When Kyprios picked up a serious injury, trainer Aidan O’Brien warned the horse might never race again.
It was, said O’Brien, a case of learning to “walk, trot and canter again”, before a return to winning ways at Navan and then Leopardstown this year to date.
He showed his class when outsprinting the likes of Stradivarius to win the Gold Cup at Royal Ascot two years ago in only his seventh start.
And he returns to the race from his injury hiatus to start Thursday’s showpiece as the clear favourite.
Having brought him back from the brink, O’Brien said: “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.”
Challengers to the six-year-old, who will again be ridden by Ryan Moore, are likely to come in the form of Gregory, trained by John Gosden, who was behind last year’s winner Courage Mon Ami, albeit in the absence of Kyprios.
Also in contention are expected to be Coltrane, runner-up a year ago and ridden by Oisin Murphy and trained by Andrew Balding.
