MOST of the runners in this afternoon's two-and-a-half-mile Ascot Gold Cup will have hoisted the white flag in honourable surrender by the time the winning post comes into view.

The stamina-sapping distance is enough to break the hearts of even the doughtiest of warriors.

However, those combatants who have specifically been trained to withstand the rigours of such races invariably win through and for my money Mark Johnston's Akbar (3.45) has got what it takes.

Johnston's method of training his stayers is very much based on a regime of taking his horses on the long trek to Middleham High Moor where they then have to engage in a ten-furlong piece of exercise guaranteed to maximise a thoroughbred's fitness.

The proof of the pudding is of course in the eating and having already won the Group 1 contest twice via Double Trigger (1995) and twelve months ago with Royal Rebel, it is safe to say Mark has got the job cracked.

Being a racing tipster is, for most of the time, a thankless task, so I make no apology for reminding readers that Royal Rebel carried the nap vote at a very tasty 8-1 when scooping the £220,000 first prize 12 months ago.

Why then desert the Peter Savill-owned gelding now? The plain fact is Royal Rebel might easily win again.

Sadly, the six-year-old seems to have developed his own mulish ideas about the game, Akbar thrashing him out of sight when collecting the Group 2 Henry V11 Stakes at Sandown en-route to today's showpiece.

More danger may come from the much-vaunted Irish raider, Vinny Roe, expected to go off favourite after a succession of impressive wins, plus Frankie Dettori's mount, Wareed, reckoned to be fully primed by the Godolphin team.

The hype preceding that classy pair has helped keep the odds for Akbar at a generous 12-1; not bad for a customer with a smart turn of foot as well as staying power in abundance.

Either side of Akbar's bid for gold, Johnston has live contenders in the Norfolk Stakes with The Bonus King (3.05), and Systematic (4.20) in the King George V Stakes.

Aidan O'Brien took last year's Norfolk Stakes with Johannesburg, who went on to win at the Breeder's Cup meeting in the States.

This time round he brings over the unbeaten Marino Marini, probably not in Johannesburg's class, nevertheless he'll be hard to beat and an each-way bet on The Bonus King is therefore recommended.

Not so in the case of Systematic, the banker bet of the meeting in the opinion of many insiders from the powerful Kingsley House camp.

Systematic rattled off a quick-fire hat-trick before being beaten by the strange configuration of the undulating track at Epsom last time where he became off balance at the top of the hill and got going far too late.

Now stepping up two furlongs in trip on a far more conventional track, Kevin Darley's mount might just be a Group class horse operating in handicap company.

Mention must be made of the Ladies' Derby Handicap at Ripon for which Latensaani (4.30) is a strong fancy.

Latensaani, a progressive four-year-old trained at Newmarket by Willie Haggas, has finished in the frame on all three starts this term and attracted the services of easily the best jockey in the race, Carol Williams

Best bet at Southwell is the gutsy previous track and trip winner, Rebelle (5.15), who simply doesn't know how to run a bad race.

l Paul Webber's Ulundi heads the weights revealed yesterday for the 43rd John Smith's Cup at York on July 13.

The seven-year-old is set to shoulder 10st but has not run on the Flat since beating Tuesday's Royal Ascot winner Thundering Surf by a neck at Sandown in July last year.

Richard Hannon's Brigadier Gerard Stakes winner Potemkin is next on the list on 9st 13lb, with Godolphin pair Divine Task and Sydenham on 9st 12lb.

Jeremy Noseda's Man O'Mystery, second in the last two runnings of the big £135,000 handicap, has been allotted 9st 7lb.

He was beaten one and three-quarter lengths by Sir Mark Prescott's Foreign Affairs last term and the Heath House trainer has Forbearing on 9st 11lb in this year's renewal.

The Prescott runner has not been seen since finishing second to Island House in the Listed Doonside Cup at Ayr in September 2000.

Dermot Weld's Irish raider Mutakarrim, another to have been hurdling, is also on 9st 11lb.

Cambridgeshire winner I Cried For You, trained in Lincolnshire by James Given, has 9st 4lb