THE days are gone when the Gold Cup was genuinely considered to be the most important race at Royal Ascot, but Big Orange and Order Of St George did their best to reinstate it with an epic duel on Thursday.

What the race did not produce is a good timefigure, as a consequence of a far-from-demanding earlier pace. Sectionals show that the principals were travelling as much as 2mph slower passing the winning post first time round as they were at the finish.