Aidan O’Brien has declared all four of his King George confirmations as he bids for a fifth win in the prestigious race.
His first winner in the Ascot showpiece came in the millennium with Galileo, 26 years later his grandson Benvenuto Cellini seeks to emulate him. The Frankel gelding has upped his form since tackling middle distances, landing the Chester Vase on seasonal debut. His Epsom blowout was quickly amended by triumph in the Irish Derby. However, just two three-year-olds have won the event, with Enable in 2017 and Adayar in 2021.
Minnie Hauk has a tremendous three-year-old campaign, rattling off an Oaks quartet. She was beaten a head in the Arc, before feeling the pinch of a long season at the Breeders’ Cup. She hadn’t quite matched that this season, until finishing second to Ombudsman in the Prince Of Wales’s Stakes. Only two fillies have won the race this century, with Enable winning it three times between 2017 and 2020.
Lambourn was a dual Derby winner last season but hasn’t quite matched that form since. Despite making a winning seasonal debut, he’s yet to get closer than six lengths in three runs this season. His penultimate effort saw him beat 19 lengths over course and distance, and he needs to drastically step up.
Action was placed in Group company twice as a two-year-old but hasn’t built on that this term. He was ahead of Derby winner Christmas Day in the Dante, but failed to uphold that form at Epsom. He was the sacrificial pace maker in the Irish equivalent, and similar tactics may be applied here.
International challenge materialises in Ascot showdown
Francis Graffard has trained the last two winners of this race in Calandagan and Goliath. The pair both reappear and arrive in good form. Calandagan followed up last years triumph beating Ombudsman on Champions Day. He’s remained flawless since, apart from enduring a large blip encountering soft ground in the Coronation Cup.
Goliath hasn’t quite matched the form of his King George win, but performed well in the Hardwicke Stakes last time. Had Soumillon not lost his irons late on, he may have got closer to the winner.
Kalpana was ahead of Goliath there and looked to be the winner two furlongs out. However, she added a sixth second-placed effort when failing to quicken in the final stages. She has strong form over course and distance, but she’s arguably better against the fillies.
The Japanese bring two over in the form of Masquerade Ball and Wurttemberg. The former ties in closely with Calandagan and is reportedly a more furnished model this time around. The latter ran to a career best last time out, beaten a nose by Croix Du Nord and will be suited by a strong test.