Top stayer Subjectivist set for Stradivarius battle next in Ascot Gold Cup

Impressive Dubai Gold Cup winner Subjectivist is on course for a thrilling clash with three-time Ascot Gold Cup hero Stradivarius at Royal Ascot and will head straight to the prestigious meeting following his Meydan victory last month.

The four-year-old progressed into a top-level performer last season and landed a Group 1 in the Prix Royal-Oak at Longchamp to provide Joe Fanning with a memorable first Classic success.

He returned this year in great style with a devastating display in the two-mile Group 2 when winning by five and three-quarter lengths under Fanning, a performance which prompted bookmakers to cut the Mark Johnston-trained star into as short as 13-2 for the meeting's feature race on June 17.

Johnston's assistant and son Charlie reported that his next assignment will be the Ascot Gold Cup as he tries to dethrone reigning champion Stradivarius, who may bid to equal Yeats's record four wins in the Group 1 contest.

Watch Subjectivist's dazzling display in the Dubai Gold Cup

He said: "He swam for a week and went back trotting last Monday, there's no real rush with him at the moment. He'll go back into full work towards the end of the month and we will build up towards Royal Ascot. We're generally accepting that his next run will be in the Ascot Gold Cup.

"We showed we can have the horse in the form of his life off the back of a long layoff, so the time off between Dubai and Ascot isn't a concern."

Subjectivist will be trying the stamina-sapping 2m4f trip for the first time and could be joined by half-brother and 2019 St Leger runner-up Sir Ron Priestley – successful in a Listed race at Nottingham last week – and last year's second Nayef Road in a powerful team for the trainer.

Johnston also has a live Classic hope and another potential future staying star in Criterium de Saint-Cloud winner Gear Up, who will start his season in the Dante Stakes at York next month before a shot at the Cazoo Derby, a race in which he is a general 33-1 shot.

Gear Up: Group 1-winning juvenile has Classic aspirations this seasonCredit: Racing Post/Scott Burton

The assistant trainer added: "He did his first piece of upsides work two Saturdays ago and we're just starting to turn the screw with him. His intended first two runs will be at York in the Dante then on to the Derby.

"We've spent the whole winter dreaming of those races and planning for them. He's a Group 1-winning two-year-old and a great horse to have to aim at those Classics, that being the Derby and hopefully the St Leger later on in the year."

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