The 2016 Ascot Gold Cup is a Listed race held at Ascot Racecourse in Perth during the early stages of the Perth Summer Racing Carnival.
Raced over 1800m, the Ascot Gold Cup is a popular target for genuine talent in Western Australia. It is held under quality handicap conditions and is open to horses aged three years and older.
This race is not to be confused with the British Ascot Gold Cup, held at Royal Ascot in England.
With $100,000 prize money on offer, this is certainly not the most lucrative race held at Ascot. However, it presents a great opportunity for stayers who are returning to work or improving fitness on their way to one of the major Group 1 events held at the course.
The Ascot Gold Cup runs on Lee Steere Stakes Day and shares a program with the Group 2 Lee Steere Stakes (1400m) and the Listed Fairetha Stakes (1400m).
Because it’s held so early in the racing season, there aren’t a wealth of obvious lead up races to the Ascot Gold Cup. The Listed Northam Cup (1600m) can sometimes be a fairly good guide, however at 1600m it is often just a touch start for the stayers who target the Ascot Cup as a leadup to longer events.
Following their run in the Ascot Gold Cup, horses usually step up in distance to staying events, rather than stepping back to miles and sprints. The Group 1 Kingston Town Classic (1800m) or, for more confident stayers, the Group 2 Perth Cup (2400m).
Up until 2008, the Ascot Gold Cup was held over 2200m, with the exception of 1997, when it was 1800m. Notable Ascot Gold Cup winners include Royal Coral (1965), Irish Gent (1970, 71), Caduceus (1980), True Lover (1997), Colour Correct (2010) and Moonlight Bay (2013).
2015 Ascot Gold Cup Field
The Ascot Gold Cup field draws a fairly decent selection of horses each year, although there’s always a few in there that would be better off staying at home. It’s rare that the Ascot Gold Cup field produces a true Perth Cup winner, but the race is often contested by fairly quality staying types who are working their way back into form.
The 2016 Ascot Gold Cup field will be published here.
| No | Last 10 | Horse | Trainer | Jockey | Barrier | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 716x8172x8 | DUBAI ESCAPADE | Justin Warwick | Brad Parnham | 7 | 59kg |
| 2 | 32241×6021 | COUGAR EXPRESS | Lindsey Smith | Aaron Mitchell (a) | 8 | 58.5kg |
| 3 | 1×2111121 | CHOCOLATE HOLIC | Grant & Alana Williams | Peter Hall | 3 | 58kg |
| 4 | 4x1669x482 | YOUNG LIONEL | Lou Luciani | Jarrad Noske | 10 | 57kg |
| 5 | 1×84532015 | DON’TGETCAUGHT | Ben Pearce | Ms Jerry Noske | 4 | 56.5kg |
| 6 | 4683×24972 | BEDAMIJO | Tara Itzstein | Shaun O’Donnell | 13 | 55kg |
| 7 | 26677×4517 | BIG SETUP (NZ) | Wally Mitchell | Jordan Turner (a) | 9 | 55kg |
| 8 | 21651111×5 | DARK ALERT | G Durrant & J Miller | Glenn Smith | 6 | 55kg |
| 9 | 337×211791 | DJANGO | Alan Mathews | Patrick Carbery | 12 | 55kg |
| 10 | 8050860445 | DRIVE WEST | Joe Miller | Troy Turner | 5 | 55kg |
| 11 | 113x5324x5 | KIA ORA KOUTOU | G Durrant & J Miller | Joseph Azzopardi | 2 | 55kg |
| 12 | x1141213x7 | SHINTA MANI | Sharon Miller | Jason Whiting | 1 | 55kg |
| 13 | 4524143×36 | TONTO | Lou Luciani | Jason Brown | 11 | 55kg |
2016 Ascot Gold Cup Nominations
The Ascot Gold Cup nominations attract a range of horses at varying levels of fitness. The Ascot Gold Cup nominations usually present a bit of a quandary to form followers, as there are horses who have already had a few starts lining up against those that are first-up, and all have vastly differing levels of past success.
The 2016 Ascot Gold Cup nominations will be posted below.
Ascot Gold Cup Results
Ascot Gold Cup results, winners and winning times are listed below.
| Year | Results | Winning Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 1 TBD | 2 TBD | 3 TBD | TBD |
| 2015 | 1 Drive West | 2 Young Lionel | 3 Rebelson | 1:49.3 |
| 2014 | 1 Pop Culture | 2 Rebelson | 3 Fancy Feet | 1:50.3 |
| 2013 | 1 Moonlight Bay | 2 Finnegans Gold | 3 Doutable | 1:49.5 |
| 2012 | 1 Pop Culture | 2 Rosie Rocket | 3 Moonlight Bay | 1:50.4 |
| 2011 | 1 Rocky Range | 2 Gum Nut Guru | 3 Mega Steel | 1:50.2 |
| 2010 | 1 Colour Correct | 2 West River Charley | 3 Mighty Rossa | 1:51.5 |
| 2009 | 1 Corporate Sam | 2 Mikaldico | 3 Geyser Peak | 1:50.97 |
| 2008 | 1 Sentenza | 2 Upgrade | 3 Mikaldico | 1:49.3 |
| 2007 | 1 Cat In A Hat | 2 Black Douglas | 3 Rossam | 2:14.9 |
| 2006 | 1 Zero Engagement | 2 Woodala | 3 Master Vision | 2:17.1 |
| 2005 | 1 My Thornbird | 2 Blevvo | 3 Power Mak | 2:15.8 |
| 2004 | 1 True Steel | 2 Laetare | 3 Zakarak | 2:17.5 |
| 2003 | 1 Desert Dreamer | 2 True Steel | 3 Bold Mirage | 2:16.0 |
| 2002 | 1 Alibi Bay | 2 Mr Tambourineman | 3 Dynaliebe | 2:16.3 |
| 2001 | 1 Special Jester | 2 So Canny | 3 Master Clan | 2:19.9 |
| 2000 | 1 National Surprise | 2 Zaruche | 3 Lottila Bay | 2:16.0 |
