Gold Cup: Frankie Dettori claims ninth Ascot feature with Courage Mon Ami for John and Thady Gosden
Dettori and Courage Mon Ami battled all the way to the line to claim a ninth Ascot Gold Cup at his final Royal Ascot; Coltrane finished in second for Oisin Murphy, with Subjectivist back in third for Joe Fanning
Friday 23 June 2023 06:11, UK
Frankie Dettori bagged a stunning ninth Ascot Gold Cup with Courage Mon Ami in his final season before retirement at Royal Ascot.
In a terrific finish, Dettori and Courage Mon Ami fought off Coltrane and Oisin Murphy to win the Royal Ascot feature for John and Thady Gosden.
The four-year-old gelding had to show plenty of courage to give Dettori a second success on the week, and maintaining his unbeaten record through four starts in the process.
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Dettori stuck to the rail early on before peeling out and challenge eventual third Subjectivist, and then holding off the late charge of Coltrane, who was sent off 11/4 favourite, to win by just under a length.
2022 Leger hero Eldar Eldarov proved a disappointment for the Roger Varian team, only finishing seventh at the line despite being well-backed prior to the race.
Dettori told Sky Sports Racing before savouring a tremendous reception: "This one was a bit of a chancer coming for handicaps but John [Gosden] was confident.
"In fairness, he showed a turn of foot, it's unbelievable.
"Myself, The King and The Queen spoke beforehand about my relationship with Queen Elizabeth II and after they present the trophy. It really is amazing.
"I didn't expect it. The last five years I had Stradivarius so the pressure was on, this one I thought was a bit of a chancer, coming from handicaps, but John was confident.
"I didn't believe it, but I said to him he's pulled a rabbit out of the hat. He's a great trainer and he does things like that. Sometimes if I don't believe it I just go along with it!"
Winning co-trainer John Gosden added: "He's been mature at home but he didn't run at two, he was a backend three-year-old winning on the all-weather and Mr Oppenheimer was very patient. He has a stud to run which is very expensive, hence this horse has been gelded so he sold him.
"He won well in a handicap and while we weren't coming here for fun, it was Thady and Peter Shoemark's (racing secretary) decision to enter him, not mine.
"The form is solid - you've Coltrane in second, a former winner in third and Emily Dickinson in fourth, so it was a superb performance.
"It was a great ride by Frankie, he saved every inch and slipped through and showed his nerves were better than ours.
