O'Brien and Moore are Royal Ascot's perfect cocktail

By James Toney at Royal Ascot

The Ascot Blush is billed as the perfect combination of rhubarb gin, strawberries and lemonade - and it sells here by the £39 a jug gallon.

There is a better cocktail at Royal Ascot though, one that only gives a headache to the bookies and rivals.

Ryan Moore, with 81 wins and counting, and Aidan O'Brien, now on 87, are not the sort of characters to swagger at this storied see-and-be-seen race meeting.

However, they exude a quiet confidence, hardly surprising considering the equine firepower they combine to aim at these five days in June.

Two wins in two races got them off the mark on Wednesday, with the highlight being a memorable victory for the brilliant, if quirky, Auguste Rodin.

It means they arrive at Thursday's showpiece Gold Cup, where Kyprios seeks to regain the title he won in 2022, hitting top gear.

Two years ago, he spoiled the party and denied Stradivarius his fourth title, only to miss his defence 12 months ago through injury.

For a while, he was undoubtedly the world's top stayer, but there are nagging concerns about whether that remains the case two years on from his career high.

"Kyprios is a hardy horse, and everything has gone well with him. He’s training well and seems in good form," said O'Brien.

"He’s an unbelievable horse, and to have him back to this pitch, we’re delighted, really. I don’t think there are any worries about the ground, and I always thought he wanted nice ground. He’s a very good mover."

Willie Mullins's Vauban won at Royal Ascot last year but failed in his bid to claim the Melbourne Cup, trailing home a distant 14th at Flemington.

The 'Cup' remains a big focus for Mullins, and a win here would be a springboard for success in the race that stops the nation this November.

"For a predominantly jump stable like ours, it would be huge to win the biggest prize at Royal Ascot," said Mullins, who scored his tenth win at the meeting when Belloccio won Tuesday's Copper Horse Handicap.

"I think Aidan might have something to say about it. He looks like he might have a stranglehold on the race with Kyprios. Whoever you look at it, he's going to be very hard to beat. He's the one we will all be afraid of."

Racing is a sport not prone to look back and reflect; the bandwagon rolls relentlessly on. So, the talk of Royal Ascot was only briefly about Auguste Rodin's battling Prince of Wales Stakes victory before switching to 'what's next?'.

O'Brien gently rebuffed suggestions of a showdown with fellow Derby winner and stablemate City of Troy, with a return to Ascot for the King George next month and a defence of his Breeders' Cup Turf crown more likely.

However, other engagements are also possible, including the long-time O'Brien and Coolmore target, the Japan Cup in Tokyo.

It would be a popular engagement for his son of Deep Impact, who won that race in 2006 and remains one of Japan's most fabled racehorses.

Racing in Michael Tabor's blue and orange silks, the six-time Group One winner has occasionally misfired, but O'Brien and Moore now believe they've got his quirky measure.

"Auguste Rodin throws in the occasional wobbly, but he’s special," said Tabor. "He has to be one of the best I’ve owned in my colours."