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Trip To Paris stays best in Gold Cup
"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." Bet Horseracing Free Online at TwinSpires.com
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