Ryan Moore is expecting Kyprios to take plenty of beating as he bids to regain his Gold Cup crown at Royal Ascot on Thursday.

The Aidan O'Brien-trained six-year-old stayed on powerfully to land the prize by half a length a season that saw him go unbeaten in six starts two years ago, but an injury caused the son of Galileo to miss his defence last season.

Ballydoyle's staying star was restricted to just two runs last season and he filled the runner-up spot on both occasions, including when denied a neck by Trawlerman in the Long Distance Cup.

Workmanlike successes at Navan and Leopardstown this season have set up Kyprios nicely for a tilt at Gold Cup glory and regular rider Ryan Moore is adamant his horse is the one to beat now going back up in trip.

"The first thing to say is that you can make a case for several of these, but the second is that my horse is still the one to beat," Moore said in his Betfair blog.

He added: "Obvious, I know, but his 2022 form sets him apart from these and hopefully he is ready to return to his Group 1-winning best after winning his warm-up races, from stablemate Queenstown, at Navan and Leopardstown. Winner of this race in 2022, when he won four Group 1s on the spin, we are very happy with him coming into this."

Aidan O'Brien will be hoping his Galileo great can provide him with a record-extending ninth triumph in the contest and the master of Ballydoyle is confident firm ground will be of no concern.

He said: "Kyprios is a hardy horse, and everything has gone well with him, he's training well and seems in good form. He's an unbelievable horse and to have him back to this pitch, we're delighted really.

"I don't think there is any worries about the ground, and I always thought he wanted nice ground, he's a very good mover."

Quick ground has seen Trueshan withdrawn for the fourth year running, with Paddy Power making Kyprios their 11/8 market leader.