Eldar Eldarov Seeks Gold Cup Glory at Ascot Racecourse
Ascot Racecourse Eagerly Awaits Eldar Eldarov’s Bid for Gold Cup Glory
Trainer Roger Varian is confident that Eldar Eldarov, a previous winner at the prestigious Royal Ascot meeting, has not yet reached the pinnacle of his abilities as he prepares to challenge for the Gold Cup title on Thursday.
The four-year-old colt secured a narrow victory in the Queen’s Vase last season and went on to claim Classic honors in the St Leger at Doncaster. Despite a strong-finishing second-place finish to Giavellotto in the Yorkshire Cup last month, Varian has been delighted with Eldar Eldarov’s progress and believes the horse has a genuine chance of capturing the iconic two-and-a-half-mile feature.
“He’s in great form and has done everything right and everything asked of him since his good run at York,” said Varian. “It’s exciting to get him back out and back to Ascot, he obviously won at the Royal meeting last year and it is very exciting to have such a strong contender for the Gold Cup.”
Eldar Eldarov will face stiff competition from the likes of Andrew Balding’s Coltrane, who won the Ascot Stakes last year and the Sagaro Stakes last month. Three-time champion jockey Oisin Murphy is relishing the opportunity to partner Coltrane in the prestigious race.
“It’s a wonderful chance and I’m looking forward to riding Coltrane. I watched Yeats dominate the race, and Stradivarius, so it’s great to be riding a horse who is probably going to go off favourite,” said Murphy.
The field also includes Subjectivist, the 2021 Gold Cup winner, as well as Courage Mon Ami, an unbeaten prospect for the Gosden team, and Echoes In Rain, the Punchestown Mares’ Champion Hurdle winner, who will be looking to make history by becoming the first horse to win both the Cheltenham Gold Cup and the Gold Cup at Royal Ascot in the same year.
Varian is hopeful that Eldar Eldarov can capture the public’s imagination with a strong performance, as the trainer believes the horse’s best days may still be ahead of him.
“His best days could very much be ahead of him, so we are very much looking forward to running him in the Gold Cup,” Varian concluded.
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