At The Races pundit Declan Rix is taking the consistent and hardy Coltrane as his pick for this month’s Gold Cup at Royal Ascot.
The staying Group One heat looks particularly open with the notable absence of star Kyprios due to injury, leaving the coast clear for a new star in the division.
Leading pundit Rix thinks the Andrew Balding-trained Coltrane could be the one that takes the step into Group One company, getting the better of Leger hero Coltrane and Broome and Emily Dickinson in the process.
“I’m going to nominate Coltrane as one of the most likeable horses in training and I’ve got such a soft spot for him,” says Rix on the Weekend Winners digital show.
“A bit like Highfield Princess, he had an excellent 2022 and actually won at Royal Ascot in the Ascot Stakes over the staying trip so we know he’s going to stay.
“He won the Coral Marathon and also the Doncaster Cup as well as second in the Chester Cup and that freak Lonsdale Cup and he was very unlucky to be second on Champions Day in the Long Distance Cup behind Trueshan.
“He kept getting better and better with every run last year apart from that freak race at York which was easy to forgive.
“What I liked was at the start of this season he looked gassy and maybe over-travelled but as well as getting better he’s started to grow up
“He’s tenacious, he’s got a wonderful constitution and a great attitude and a career-best effort at Sandown last time.
“He carried a penalty that day and the horses against him were in form. The form is solid and he just looks like he’s improved again this season.”
