Next year, fans will hopefully be able to attend the huge event, but will any horse be able to challenge Stradivarius for the Ascot Gold Cup?

Stradivarius The One To Beat

There is no doubt that Stradivarius will head the betting going into the Ascot Gold Cup next year, as the John Gosden-trained horse was dominant at the royal meeting in 2020. Stradivarius was scintillating in the Ascot sunshine back in June, as he stormed home with Frankie Dettori on board. However, there will be extra pressure on the Bjorn Nielsen-owned horse in 2021, as he will be looking to become only the second horse to win four instalments of the iconic race.

Yeats remains the only horse to have won the Ascot Gold Cup on four occasions, with the final of those successes coming in 2009. Stradivarius didn’t end the season in great form, as he reached his peak in his run after Ascot in the Goodwood Cup Stakes in July. Following that victory, he finished seventh at Longchamp and then 12th out of 13 in the British Champions Long Distance Cup. However, make no mistake, the great Stradivarius will be back for record-breaking Gold Cup success in June.

Likely Contenders For The Gold Cup

Horse racing is an unpredictable sport, which means that there will be a number of horses that will be challenging for the illustrious title at Ascot. Among the front runners in the ante-post markets with the leading betting sites include Galileo Chrome and Santiago.

The latter of those for trainer A P O’Brien will be an outstanding choice, as the three-year-old won two from four starts last season. However, he was beaten by both Stradivarius and Galileo Chrome last season. Regardless, the form that Santiago showed earlier in the season will make him a firm contender. He won at the royal meeting in June, as he beat Berkshire Rocco by two and three-quarter lengths in the Queen’s Vase. There could be more to come next season, but a showdown with Stradivarius is the race that all fans will be looking forward to seeing.

Tiger Moth is another horse in the betting that is trained by O’Brien and could be a great option for bettors for the big race. The three-year-old was beaten by Santiago at Curragh in June but finished the season with one win in his final two. The race that he won was a competitive Paddy Power ‘Is It 2021 Yet?’ Stakes at Leopardstown. It would be hard to rule out the Irish horse, but it will need to show some outstanding early season form in 2021 to truly challenge the leading chances in this race.