Royal Ascot: Gold Cup Betting Preview
The brilliant Berkshire meeting of Royal Ascot certainly isn’t short of standout events, with each of the five days being lit up by at least one top-class Group 1 contest. From the sprinters to the milers, the colts to the fillies, there’s a big pot to aim at for all. However, for many racing fans, the biggest, best, and most historic contest of all comes on Thursday afternoon, as the most talented stayers in training lock horns over 2m4f in the Gold Cup.
With the runners and riders now confirmed ahead of the 2023 edition, here we take a look at the most likely contenders for glory, a selection of outsiders who may outrun their odds, and pick out our best bets for the race.
The Favourites
We currently have a two-way battle for favouritism between Roger Varian’s Eldar Eldarov and Coltrane from the yard of Andrew Balding. At 10/3 with William Hill, Eldar Eldarov just about shades it, and certainly has the class to be involved having claimed a famous success in the St. Leger at Doncaster last season. On the downside, he did disappoint in his only previous attempt at 2m+ when well beaten in the Champion Long Distance Cup at this track in October.
Coltrane (7/2 with BetUK), meanwhile, is a perfect one from one over this 2m4f, having shown real guts to land the Ascot Stakes at this meeting 12 years ago. The possible negative with this one is whether he is quite up to this class, with his only previous outing in Group 1 company resulting in a fourth-placed effort in the 2m Goodwood Cup.
At 13/2 with 10Bet, Aidan O’Brien’s filly, Emily Dickinson, is next in line. An easy winner in her only previous outing over 2m, she is 0 from 4 in Group 1 company, but each of those efforts did come over trips shorter than ideal. She’ll need to step up from her last effort when beaten at odds of just 2/5 in a Group 3, but, hailing from the most successful yard in the history of this race, is in the right hands to do so.
John Gosden is another man who knows what it takes to succeed here, having saddled Stradivarius to a brilliant hattrick of successes between 2018 and 2020. This year the Gosdens are responsible for the only unbeaten runner in the field, Courage Mon Ami (7/1 with bet365). This represents a huge step up in class for the son of Frankel, but he has done all that has been asked of him to date - winning two starts on the all-weather and handling the step up to 1m6f with aplomb last time out at Goodwood.
Lively Outsiders
Of those available at double-figure prices, the horse to immediately jump off the page is the Charlie Johnston-trained Subjectivist (10/1 with LiveScoreBet). A two-time winner at the highest level, his only previous crack at this race saw him demolish the field in the 2021 edition, with Stradivarius amongst those vanquished in behind. If in anything like the same sort of form, he should probably be favourite here. But therein lies the doubt, with the horse only recently returning from an injury-enforced absence of 618 days.
Charlie Appleby is yet to win this prize but boasts an intriguing contender this year in the shape of the globetrotting, Ybir (12/1 with Coral). A Group class winner on both sides of the Atlantic, this son of Dubawi has the class to be involved if handling this significant step up in trip.
Others to note include Echoes In Rain (14/1 with Ladbrokes), who hails from the powerful National Hunt yard of Willie Mullins, and Alan King’s Trueshan (20/1 with bet365), who is one of only three runners in the field with a previous win over this distance to their name.
Best Bets
- Best Win Bet - Coltrane @ 7/2 with BetUK
- Forecast - 1st Coltrane, 2nd Subjectivist
- Best Each Way Options - Subjectivist @ 10/1 with LiveScoreBet & Echoes In Rain @ 14/1 with Ladbrokes
Top 20 Betting Offers
|
New cust. Deposit £10+ in 7 days & bet on sports. Min odds apply. Reward = 4 x £10 Free Bets (2 x £10 Bet Builders & 2 x £10 Sports bet). Valid 7 days. Free bets not valid on e-sports & non UK/IE horse racing. 18+. T&Cs apply. |
|||||
|
New customers online only. Eligibility restrictions apply. Only valid with code B10G40 on registration. £10 min qualifying bet at 1/1 (2.0) odds or greater across sports or racing (if EW then min £10 Win + £10 Place). Receive £20 Tote Credit, £10 Free Sports Bet and 50 Free Spins on a selected game within 48 hours of qualifying bet settlement. 7-day expiry on free bets & Tote Credit. Your first bet will be your qualifying bet. One per customer. UK & ROI customers only. 18+. Full T&Cs apply Gambleaware.org. Full T&Cs apply. |
|||||
|
T&Cs apply. 18+ New customers only. You must place a single win-only bet of £10 or more with odds of evens (2.00) or greater to qualify. Money back as £10 in free bets. Free bet is credited the day after the qualifying bet has settled. Must use code B10G10 when creating an account. |
|||||
|
New Players Only. Sign Up with Bonus Code: NEW30. Bet and Settle 1x£10 Bet on Matchbook Exchange at odds of 2.0 or more. Bet and Settle 1x£10 Bet on a Bet Builder or Multiple at odds of 3.0 or more, with min 3 selections. Within 72 hours of Qualifying Bets settling user will receive 1x £10 Exchange Free Bet, 1x £10 Multiples Free Bet, and 1x £10 Bet Builder Free Bet. Users making their first deposit by Skrill, Neteller or PaySafe card will not qualify for this promotion. 18+ Only. T’s and C’s Apply. Be Gamble Aware. |
|||||
|
18+ New customers only. Place a £10+ bet at min odds 1/1 (2.0) within 14 days of sign-up. Get £30 in Free Bets, valid for 7 days on selected bets only. Free stake not returned with winnings. T&Cs apply. BeGambleAware.org |
|||||
|
New customers only. Register, deposit with Debit Card, and place first bet £10+ at Evens (2.0)+ on Sports within 7 days to get 3 x £10 in Sports Free Bets & 2 x £10 in Acca Free Bets within 10 hours of settlement. 7-day expiry. Eligibility exclusions & T&Cs Apply. |
|||||
|
18+ New Customers only. Certain deposit methods & bet types excl. 1st Deposit & Bet £/€10+ at min odds 1/2 on Sports within 14 days of account reg & Get 4x £10 Free Bets (selected sportsbook markets only, valid 7 days) Max 1 Free Bet per player. Restrictions + T&Cs apply. |
|||||
|
18+. New customers only. Deposit and place first bet of £20 or more at min odds Evens (2.0). Get £20 in Free Bets credited as x1 £10 Free Bet and x2 £5 Bet Builder Free BetsT&Cs Apply. Please gamble responsibly. |
|||||
|
18+ New customers only. Min deposit £20. Min Wager £20 at min odds 1/1 (2.0). Max free bet £20. T&Cs apply begambleaware. |
|||||
|
18+. New UK & ROI customers only . Certain deposit methods & bet types excl . Min first £10 win or E/W bet within 14 days of account reg at min odds 1/2 & get 4 x £10 free bets . Free bets valid for 7 days, stake not returned. No cashout, restrictions + T&C apply |
|||||
|
New Customer only. £10 in real money. Bets placed on sports at odds of 2.00 or more to qualify. Bets must be placed 24 hours within registration. £10 free bets must be wagered on sports. Full terms apply. Gambling can be addictive, play responsibly. 18+ |
|||||
|
*New members only. £10+ bet on sports (ex. Virtuals) 1.5 min odds, settled within 14 days. Free Bets: accept in 7 days, valid 7 days; £20 use on sportsbook, £10 on Bet Builder. Stake not returned. T&Cs + deposit exclusions apply. Bet Responsibly. GambleAware.org. 18+ |
|||||
|
New members only. £10+ bet on sports (ex. virtuals) at 1.5 min odds, settled within 14 days. Free Bets: accepted in 7 days, valid 7 days; £20 use on sportsbook, £10 on Bet Builder. Stake not returned. T&Cs + deposit exclusions apply. Bet Responsibly. GambleAware.org. 18+ |
|||||
|
New bettors; Code SPORT; Wager deposit & bonus 8x; Max qualifying bet stake=initial bonus; Valid 60 days; Min odds, payment method exclusions apply; New customers only. T&C apply; 18+ Please gamble responsibly. |
|||||
|
18+. BeGambleAware.org. New customers only. Min. £10 deposit, debit card only. Up to 50x wagering, game contributions vary, max. stake applies, 7 day expiry. See full terms. #AD |
|||||
|
Place a £10 fixed odds bet at minimum odds of 1/2 and get 3 x £10 free fixed odds bets, 3 x £5 Total Goals football spread bets and 3 x £5 Winning Favourites spread bets and a £1 racing Race Index spread bet.18+. Full T&Cs apply. www.gambleaware.org. |
|||||
|
New UK Customers place a minimum £10 qualifying sports bet at evens (1/1) or greater on a single selection only. A £20 free bet will be credited within 24 hours. The free bet is valid for 7 days and must be used on selections with minimum odds of evens (1/1). 18+ Please gamble responsibly. |
|||||
|
New sportsbook customers only. Place £10 first bet at min odds 1/2 to get £20 Free Bet. Stake not returned. Free Bet valid 7 days, min odds 1/2. Settled bets only. One welcome offer per customer (not with 50% Net Loss Refund). 18+. Full T&Cs apply. |
|||||
|
#AD | Welcome bonus for new players only | Maximum bonus is 100% up to £100 | Min. deposit is £10 | No max cash out | Wagering is 40x bonus | Maximum bet with an active bonus is £5 | Eligibility is restricted for suspected abuse | Skrill & Neteller deposits excluded for welcome bonus | Cashback when offered, applies to deposits where no bonus is included | Cashback is cash with no restrictions | T&C's apply |Free bet: Min odds: 2.0 - Free bet value will be deducted from free bet winnings | 18+ | BeGambleAware.org | Gambling is addictive, please gamble responsibly! |
|||||
|
18+ New customers only. Opt in and bet up to £40 (min. £20) via mobile or app on any football (odds 1/1+) within 7 days of registration. Get up to £40 in free bets on selected markets, which expire in 7 days. T&Cs apply, see below. GambleAware.org | Please gamble responsibly |
