King Of Steel

Eleven high-quality runners will make up one of the greatest renewals of the G1 King George VI And Queen Elizabeth II Qipco S. in recent memory on Saturday, with Desert Crown (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}) the biggest missing name among them. Saeed Suhail's troubled 2022 Derby hero's leg infection means that the keenly-anticipated clash of the last two Blue Riband winners in the Ascot monument is cruelly denied, while the three other withdrawals disappointingly include the sole French challenger Simca Mille (Ire) (Tamayuz {GB}), whose chance was put paid to by...

Kevin Stott has billed Saturday's King George VI And Queen Elizabeth QIPCO S. as the race of the season so far and backed his mount King Of Steel (Wootton Bassett {GB}) to exact revenge on his Derby conqueror Auguste Rodin (Ire) (Deep Impact {Jpn}). However, the jockey warned that the Ascot showpiece is far from a two-horse race, and described being a part of such a spectacle as incredibly exciting.  King Of Steel finished just a half a length behind Auguste Rodin at huge odds of 66-1 in the G1...

He's as big as it gets among top-class thoroughbreds, but Amo Racing's King Of Steel (Wootton Bassett {GB}--Eldacar {GB}, by Verglas {Ire}) showed for the second time this month that he has grace in abundance as he stormed to glory in Friday's G2 King Edward VII S. Denied only by Auguste Rodin (Ire) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) in a dramatic finale to the Derby, the imposing grey was at risk of coming back too quickly but his odds of 11-10 reflected the confidence in Roger Varian not to make that particular...

Bouncing back from his disappointment in the 2000 Guineas, TDN Rising Star Auguste Rodin (Ire) (Deep Impact {Jpn}--Rhododendron {Ire}, by Galileo {Ire}) conquered Epsom's undulations to carry off a ninth G1 Betfred Derby for Aidan O'Brien. Sent off at 9-2 as the punters dallied over this year's favourite, the G1 Futurity Trophy winner was kept back from the early action by Ryan Moore worse than mid-division. Launched wide as the 66-1 shot King Of Steel (Wootton Bassett {GB}) cut loose approaching two out, the bay took until the last 100...

Heavy rain hit Doncaster's Town Moor track on Thursday and refused to relent during the following afternoon, so the Saturday feature G1 Vertem Futurity Trophy is certain to be a thorough examination for its protagonists. It will ask a question of Ballydoyle's latest hot favourite for the juvenile endgame, the TDN Rising Star Auguste Rodin (Ire) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) who would have preferred the ground was in the other direction and now has to prove his mental resolve as well as his physical prowess. While the son of the high-class...