Seven Days: Auguste in July?

Seventy years ago, Queen Elizabeth II won the fourth running of the race named in honour of her parents, the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes, at her own racecourse, Ascot. Aureole was a hugely appropriate winner, having been bred by King George VI in 1950, two years prior to the monarch's death. The horse's victory was widely welcomed, not least because he had been beaten a year earlier by his conqueror in the Derby, Pinza. 

The 'King George' provides ones of the key pivot points in the season, when the three-year-olds start to take on their elders. What we want to see is the Derby winner go toe to toe with the previous year's Arc winner, as was the case in 1953, when Pinza went from glory at Epsom to a three-length win in the King George, with Aureole second each time. The Aga Khan's 1952 Arc winner Nuccio (Ity) was behind them both at Ascot. 

A subsequent tendon injury ahead of the St Leger curtailed Pinza's career but the often hot-headed Aureole raced on, with his wonderful four-year-old campaign including victories in the Coronation Cup, Hardwicke Stakes and then the King George. The late Queen was said to be so delighted after the latter that she sent a case of champagne to the press room – a gesture which really should have become a tradition among winning owners.

And by golly, the roll call for the race – both human and equine – is a proper who's who of the turf over the last seven decades. I feel pretty convinced in my opinion that I'll never see a better winner than the horse who powered to glory in the 50th anniversary year: Montjeu (Ire). But if any horse can match or surpass him I will be happy for that opinion to be swayed. 

What can we look forward to this Saturday? The potential delight of last year's Derby winner Auguste Rodin (Ire) returning triumphant at Ascot following his victory in the G1 Prince of Wales's Stakes to avenge for last year's mystifyingly bad performance in the King George? Yep, we'd definitely settle for that. But second-favourite is Charlie Appleby's world traveller Rebel's Romance (Ire), a fellow winner of the Breeders' Cup Turf. The only time this pair has met ended in triumph for the Godolphin six-year-old and disaster for the Coolmore colt. Ding, ding: round two.

And let's not overlook Bluestocking (GB), a granddaughter of Montjeu who is two-for-two this year and from the red-hot Irish Oaks-winning stable of Ralph Beckett. There have been some terrific female winners of the race, starting with Aunt Edith in 1966 and continuing with Park Top, Dahlia (twice), Pawneese, Time Charter, Danedream, Taghrooda and Enable (thrice).

More than anything, though, the King George is perhaps most renowned for its epic tussles: Grundy and Bustino in 1975, Galileo and Fantastic Light in 2001. We're surely due another, but whatever happens let's just hope we're served up a field and a spectacle worthy of one of the most valuable races in Britain. We don't do tips in TDN but if I was asked to offer up a long-shot, I'd side with Goliath (Ger), who comes into the race as more of a David but has just the kind of steadily rising profile to deliver a Franco-German shock come Saturday afternoon – and we've seen those before on several occasions.

Vintage Nathaniel 

Goliath was second in the Hardwicke Stakes to Isle Of Jura (Ire), who has sadly been ruled out of his attempt to join that elite band of horses who has won at Royal Ascot and gone on to glory in the King George. 

One who did just that after his King Edward VII Stakes victory of 2011 was Nathaniel (Ire), who then returned to the King George the following year to be denied by a nose by Danedream. The Newsells Park Stud stallion is creeping now into the territory of being a national treasure. He is also perhaps unique in having a sparkling wine named after him by owner Graham Smith-Bernal, who combines a love of thoroughbred breeding and viticulture at his Hertfordshire farm.

Having started off his stud career at £20,000 back in 2013 – perfectly decent value for a horse of his achievements and breeding – Nathaniel has never dropped to what one might call bargain level, but he has remained sensibly priced throughout his career, with his lowest advertised fee having been £15,000, while this year he split the difference at £17,500. For owner-breeders of Classic pretensions (and, let's face it, that should be every breeder, even those with lemonade pockets) Nathaniel really is a bit of a vintage tipple. The outstanding Enable and Derby winner Desert Crown (GB) have now been joined on this list of Group 1 winners by Saturday's Irish Oaks winner You Got To Me (GB).

The filly's victory meant that this was the third of four Irish Classics trophies to have left the country in a horsebox bound for Britain this year. Only Los Angeles (Ire) prevented a shut-out for the home team, but he was chased home by the British-trained duo of Sunway (Fr) and Ambiente Friendly (Ire). Ireland did claw two back though, with the Epsom victories of City Of Troy and the now-retired Ezeliya (Fr).

You Got To Me also provided her rider Hector Crouch with a deserved first Classic success, while her co-breeder Mark Tompkins joins that elite band of people who can boast of having trained and bred a Classic winner. Tompkins, the former owner of Dullingham Park Stud who retired from the training ranks five years ago, won the 1993 St Leger with Bob's Return (Ire)

The team at Newsells Park Stud, who co-own You Got To Me with Valmont, can also draw increasing encouragement from the start made by resident young stallion Without Parole (GB), who was bred at the stud by John and Tanya Gunther and is a son of Nathaniel's old nemesis Frankel (GB).

To his five winners in Britain and Ireland can be added another in America. Without Caution, who won on debut at Saratoga last week for John Gunther, is not only an exciting first winner in North America for Without Parole, one of the stars of the Gunthers' breeding programme, but he emanates from the family of another. Without Caution's third dam is Voodoo Lily (Baldski), who appears in the same place in the pedigree of Justify, the Triple Crown winner bred at the Gunthers' Glennwood Farm and now head of the roster at Coolmore's Ashford Stud.

It's a Yah for Mo

However much you may never again want to hear the 1980s pop song of the same name, it was good to see Yah Mo Be There (GB) become the first stakes winner for his sire Mohaather (GB) at Newbury on Friday. 

The colt, trained by Richard Spencer for Phil Cunningham, continued an excellent year for Stuart McPhee, who co-bred Yah Mo Be There with Nigel Kelly, and is also the sole breeder of the Poule d'Essai des Poulains winner Metropolitan (Fr) (Zarak {Fr}). Yah Mo Be There was offered last year by the Rawding family's Manor House Farm Stud, where he was born and raised, at the Goffs UK Premier Yearling Sale, fetching £95,000.

The same consignor's sole entry at the same sale this year, lot 137, was also bred by McPhee and is another Mohaather colt, out of the Listed-placed Tamadhor (Ire) (Arcano {Ire}) and a half-brother to eight-time winner Tawaazon (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}).

A Winning Formula for Highclere 

The combination of Highclere Thoroughbred Racing, George Boughey and the Tattersalls Craven Breeze-up Sale has been a potent one in recent seasons. First came Cachet (Ire) (Aclaim {Ire}), the 60,000-guinea breezer who became a first Classic winner for her trainer in the 1,000 Guineas of 2022. Into her place has stepped Believing (Ire) (Mehmas {Ire}), who has been ambitiously campaigned but stepped up another level again at the weekend with victory in the G2 Sapphire Stakes. This was her sixth win in 20 starts, and her fifth stakes success. 

Believing was a little more expensive than Cachet, but not ridiculously so, as Jake Warren paid 115,000gns for her from the draft of Michael Fitzpatrick's Kilminfoyle House Stud. 

It was a good weekend for Fitzpatrick's pinhooks, whether foal to yearling, or yearling to breezer. He had bought Believing for 70,000gns from Book 2 of the Tattersalls October Sale, and at that same sale a year later he sold, for 325,000gns, a colt by Havana Grey (GB) whom he had bought for 56,000gns as a foal. Admittedly that was the year in which Havana Grey really started motoring as a commercial prospect, but Fitzpatrick has proved time and again how adept he is at judging young stock – and turning a decent profit when trading them. 

That Havana Grey colt now goes by the name of Elite Status (GB), who brought up a natty Kilminfoyle pinhooking double on Saturday when winning the G3 Hackwood Stakes for Karl Burke. The three-year-old has now won twice at Group 3 level along with two Listed victories.

Alice Procter

We send our very best wishes to Alice Procter, who remains in intensive care in hospital in Lancashire as she begins her recovery from a race fall at Cartmel on Saturday.

The 21-year-old amateur jockey is the daughter of Doug and Lucy Procter of The Glanvilles Stud in Dorset, the birthplace of the Grade 1-winning hurdlers Honeysuckle (GB) and Sam Spinner (GB). Procter's elder brother Freddie also rides as an amateur and has won 37 races over jumps in America.

A statement released by the Injured Jockeys Fund (IJF) on Monday read, “[Alice] is conscious and able to talk for short periods of time. The surgery to stabilise her thoracic spinal fracture was successful, although there are indications of some damage to the spinal cord.

“Alice will remain in hospital as plans are made for her longer-term rehabilitation.

“The Procter family are very grateful for all the messages of support from across the industry. However, they recognise that this is likely to be a long journey and they kindly ask that enquires are handled by the IJF.”