have to touch the brakes once, he was in a nice rhythm and he was relaxed; he went on autopilot, he knows his own speed and he stays well so I was just a passenger.”
Trainer John Gosden, who was winning his fifth Gold Cup, was also fulsome in his praise for Trawlerman, “There’s no point going steady like we did in Dubai. I didn’t enjoy it because anything can happen, you never know until they cross the line. He’s part of the furniture, it’s absolutely amazing. He’s the most grand, lovely horse he really is.”
Gosden hinted that the now 7-year-old gelding may not be seen all that frequently but a tilt at Ascot’s Long Distance Cup on Champion’s Day, a race Trawlerman has won before, was not ruled out.
After his dominant display in the Ascot Gold Cup, Trawlerman could attract plenty of support again next time out — punters can find top odds and promos at the best betting sites Australia.
