Kyprios is one of the top favourites for the Gold Cup

Kyprios, the former Gold Cup champion, will compete against nine rivals at Royal Ascot on Thursday in hopes of reclaiming his title. Trained by Aidan O’Brien, Kyprios is considered one of the top favourites for the marathon race, having previously won four Group One races in a row after his Gold Cup victory in 2022.

After an injury last season, Kyprios made a strong comeback at the start of this campaign, winning the Vintage Crop Stakes and Saval Beg races. His main competition is expected to come from John and Thady Gosden's Gregory, the reigning Queen’s Vase winner who is filling in for the injured Courage Mon Ami, last year's Gold Cup champion.

Willie Mullins, a dominant presence in National Hunt racing, is still searching for his first Gold Cup victory and hopes to achieve it with Vauban. Other contenders in the field include Coltrane, Enemy, Prydwen, Trueshan, and the mare Caius Chorister.

In other races at Royal Ascot, unbeaten Diamond Rain and Andrew Balding's Kalpana are strong contenders in the Ribblesdale Stakes, while Aidan O’Brien's Whistlejacket and Wesley Ward’s Saturday Flirt will face off in the Norfolk Stakes.

A field of 14 two-year-olds will compete in the Norfolk Stakes, while the Hampton Court Stakes features 12 contenders, including King’s Gambit. Additionally, the King George V Stakes has attracted a maximum field of 19 horses, with Perisica leading the weights.