ardross finished unplaced over ten furlongs on his first appearance as a four-year-old and was then moved up in distance for the saval beg stakes at leopardstown racecourse. racing over a distance of two miles, he established himself as a contender for the major staying races with a six-length victory over croghan hill. at royal ascot in june, ardross started at odds of 6/1 for britain's premier long-distance event, the ascot gold cup over two and a half miles. he was always in touch with the leaders and produced a sustained challenge in the straight but failed by three-quarters of a length to overhaul le moss. in the goodwood cup the following month, le moss and ardross dominated the race, with the former prevailing by a neck after a prolonged struggle. the third and final meeting of the two stayers came in the doncaster cup in september. the result was the same, with le moss holding off the challenge of ardross to win by a neck. in october, ardross was matched against the jockey club stakes winner more light in the jockey club cup at newmarket racecourse. starting the 5/6 favourite and ridden by lester piggott, he appeared beaten two furlongs from the finish but produced a strong late run to win by one and a half lengths. on his final appearance of the season, ardross was sent to france for the prix royal oak over 3100 metres in which he finished third to the three-year-old filly gold river. ardross was never beaten again at a distance beyond one and a half miles.