3 minute read
Dee Ex Bee, who made most of the running in the two-mile, four-furlong Group One £500,000 Gold Cup, ran an exceptionally gallant race in second, fighting back to beat Master Of Reality (Joseph O'Brien and Wayne Lordan) into third by a nose.
The four-year-old son of Farhh, trained by Mark Johnston and ridden by Silvestre de Sousa, finished a length behind the evens-favourite winner Stradivarius at odds of 7/2.
Johnno Mills, racing manager for Dee Ex Bee's owner Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed al Maktoum, said: "Fantastic performance. We're thrilled with him. We set this out as a target for him about eight months ago, and we're thrilled we got him here, he ran a great race and we were beaten by a true champion.
"We wish a horse had come to us with a furlong to run so we could be in a battle; he's a battler, but take nothing away from the winner. He really is a true champion and we're here and we've run a great race. Hopefully, we will take him on somewhere else and see if we can reverse the tables, but it's a fantastic day."
De Sousa said: "We just ran into a better horse."
Charlie Appleby, trainer of the fourth-placed Cross Counter, was thrilled with the four-year-old's performance in the Ascot Gold Cup, his first run in the UK since last August. The trainer is eying a drop back in trip from the two miles four furlongs of today's Royal Ascot contest for the Melbourne Cup and Dubai Gold Cup winner.
"We are delighted, the key thing today is that it is the first time over the two and a half, we were keen to get him dropped in and get him relaxed and doing it the right way round," explained Appleby. "We are delighted, the way he travelled into the race you couldn't help but get excited!
"It is great to be a part of it, taking on a horse like Stradivarius is always going to be a challenge for everybody. I felt our horse on his first start back in the UK has lost nothing in defeat there, he has put up a fine performance.
"What will be his trip? Probably a drop back to two miles - he travels too well and today he has just been out stayed by real top stayers. He'd have preferred better ground, but he has handled it. Well drop back to two, and we've still got an exiting horse on our hands."
Cross Counter's jockey James Doyle echoed Appleby's thoughts.
"I am really proud of him, he ran a great race, he's been off for a while," said Doyle. "He ran a super race, I got excited for a short time, but we'll probably come back in trip."
Wayne Lordan rode the Master Of Reality, who stayed on well to take third, just denied the runner-up spot by a nose, having been up with the pace for much of the race. The son of Frankel was sent off at 661.
"He's a lovely horse, he likes a bit of juice in the ground, he won a Group 3 at Navan earlier in the year, then found the ground a bit quick for him at Leopardstown, but he has come here and run an outstanding race," said Lordan. "He is quite a big horse so time on his side over the next few years, and if everything stays sound, he is an improving type. Delighted."
Trainer Joseph O'Brien: "It is a great run, it was a great ride, he likes a bit of juice in the ground."