Aidan O'Brien v Willie Mullins: powerhouse trainers go head-to-head with Tower Of London and Vauban in Yorkshire Cup

This race can sometimes be the one which ushers in a changing of the guard in the staying division and that was certainly the case in 2018 when Stradivarius won the first of his three Yorkshire Cups.

That win signalled that the then four-year-old would soon be set to dominate and the race has a similar feel to it this year as two of last season’s leading staying three-year-olds go head-to-head in a bid to lay down a marker for the Cup races ahead.

Stradivarius had finished third in the St Leger at Doncaster before his first victory here and this year it’s the fourth and fifth from that race, Tower Of London and Gregory, who take centre stage. There is very little between them on that piece of form at these revised weights.

The pair were racing off level weights at Doncaster and Tower Of London finished a length and three-quarters ahead of Gregory, but a 3lb swing in Gregory’s favour should even things up now.

It might come down to the question of who has improved the most over the winter. The answer is that we know Tower Of London has improved 3lb on Racing Post Ratings courtesy of his Dubai Gold Cup win at Meydan in March, but we don’t know about Gregory.

Gregory: won the Queen's Vase at Royal Ascot last seasonCredit: Mark Cranham

He hasn’t run since Doncaster and might easily have made at least as much progress as his big rival in the same time. It will be fascinating to see who comes out on top in the rematch.

It’s far from a two-horse race, though, as there are some old warriors lining up against the young pretenders and among them is the formerly top-class four-year-old hurdler, Vauban.

He is now six and races exclusively on the Flat these days, having reinvented himself as a classy handicapper last season, when his best effort came in the Copper Horse Handicap at Royal Ascot. He beat his stablemate Absurde by seven and a half lengths that day.

Absurde won the Ebor on his next start and added the County Hurdle at Cheltenham, so it must have been some performance from Vauban to beat him so easily, and a Racing Post Rating of 119 gives Vauban every chance of competing here, provided he can reproduce that.

The worry for Vauban fans is that he was trained for the Melbourne Cup after his Ascot win and couldn’t build on his prep run success at Naas in the big one itself, finishing midfield in Australia. However, he has been given 192 days off and might be more at home in Britain.
Race analysis by Graeme Rodway

Ireland expects

Friday could be the day. If the betting is any guide, one of the last few big races to have eluded Ireland may finally be captured this afternoon.

Many have tried but no Irish challenger has succeeded in lifting the Yorkshire Cup, which was first run in 1927, but Southern France, Santiago and Broome have all hit the frame for Aidan O'Brien in recent years.

O'Brien appears to have a favourite's chance this time with Tower Of London, who finished fourth in the St Leger on his last visit to Britain.

Tower Of London: has been busy in the Middle East this yearCredit: Edward Whitaker

Wins this year in Saudi Arabia and Dubai have earned him more than £1.6 million in prize-money and stamped him an obvious contender for top staying honours back in Europe.

O'Brien said: "He seems to be in good form and everything has gone well since the last day. He was very good at Meydan, we were delighted with him. He loves a bit of nice ground and we're looking forward to seeing him out again."

The more established staying star of the Ballydoyle team, Kyprios, is also on show on Friday in the Group 3 Saval Beg Levmoss Stakes at Leopardstown (7.05). The six-year-old is a warm ante-post favourite to win the Ascot Gold Cup next month for a second time and is a prohibitive 1-6 to dispatch of his five rivals on Friday evening.

Willie Mullins had Max Dynamite finish fourth in the Yorkshire Cup in 2018 and tries again with Vauban, an easy winner at Royal Ascot and Naas last year, but he hasn't been seen since finishing 14th when favourite for the Melbourne Cup in November.

Mullins said: "It’s great to get him back out and we’re looking forward to a good Flat campaign with him. It’s his first run in a while so I’d imagine he will improve for it. The long term plan is to head back to Australia with him for another go at the Melbourne Cup."

Lotto hopes

Giavellotto is out to join a very select group when he bids to repeat last year’s success in the Yorkshire Cup as the only horses to have won the race more than once are the tip-top stayers Ardross and Stradivarius.

The five-year-old was a 14-1 shot when getting the better of Eldar Eldarov here 12 months ago but showed that was no fluke with several decent efforts afterwards, notably finishing third in the Lonsdale Cup back at this track in August. However, he has finished behind Tower Of London on his two starts this year.

His trainer Marco Botti said: “He's taken his races well and has been abroad in Saudi Arabia and Dubai. He's come out of his last run in good shape and this has always been the plan. 

"We wouldn't want the ground too soft, so hopefully the rain will stay away. We have to take on Tower Of London again, so obviously the opposition is quite strong, but I feel this is his best trip and it suits him better than two miles."

Giavellotto (centre): back for more after winning last year's Yorkshire CupCredit: Edward Whitaker

Good ground expected

Hamish was declared a non-runner on Thursday evening due to the going to reduce the field to six, with ground conditions expected to remain good at York on the final day of the Dante meeting.

Raceday clerk of the course Anthea Leigh said on Thursday evening: "Looking at the race times, it was probably bang on good ground today.

"There is the chance of light showers tonight then tomorrow is due to be dry but mostly cloudy." 

What they say

Karl Burke, trainer Al Qareem
It's a tough race but he's won at York and he's crying out for this trip. We've stuck at 1m4f for his last few runs and we've been very positive with him, he's a very forward-going horse. It was a very good run at Newbury. He'll stay the trip well and we'll find out where we're going for the rest of the season.

Thady Gosden, joint-trainer of Gregory
He's done well over the winter and the Yorkshire Cup has always looked a nice starting point to his season. He has form at the track and we are very much looking forward to getting him back on track in what is a competitive race. If they get the showers they are forecast and the ground remains good then it will be perfect for him. 

William Haggas, trainer of Naqeeb
Naqeeb doesn't want too much rain, we've been running him on slow ground and I don't think it suits him. He's a nice horse but he's got a lot to do here.
Reporting by David Carr

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