Nine runners from four different countries will jump for vintage renewal of the King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot.
Saturday's famous Group 1 has a very international feel to it this time around with contenders from England, Ireland, France & Japan all hoping to claim the lion's share of the £2m prize money that is on offer.
It's a field befitting of the esteem that the King George is held in, boasting a prestigious roll of honour that includes Enable, Galileo, Nashwan, Dancing Brave and Shergar.
The only place to start is with last year's winner Calandagan (6/4) who, despite winning a Group 1 in the meantime, has to prove that he is still capable of reproducing his absolute peak form.
His no-show effort in the Coronation Cup at Epsom did some with valid excuses, however, he fairly scrambled home at Saint-Cloud next time out. Saying all that, if he can get back to his best, then he will be very, very tough to beat.
In receipt of 11lbs from the favourite, is recent Irish Derby winner Benvenuto Cellini (4/1), bidding to become the first horse to win both races in the same season since Alamshar completed the double more than two decades ago.
Impressive Chester Vase success preceded his controversial now-voided Derby run, but he proved doubters wrong when inflicting defeat on stablemate Christmas Day at the Curragh last month.
Hoping to justify a 34-hour round trip is Japanese contender Masquerade Ball (4/1). His Japan Cup runner-up effort behind Calandagan is probably the pick of his form and this has been his sole target ever since getting to within one length of Romantic Warrior in the QEII Cup in April.
Star mares Minnie Hauk (6/1) and Kalpana (8/1) are definitely worth consideration, especially given the latter's exploits at the track. In four efforts at Ascot, Juddmonte's star filly has never finished outside of the top three and landed the Group 1 Fillies & Mares Stakes on British Champions Day here last October.
French raider Goliath (10/1) caused quite the upset when he recorded the biggest win of his career to date in this race two years ago and, after rediscovering his mojo, heads back to his beloved Ascot off the back of a decent Hardwicke third.
King George declarations
- Calandagan (Mickael Barzalona)
- Goliath (Christophe Soumillon)
- Lambourn (William Buick)
- Masquerade Ball (Christophe-Patrice Lemaire)
- Wurttemberg (Oisin Murphy)
- Kalpana (Colin Keane)
- Action (Sean Levey)
- Benvenuto Cellini (Ryan Moore)
King George betting odds
(Odds will display when market is available)
Any odds displayed were correct at the time of writing and are subject to fluctuation.
