Alkass Digital
In the presence of H M King Charles III, Wathnan Racing had second winner of the week as their progressive four-year-old Courage Mon Ami (Frankelx Crimson Ribbon) produced an excellent performance to land the Gr.1 Gold Cup at Royal Ascot.
Ali bin Yourself Al Romaihi and Ali Al Kubaisi received the Gold Cup from H M King Charles III on Thursday.
Just like the Wathnan Racing owned Gregory (Golden Horn) a day earlier, the unbeaten Courage Mon Ami is trained by John and Thady Gosden and was ridden by Frankie Dettori, who landed a second Gr.1 on the week of his Royal Ascot Swansong.
Pitched into Gr.1 company direct from handicaps and relatively inexperienced, Courage Mon Ami took on eleven rivals as he stretched out to 2m4f (4,200m) for the first time.
Settled towards the rear of the field, but travelling easily in a race taken along by the eventual third placed Subjectivist (Teofilo), Courage Mon Ami took the eye from a long way out. Scything through the field inside the final 600m, he was switched out to challenge and he galloped clear of Coltrane (Mastercraftsman) to win ahead of him by three quarters of a length.
Speaking after the race the impressed winning trainer John Gosden said, "We didn’t run him here for fun, but it was Thady and Peter Shoemark’s idea to enter him, not mine. He’s quite mature at home, but hasn’t been easy to train. It was a superb performance and a great ride from Frankie. He saved every inch, slithered through, and showed his nerves are better than mine.”
Bred by Hascombe and Valiant Stud Ltd, Courage Mon Ami is a son of Crimson Ribbon (Lemon Drop Kid) and is a brother to black type performers Purple Ribbon (Gleneagles), Crimson Rosette (Teofilo) and Astronomos (New Approach).