Group 1 Tattersalls Gold Cup Guide 2021

9 time Tattersalls Gold Cup winning trainer Aidan O’Brien had plenty of entries for this affair, however has now whittled his runners down to just 3.

Broome has already been highly tried this season but not without rich reward, now on a bid for a four timer.

The son of Australia has been progressing well, winning a listed race on his seasonal reappearance at Naas before subsequently upgrading the last twice with Group 3 and Group 2 victories at Curragh, all over the 10f trip.

He handles the soft ground which is almost a certainty to be on offer on Sunday, boding well for his chances in this affair.

His Group 1 form is respectable, twice finishing 4th behind the likes of Stradivarius & Anthony Van Dyck, although all of his G1 form has come over quicker conditions and as previously mentioned, he will appreciate the testing conditions on offer this time around.

Aidan O’Briens second runner in the race is Tiger Moth who returns from a big run down under in the Melbourne Cup (16f, G1) back in November.

The son of Galileo, the most successful source of Group 1 winners in thoroughbred history, finished 2nd in Australia with O’Brien stating that he was too well in at the weights for that race to pass upon.

Prior to that run, Tiger Moth finished a head 2nd in the Irish Derby (12f, G1) before recording a Group 3 victory at Leopardstown (12f), both of which are good pieces of form.

He drops back to 10f today, which does pose some question marks due to his staying ability over the longer trips, as does the softer ground conditions due to his best form coming over better ground.

Despite this, he should’ve improved during his layoff and could return a better 4 year old after a fairly successful 3 year old season that really highlighted the big potential Tiger Moth posses’.

Trainer Noel Meade will be chasing his first Tattersalls Gold Cup win and is represented in the market by Helvic Dream who holds Group winning form thanks to an impressive Group 3 win as a 3 year old on soft ground back in October.

The 4 year old gelding does look to be improving, bettering each of his runs this term, with his most recent effort being a runner up finish in the Mooresbridge Stakes (10f, G2).

This will already be Helvic Dream’s 4th run of the season and he’s entitled to improve once more here for his first run in Group 1 company.

Having said this, all 3 of his runs this term have been behind re-opposing rival Broome and whilst each of his runs have managed to bridge the gap on Broomes winning distances, he will still need to find 2 lengths on the O’Brien runner here.

Jessica Harrington is yet to win the Tattersalls Gold Cup however holds fairly decent claims with her entrant Cayenne Pepper.

The 4yo filly is making her comeback run after 197 days off the track and is entitled to have progressed during the off season to be competitive here after great consistency last season at a good level.

The daughter of Australia placed runner up twice in Group 1 company (10f & 12f) both at Curragh, before placing again in a Group 3 at Cork (12f).

She finally got her deserved win here at Curragh on her penultimate run of last seasons campaign with a 4 length victory in the Blandford Stakes (10f, G2) and was subsequently sent Stateside where she only managed 10th in the Breeders Cup fillies’ and mares’ stakes (9.5f, G1).

She receives a 3lb allowance for taking on the boys here, which is also her first attempt in doing so at group level.

Her best form has also come on much better ground leaving a question mark over how she will deal with the softer conditions.

Having said this, her ability to stay 12f should bode well in the mud over the 10f trip in a race that’s likely to turn into as much a test of stamina as it is class.

Aidan O’Brien has won the last 3 renewals of the Tattersalls Gold Cup and brings with him wide margin Derby winner, Serpentine as another of his representatives in the race.

This will be Serpentines first outing in 218 days however is expected to have progressed superbly from a 3yo to a 4yo.

The son of Galileo has a big engine and seems to be versatile ground wise, although his best form has come under quicker conditions.

His Epsom Derby (12f, G1) win was a shock to most given the step up in class from his prior efforts, however Serpentine solidified his place as a top middle distance stayer with a big effort in the Grand Prix de Paris (12f, G1) to finish 4th.

O’Briens colt looks to have a big 4yo season ahead and should run well here, despite needing to prove race sharpness on his first run back.

Dermot Weld has won the Tattersalls Gold Cup 6 times previous, most recently in 2016 with Fascinating Rock.

Weld is represented by sole entrant Search For A Song who asserted herself as a top stayer last season when landing the Irish St Leger (14f, G1) for the 2nd consecutive season, staying on well in the final furlong here at Curragh.

The daughter of Galileo looked to act on soft when finishing best of the rest albeit a well beaten runner up in the long distance cup at Ascot (16f, G1) and the stamina she posses’ should bode well here in the mud.

Despite this, the drop back to 1m 2f may be on the sharp side here, despite the fact she should strip fitter for her respectable runner up effort last time out over 1m 4f, keeping on to the line, without the pace to match the winner.

True Self for Willie Mullins has had recent international success having won in Australia (13f, G3) and subsequently in Saudi Arabia (10f).

She’s fairly versatile groundwise and gets a mares allowance for taking on the boys here.

She should run her race and may bring through her recent good form however may be exposed to the pace of a few above her in the market at now 8 years old.

Sunchart for Andrew Slattery marked his seasonal reappearance with a solid runner up effort in listed company on his penultimate run.

That run goes down as the geldings best run to date having been unable to follow up when subsequently running in a group 3 last time out and unseating his rider.

The son of Teofilo has much to prove and looks to be out of his depth based on previous exploits here in group 1 company.

His listed runner up finish was a 3 length beating by market leader Broome.