Trip To Paris stays best in Gold Cup

Trip to Paris gave former National Hunt jockey Graham Lee his first Group 1 win and first Royal Ascot victory when taking the Gold Cup (Photo courtesy of Ascot Racecourse via Twitter) Trip To Paris (Champs Elysees) finished fast to record a 12-1 upset in Thursday’s Gold Cup (Eng-G1) at Royal Ascot, drawing off to a 1 1/4-length decision in the about 2 1/2-mile event. The Graham Lee-ridden winner won with something in hand over runner-up Kingfisher (Galileo), with 5-2 favorite Forgotten Rules (Nayef) another neck back in third, and Trip To Paris continued to enhance the Newmarket-based Ed Dunlop’s reputation as a trainer of stayers. Owned by La Grange Partnership, the four-year-old gelding was bought by Dunlop at Tattersalls in Newmarket for the relatively small sum of 20,000 guineas, at a two-year-old breeze-up sale, a type of auction suited to speedy juveniles and rarely a source of horses with Gold Cup pretensions. He looks a successor to his stablemate, nine-year-old Red Cadeaux (Cadeaux Genereux), a famous traveler who has been second in three Melbourne Cups (Aus-G1). “It’s a helluva story and credit must go to the owners,” said Dunlop, whose runner was supplemented for the Gold Cup at a cost of £35,000. “Those who know me know I’m not the most adventurous when it comes to stumping up £35,000, particularly when I own a bit of the horse.

“He ran very well in the King George V Handicap here last year, but we felt
he might have the right turn of foot and temperament to be a stayer. At Ripon he
won a trial for Chester (over two miles) and then he won the Chester Cup, and I
thought he was a little unlucky at Sandown (when second in the May 28 Henry II
[Eng-G3]) when they went very slow and sprinted.

“Graham Lee has been a big part of this — I thought it was a great ride,
although I was bemoaning him going around the outside for a bit until he
sensibly got to the inside rail where he quickened well.”

Trip To Paris has won four of his last five starts.

“He’s made phenomenal progress this season — he was on a mark of 88 at the
start of the season and ran in last year’s Shergar Cup, where the jockey was run
away with and made the running,” Dunlop said. Then he was a bit disappointing
and we gelded him and put him away. He’s won four of six this year and is one of
the most improved horses in training. His owners are all very sporting and put
up with me — some have been with me since the start. There are seven of us in
the partnership.”

Asked where the Gold Cup win ranks in his career, Dunlop said: “Near the top.
It’s an incredible day, and one of my greatest days as a trainer. My father and
mother had the Gold Cup on their dining table, so to actually win it is a dream
come true. I was always brought up by my parents to regard the Gold Cup as the
highlight of this meeting. It’s been a difficult season for my staff, so to win
this turns it all around.”

When Lee, 39, moved codes from National Hunt to the Flat, it would have taken
considerable foresight to predict that he would ride the winner of a Group 1 at
Royal Ascot. His Gold Cup victory aboard Trip To Paris was his first Royal Ascot
success and first Group 1.

“The second I got legged up on him in the parade ring I knew he was going to
run well,” Lee said. “He was asleep, he went to post asleep. He was relaxed all
the time, conserving energy. The race went well and happy days. Thank the man
above, everything went good.

“I had a look when I turned in where I was going to go and there was a gap
down the rail. He has picked up good and he deserved this. They supplemented
this guy for a lot of money, so fair dues to the sporting connections for doing
that.”

Dermot Weld felt Forgotten Rules may not have stayed after he finished a
creditable third in the Gold Cup, suggesting that the 2 1/2-mile trip may have
been too far for the gelding.

“I think this distance is as far as he wants to go really,” Weld said. “He
has been a winner at two miles and I thought he probably just didn’t quite get
home. He has still run a big race.”

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