By Tom Frary
It has had some knockers from time to time down the years, but Ascot's G1 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Qipco S. is too special a race to become an antiquity and Saturday's renewal stands tall among some of its real epics.
With eight Group 1 victories to her name, Juddmonte's dignitary Enable (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}) is the most successful in that sphere to take part in this historic prize since the great Brigadier Gerard (GB) in 1972. While she boasts a different overall profile to that legend of the British turf, she shares his capacity to strike fear and a sense of hopelessness into the opposition due to the metronomic regularity of her triumphs in the world's great encounters. Already the winner of this in 2017, she could arguably be heading for a treble had she been injury-free last term and there do not appear to be any holes. If the forecast thunderstorms arrive as they did before her first success two years ago, the greater the anxiety for those opposed to what seems an inescapable reality.
Very few older horses to have participated since the Brigadier could have lived with her, excepting the likes of Montjeu (Ire) and Harbinger (GB), but she has eight pounds to give away to the G1 Epsom Derby winner Anthony Van Dyck (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) and that changes the horizon. She was almost undone by the younger Sea of Class (Ire) (Sea the Stars {Ire}) in her second G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, but the Tsuis' ill-fated celebrity was a serious talent and John Gosden reported that Enable was not at the peak of her powers at ParisLongchamp in October.
“In the Arc, she wasn't at her best and was just coming and although she won this with the [weight-for-age] allowance and that was a big advantage, the way she won she probably could have done it without it,” he said. “She is a lady of regal age now and we are inclined to listen to what she says. It is a fabulous race with such depth to it. It's good-to-firm summer ground with a great growth of grass on it and there is the threat of some rain tonight. This is a big tough race and is meant to be the meeting of the two generations. You need it to happen and we're glad it is. She's in great form and we're confident of a big run.”
Aidan O'Brien has run several 3-year-olds in the King George, but no Derby winner since Galileo (Ire) in 2001. There is a sense that Anthony Van Dyck remains unexposed, despite the emphatic defeat he suffered at the hands of stablemate Sovereign (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) in the G1 Irish Derby at The Curragh four weeks after his blue riband triumph. He has to improve again and Enable has to underperform for him to win, but this stable has proven time and again that anything is possible with continued application.
“He is getting weight, but the weight-for-age is there for a reason,” commented Aidan O'Brien, who is understandably not exuding confidence. “I suppose this was always one of the races the lads had pencilled in for him. It was part of the original plan and we didn't see any reason to change it after The Curragh. He has always been versatile as regards to ground.”
Many view 'TDN Rising Star' Crystal Ocean (GB) (Sea the Stars {Ire}) as far more likely to cause the upset, but Sir Evelyn de Rothschild's admirable homebred keeps having to give weight to the mare and it will take an enormous effort to defy a sex allowance of dubious justification in this case. To go one better than 12 months ago, he has to validate the assessment that he has become a better horse than Enable in the World Rankings. In his favour is that he possesses a granite-like temperament and a rare willingness for combat, plus he hails from the Sir Michael Stoute academy which has turned winning monuments of this nature into an art form over the past four decades.
Stoute is still two steps ahead of Aidan O'Brien with a record six successes in this and he will have the June 19 G1 Prince of Wales' S. hero finely-tuned for the rematch. James Doyle, who steered Poet's Word (Ire) (Poet's Voice {GB}) past Crystal Ocean in 2018, has the opportunity to make amends. “It's a big ride to get,” he said. “It was great to win it for Sir Michael Stoute–his record in these races is unbelievable and what a wonderful man he is to ride for. Going through the history of the horses he has trained is phenomenal. He is one of those trainers you get a buzz from when you get a ride for, so winning another King George for him would be fantastic.”
“My fellow's rating is higher, but it's hard to crib anything Enable has done,” Doyle added. “He looked very good at Ascot and has been good on each start this season, but at Ascot he looked in a rich vein of form and beat a good filly in Magical, who got somewhere in the vicinity of Enable in the Eclipse. It will be interesting.”
In any other year, Sheikh Mohammed Obaid Al Maktoum's G1 Coronation Cup and G2 Hardwicke S. winner Defoe (Ire) (Dalakhani {Ire}) would be considered a live contender, while 'TDN Rising Star' Waldgeist (GB) (Galileo {Ire}) looks to have been building towards this moment throughout his career. Defoe's rider Andrea Atzeni was far from overawed at the track on Friday. “He's flying at home and everyone is very happy with him,” he said. “I'm very hopeful and not worried about anything.”
Andre Fabre will be hoping the forecast thunderstorms do not deliver the amount of rain that is forecast, as the impressive Apr. 28 G1 Prix Ganay winner Waldgeist did not fire on the soft when 4 1/2 lengths behind Crystal Ocean in third in the Prince of Wales's. “I think going back to a mile and a half and the faster ground will help him,” he said. “Will it be enough to win? Probably not, but I'm sure he is going to run a good race.”
The 2017 G1 Japan Cup hero Cheval Grand (Jpn) (Heart's Cry {Jpn}) is almost a bit player according to the betting, with his performances when third in the Dec. 23 G1 Arima Kinen and second in the Mar. 30 G1 Dubai Sheema Classic some way beneath what will be required here. Trainer Yasuo Tomomichi is aware of the task in hand. “There will be no problems with his fitness and Cheval Grand has the stamina and power. He is the best horse I have trained, but Enable is very strong, a machine,” he said. “The King George has a long history and is very famous in the racing world. It would be one of the high points of my career to win this race.”
Ascot's card gets underway with a tantalising clash between TDN Rising Stars Summer Romance (GB) (Kingman {GB}) and Ultra Violet (GB) (Gleneagles {Ire}) in the G3 Princess Margaret Keeneland S. Both cut a dash on Newmarket's July Course, with the former capturing the June 29 Listed Empress Fillies' S. over this six-furlong trip and the latter winning by eight lengths on her sole start also over the distance on June 28. There was a suggestion that Ultra Violet's winning margin was in part due to a bias, so the question will be posed here for Sheikh Hamed Dalmook Al Maktoum's bay. “Our filly is in good form. She wouldn't blow you away in her work and she did surprise me a bit [on debut],” trainer Ed Vaughan said. “We now know she's got the ability, she'll be fitter for the run and the experience should have brought her on, so we'll see. We'll know a lot more about where we stand afterwards.”
Godolphin's Summer Romance has the edge over Ultra Violet in terms of experience and trainer Charlie Appleby is hoping his decision to go back to the races so soon is rewarded. “Summer Romance has progressed with each of her runs and was very impressive on her last start,” he said. “She is versatile about the ground, the trip of six furlongs is ideal for her at the moment and stall seven looks good–there are no negatives. She has won on quick ground and slow ground and with the forecast the way it is, we don't know what conditions we will be encountering, but we are relaxed about it as she has handled both conditions to date. We are hoping to step her up in trip, but she is showing a lot of natural pace so we have no concerns about sticking to six for the moment.”
This is far from a two-filly contest, however, with Paul and Clare Rooney's May 17 Listed Marygate S. winner Good Vibes (GB) (Due Diligence) returning after a subsequent setback. “Unfortunately she missed Ascot, as she wasn't right as she had a dirty scope,” the Rooneys' racing manager Jason Maguire explained. “She is back healthy again and this is her first start after a bit of a break, but we are hoping for a big run. [Trainer] Dave Evans said this is probably the best he has trained and Dave knows what he is doing.”
A clutch of promising novice winners include Sheikh Rashid Dalmook Al Maktoum's July 4 Newbury scorer So Sharp (GB) (Bated Breath {GB}) from the Archie Watson stable and Living In the Past (Ire) (Bungle Inthejungle {GB}), who represents the Clipper Logistics-Karl Burke link. He beat the Marygate runner-up Mighty Spirit (Ire) (Acclamation {GB}) over five furlongs at Beverley on July 5 and Frankie Dettori has been booked.
“She's a nice filly and she won nicely at Beverley,” Burke said. “Frankie and Ascot seem to go together quite well, that's the idea.”
Scheduled two minutes after the Princess Margaret is the G3 Prix Six Perfections Sky Sports Racing which is the first pattern race of Deauville's month-long festival. Among the eight protagonists for the seven-furlong contest is Lady Bamford's Tropbeau (GB) (Showcasing {GB}), an Andre Fabre trainee who scored by 6 1/2 lengths in a seven-furlong maiden at Clairefontaine on July 6 and the June 11 Nantes debut winner Eversweet (Fr) (Sommerabend {GB}), who has her first start in the Team Valor silks for the John Hammond stable. The following G3 Prix de Psyche features an interesting German raider in the June 1 Listed Kronimus Diana-Trial winner Preciosa (Ger) (Sea the Moon {Ger}), who takes aim at His Highness The Aga Khan's June 10 Listed Prix Melisande winner and June 30 G2 Prix de Malleret runner-up Edisa (Kitten's Joy).
As the afternoon builds towards the King George, the G2 Sky Bet York S. acts as a strong warm-up with the July 6 G1 Eclipse S. third Regal Reality (GB) (Intello {Ger}) occupying the hot seat. Cheveley Park Stud's managing director Chris Richardson is hoping that the progressive 4-year-old can continue on the right road. “Obviously we are hoping he'll behave and won't be too daunted by the new experience,” he said of the homebred, who has prompted special measures in the preliminaries before his May 23 G3 Brigadier Gerard S. success and the Eclipse at Sandown. “He's favourite and a hugely talented horse with plenty of character, but in the nicest way possible. “There is no better trainer than Sir Michael and his team to work on a horse like that and this is a nice opportunity, so hopefully he can keep building.”
William Haggas is doing his customary prayers for rain for Sheikh Ahmed bin Rashid Al Maktoum's June 18 Listed Wolferton S. winner Addeybb (Ire) (Pivotal {GB}) and said, “The more rain they get the better his chance. If they don't get enough rain then he might not even run, so we'll see what happens. I'm very happy with him and there is a possibility they'll get some rain.” Third in the Wolferton, 'TDN Rising Star' Elarqam (GB) (Frankel {GB}) has since won the Listed Gala S. under a penalty at Sandown on July 5 and Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum's racing manager Angus Gold is hopeful he can take another step forward. “He ran a very good race at Ascot on ground that would not have suited and appears to have got over a few little immaturity problems that he had,” he commented. “He is going the right way and we hope he can keep it going.”
After the main event, Ascot also stages the Listed Wooldridge Group Pat Eddery S. in which Godolphin are represented by another potentially classy juvenile in Al Dabaran (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}). Successful in a seven-furlong Newmarket novice contest on June 29, trainer Charlie Appleby said of the relative of Waldgeist (GB) (Galileo {Ire}), “Al Dabaran pleased us at Newmarket and has come out of the race well, learning plenty. He deserves this step up in class and hopefully his run will determine what type of races to aim at.” Others in the mix include the July 13 G2 Superlative S. third Maxi Boy (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}) and Subjectivist (GB) (Teofilo {Ire}) who was off the mark by seven lengths at Chelmsford last time on July 5.
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