May 29 - The Royal Ascot festival of horse racing is one of the most celebrated race meetings in the world and takes place in 2007 from June 19 - June 23. The 07 Royal Ascot meeting is particularly special because it will feature the Bicentennial running of the Ascot Gold Cup.

The first Gold Cup was run in 1807 for prize money of 100 guineas over a distance of 2 miles (once around the famous Ascot circuit). The following year the race was extended to an imposing 2 and a half miles, or 4000m. It is still held over that gruelling distance, which in recent years has usually resulted in a very small field of specialist stayers.

In its day the Gold Cup was one of the most important horse races on the planet with many famous horses participating in the race including: St Simon, Sceptre, Hyperion, and the great mare Pretty Polly. The race was immortalised in James Joyce's novel Ulysses where the Gold Cup win by Throwaway at the expense of Sceptre is used as a conceit that is central to the plot (such as it is).

But for Royal Ascot in 2007 the Gold Cup will no longer even qualify as the most important race of the festival - there are Group 1 races with far bigger stakes and significance. Yet the Gold Cup remains an incredibly popular race for the betting public and the on course spectators.

The Gold Cup is a true spectacle; an incredible test of stamina, and you can feel that great weight of 200 years of horse racing history as the race is run. To watch it live is one of horse racing's true pleasures, and placing a winning wager on the race is even better.

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2012/04/02 06:42:11 AM