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| Staff Writer |
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When John Gosden told the assembled media at a pre-Royal Ascot press event that keeping Stradivarius interested in racing at the age of eight and with a stud career still ahead of him presented unique challenges, the underlying statement we assume is that the three-time Gold Cup hero will be making his swan song at the 2022 Royal Ascot Gold Cup.
He showed us that the fire still burns when raising the roof at York last month with a one-length defeat of Thunderous.
Gosden said: "Stradivarius has trained well since the Yorkshire Cup. We just hope for a clean race and may the best horse win."
The joint-trainer trusts in Frankie Dettori, who will be riding Stradivarius for the 24th time.
"He doesn't want to be given a massive amount to do in his races these days but on the other hand he doesn't want to get there too soon as that's not a good idea either," Gosden said.
"He's an old pro now. He had bad luck with (the) ground last year and a couple of tactical issues but we know he goes well on summer ground."
Should Stradivarius prevail for the fourth time he will match Yeats not only for wins in the race but as a victorious eight-year-old. The previous entrant into that particular club was Merman in 1900.