Kyprios is king of the stayers again as he regains his Gold Cup crown after another Ryan Moore masterclass

One superlative followed another after Kyprios became just the third horse in history to regain the Gold Cup. Part-owner Michael Tabor labelled his trainer Aidan O'Brien a "genius" before O'Brien described Ryan Moore's winning ride as "masterful", but truth be told this was a celebration of a unique and wonderful horse.

In holding off Trawlerman by a length to win his second Gold Cup in three years, Kyprios once again proved himself the supreme stayer of his generation. But in the words of O'Brien it was a miracle he was there to line up with a chance of making history, never mind to go on and join Anticipation (1816 and 1819) and Kayf Tara (1998 and 2000) as only the third horse to win back the most prestigious prize on offer at Royal Ascot.

Having fended off Mojo Star and Stradivarius two years ago, a joint injury ruled him out of a defence 12 months ago but that is only half the story. The team at Ballydoyle feared for his life when the injured joint became infected, and at that stage a return to the track was longer odds than Foinavon winning the National.

But the iron constitution which serves Kyprios so well in the heat of battle on the racecourse allowed him to beat the odds and overcome the infection, although there was still no guarantee he would stand training or return the same athlete as before.

"I'd say it's millions to one and really impossible for him to come back from what he came back from," said O'Brien. "At one stage we weren't sure he'd live. No horse has ever been x-rayed or scanned more in their life than him.

"When he came back we had to get him on a treadmill and teach him how to walk. Then we had to teach him how to trot and then how to hack and this was before a rider even went near him. It was like someone having the most horrific injury as a human being and it was winning the Olympics to get back to moving and walking but this horse has come back to the very top level, which is unbelievable really.

"It shouldn't have happened but it did. I've never experienced anything within 100 miles of it. Usually they lose movement in the joint and, for a while, he did but it came back."

Aidan O'Brien and Ryan Moore after Kyprios's Gold Cup winCredit: Edward Whitaker (racingpost.com/photos)

Two defeats when Kyprios returned to competitive action at the end of last season left some doubt as to whether the full spectrum of his ability remained and two comfortable but far from emphatic wins at Listed and Group 3 level before the Gold Cup did little to clarify the picture.

But on a stunning afternoon in front of the King and Queen, Kyprios travelled powerfully from the start for Moore and moved menacingly into contention turning for home. Having allowed Trawlerman to get back up having gone clear of that rival on Champions Day in October, Moore was then patient as Kyprios looked the same rival in the eye two furlongs out.

Momentarily it looked like history might be repeated as Trawlerman rallied but only within the last furlong did Moore draw his whip and Kyprios extended to claim a length success and another Gold Cup for owners Moyglare Stud, the Coolmore partners and Georg von Opel.

"He's always had the most incredible mind and that was always his power," said O'Brien. "He's a beautiful horse who stays forever but he went to the front with Trawlerman on Champions Day and that horse came back at him, so it was masterful what Ryan did. He had to judge when to go and even when he went he didn't really go. It's not an easy thing to do but going out there Ryan said he felt he was the best horse in the race, he stayed the best and had the most speed."

Moore's main concern during the race was when the hard-pulling Caius Chorister swept down his outside at halfway under Benoit de la Sayette but she was unable to maintain that pace and weakened quickly from two furlongs out.

"It was smooth early, that's where I wanted to be, and then the filly ran off with Benoit and I was having to go round her," Moore explained. "He started travelling a bit too well too early again and I got there going very easy.

"I said to Aidan that he's the class horse in the race and he stays the best, so I've just got to get it right. I didn't get it quite right but he still won. He's an unbelievable horse. Aidan knows exactly what they need to do, he knows how to get them here better than anyone. It's lovely to ride a horse like this."

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