Queen plans Festival trip to cheer on her Gold Cup hope contender

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The monarch was last present at Prestbury Park in 2003 when Best Mate won the second of his three Gold Cups and handed the trophy to owner Jim Lewis, but she could be on the receiving end next week if the current 16-1 sixth favourite for the race obliges.

Edward Gillespie, managing director of Cheltenham, told the Racing Post: "We are led to understand that, in the event of Barbers Shop running on Gold Cup day, we are expecting the Queen to be in attendance.

"The Queen attended Gold Cup day in 2003, which was the first time she had visited in about 50 years."

The Queen had her first Royal Ascot winner since 1999 when Free Agent won the Chesham Stakes at Ascot last June and trainer Nicky Henderson was happy with Barbers Shop after a gallop at Newbury racecourse yesterday.

He said: "Barbers Shop pleased me because he's a three-miler working with Mad Max who is pretty quick. He's the type who tells you when he's coming right."

After overcoming the logistical nightmare of losing a day due to strong winds 12 months ago, Gillespie is confident that his team will cope with the Queen's attendance and the visit will not be a security threat.

He added: "We don't discuss security, but we have plenty of experience managing the Royal Family's attendance at Cheltenham. The Queen is not the only royal we are expecting, and their attendance is one of the very special aspects we are used to managing here."

Meanwhile, Denman is out to 7-1 (from 5-1) with Ladbrokes and is now third favourite to retain his Cheltenham Gold Cup crown.

Paul Nicholls-trained stablemates Kauto Star and Neptune Collonges are both now trading at shorter odds with Ladbrokes and spokesman David Williams reports a complete lack of interest in last year's impressive winner.

He said: "We've barely laid a bean on him since his reappearance at Kempton. It's a far cry from the Denmania of this time last year.

"Of the three Nicholls superstars Denman is currently the least popular.

"After his win last March nobody could have imagined him being only the third favourite in the betting, but his run at Kempton Park coupled with mixed reports from the camp have combined to scare punters off."