Is the Ascot Gold Cup a Handicap?

No, the Ascot Gold Cup is not a handicap race, meaning horses can weigh any amount above the minimum threshold, in theory.

Who Has the Most Ascot Gold Cup Wins?

Yeats is the horse to have won the most Ascot Gold Cups, with four consecutive victories between 2006 and 2009. Jockey Lester Piggott is the most successful jockey in the race's history with 11 victories. Aidan O'Brien now holds the all-time training record with 10 wins after Scandinavia's 2026 triumph, while Sue Magnier (including partnerships) is the most successful owner with 8 wins.

Can a Gelding Run in the Ascot Gold Cup?

Yes, Geldings can run in the Ascot Gold as long as they weigh at least 9 stone.

How Many Ascot Gold Cups Did Yeats Win?

Yeats won a record four Ascot Gold Cups, all in successive years between 2006 and 2009. The Aidan O'Brien-trained legend is widely regarded as the greatest stayer in the modern era. (Note: Yeats should not be confused with Noble Yeats, a completely different horse who won the 2022 Grand National).

Ascot Gold Cup Betting Odds & Markets

Despite what the race's official title tells you, Royal Ascot is not just a day for royalty. It is a wonderful occasion marked on everybody's calendar in big, thick ink. Ascot Racecourse in Berkshire hosts an event that captures the imagination as very few races across the British Isles can.

The Ascot Gold Cup, first run in 1807, is the centrepiece of Day Three of the five-day Royal Ascot festival (Ladies' Day) and is widely regarded as the most prestigious staying race in the global flat racing calendar. The race is open to horses aged four and above and is run over two miles and four furlongs on the historic Ascot straight, with a 2026 prize fund of £700,000 (winner takes £396,970).

How will the race unfold? And who's in contention to take home one of the biggest prizes in horse racing? talkSPORT BET is here to offer advice and information on the upcoming race so you stand a greater chance of being successful with your bet.

Those who have some insight into the Ascot Gold Cup and Ascot Racecourse more broadly know that this race is designed for runners with stamina. Sprinting out of the blocks as fast as possible is unlikely to hold you in good stead during this race, which requires patience, guile, and cunning.

For this reason, we advise you to check each horse's track record and how they've finished in recent races. Learn if a horse finishes well or slows down towards the finish line. Inspect the distance of the races they've previously participated in and where they finished during those events.

Don't just aim for long odds. Yes, there's a chance an unfancied horse can surprise the pundits and punters, but this is only an outside shot that rarely comes off. If you're convinced that a runner will perform better than bookmakers believe, why not insure your bet with the each-way function? This way, you won't be too disappointed if they fail during the final furlong.

You can decide your stake and place your bets at Royal Ascot for some of the most competitive odds around when it comes to horse racing. Stay tuned to the talkSPORT BET site for odds on every race at the next Royal Ascot festival, including the Ascot Gold Cup as the Thursday feature.

When you enter the platform, select the 'Horse Racing' tab on the sidebar to get markets across every horse racing event. When the odds are uploaded, enter the 'Royal Ascot' section to pick a specific bet, like outright winners, a trifecta, a superfecta, each-way options, and much more.

Decide on the stake you want to place and confirm your bet. You can then sit back and wait for the race to commence to see if you've predicted the outcome correctly. Make sure to check out our Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe odds too.

2026 Ascot Gold Cup Recap: Scandinavia Lands O'Brien's Historic Century

The 2026 Ascot Gold Cup will go down as one of the most historically significant editions of the race in modern memory. Scandinavia, the 11/8 favourite ridden by Ryan Moore for trainer Aidan O'Brien, caught defending champion Trawlerman in the final 50 metres to win by a head in a thrilling head-to-head duel down the long Ascot straight.

The result delivered Aidan O'Brien his record-breaking 100th Royal Ascot winner, a milestone no other trainer in the meeting's history has ever reached. It was also O'Brien's 10th Ascot Gold Cup, extending his own all-time training record for the race. Ryan Moore meanwhile picked up his fifth career Gold Cup ride.

Trawlerman's brave runner-up performance was made all the more remarkable by the fact that he had been off the racecourse since the previous October due to a sunlight-related eye condition. The eight-year-old, who won the 2025 Gold Cup by seven lengths under William Buick, raced wearing equine goggles to protect his eyes and led for most of the home straight before Scandinavia's late surge denied him a repeat. Sweet William finished third for the John and Thady Gosden stable, with 2025 Irish St Leger winner Al Riffa fourth for Joseph O'Brien.

Scandinavia, a four-year-old colt by Triple Crown winner Justify, made it six consecutive wins with the Ascot Gold Cup triumph, having previously claimed the 2025 Goodwood Cup over two miles and the 2025 St Leger at Doncaster. He now looks set to dominate the staying division for the rest of the 2026 season and into 2027.

Year	Horse	Jockey	Trainer	Owner
2026	Scandinavia	Ryan Moore	Aidan O'Brien	Smith/Magnier/Tabor
2025	Trawlerman	William Buick	John & Thady Gosden	Godolphin
2024	Kyprios	Ryan Moore	Aidan O'Brien	Moyglare Stud/Smith/Magnier/Tabor
2023	Courage Mon Ami	Frankie Dettori	John & Thady Gosden	Wathnan Racing
2022	Kyprios	Ryan Moore	Aidan O'Brien	Moyglare Stud/Smith/Magnier/Tabor
2021	Subjectivist	Joe Fanning	Mark Johnston	Dr Jim Walker
2020	Stradivarius	Frankie Dettori	John Gosden	Bjorn Nielsen
2019	Stradivarius	Frankie Dettori	John Gosden	Bjorn Nielsen
2018	Stradivarius	Frankie Dettori	John Gosden	Bjorn Nielsen
2017	Big Orange	James Doyle	Michael Bell	Bill Gredley
2016	Order of St George	Ryan Moore	Aidan O'Brien	Smith/Magnier/Tabor
2015	Trip to Paris	Graham Lee	Ed Dunlop	La Grange Partnership

Aidan O'Brien's 2026 Scandinavia win extended his all-time training record in the race to 10 victories. The Coolmore syndicate (Smith/Magnier/Tabor) has now won 9 of the last 12 editions of the Ascot Gold Cup, either outright or in partnership. Our horse racing markets have loads of competitive odds for you to explore. To ensure your experience remains enjoyable, read through our Safer Gambling Portal so that your betting doesn't become problematic.

Ascot Gold Cup Odds & Betting

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