The Group 1 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Qipco Stakes is the feature contest of the weekend and indeed of the whole season for the middle-distance horses, where we are set to see a very strong 9-runner field, which features the enigma Auguste Rodin, the in-form Rebel's Romance and Bluestocking, who is still improving with age and receives 3lb from the boys here on Saturday. I am very excited for this contest, which presents some very talented animals, and maybe aside from the outsider of the field, they could all be good enough to land this contest.
Let's see who could win this contest by previewing all nine runners:
Auguste Rodin (Aidan O'Brien & Ryan Moore)
Where better to start this preview than with the enigma that is Auguste Rodin, who threw a stinker in this contest last season when sent off the short-priced favourite after landing the Derby and Irish Derby on his run before, and a little like last year he arrives at this contest a short-priced favourite once again.
Although you could argue he is a year older this year so he might not throw the goose egg in like last season, he has still been a little hit and miss with his runs this season so far. Well beaten in 12th place when well fancied in the Dubai Sheema Classic, won by Rebel's Romance, after which he was put firmly in his place in the Tattersalls Gold Cup for his 2nd start of the season, well beaten by the improver of the season so far, White Birch.
However, he showed he still retains the class when fairly bolting up in the Group 1 Prince Of Wales's Stakes at the royal meeting in June, where he stayed on very well in the end after an inspired ride from Ryan Moore, so going back up to 1m4f from 1m2f will more than suit the son of Deep Impact. Now he has Ascot winning form to his name, it really does throw a little spanner in the works, as it is clear he does handle this track, and he more than proved that last time out when winning a pretty strong Group 1 contest.
A six-time Group 1 winner at the age of only 4, Auguste Rodin appears to be slightly disrespected within the racing community, however with his tendencies to throw up a poor run, I can genuinely see why. He does have more than enough talent to land this contest, and on his day he is probably the most talented in the field, but we are all just wary of whether another poor run could only be around the corner for him.
Talented but quirky, he could easily win this race, taking his Group 1 victories tally to seven, and no one can argue this might be his best winning effort to date. It is clear to see for breeding purposes Aidan O'Brien would absolutely love him to win this on Saturday, so no doubt there will be plenty of gaslighting towards Auguste from the Master at Ballydoyle.
2. Dubai Honour (William Haggas & Tom Marquand)
William Haggas has trained this lad to absolute perfection over the years, a real globe-trotting star who has won races in the UK, France and Australia on multiple occasions, and landed Group 1 contest in the latter two countries, and at his current price, I feel Dubai Honour is going into this race slightly under the radar.
He might lack that little bit of talent or younger legs compared to the main ones at the top end of the market, but he is clearly a Group 1 animal, and the fact he landed the Group 1 Grand Prix De Saint-Cloud last time would suggest he is still in the form of his life.
That further cements how William and Maureen Haggas have done incredibly well with the horse, as I would imagine it is not an easy feat to train a six-year-old to win a Group 1. On the expected good ground he could run a huge race and claim a spot in the placings, but one slight concern is the fact that he does tend to fall a little short in this country when running in Group 2/1 contests, and with a contest of this nature he might just find it a little too hot to handle. I hope he can run well and do well for the older boys who still love their racing.
3. Goliath (F-H Graffard & Christophe Soumillon)
You can never ever discount a French-trained runner, especially when it comes to a Group 1 contest at Ascot (as shown with Calandagan in the King Edward VII Stakes at the royal meeting last month).
However, there has not been a French-trained winner of this race since Hurricane Run back in 2006 for Andre Fabre and Christophe Soumillon, but interestingly there have been one or two German trained winners.
The one thing that I will say goes against Goliath is that he does seem to prefer ground with a little cut in it, and with the expected good ground at Ascot on Saturday. One thing that might slightly contradict my last point about the ground is how well this horse ran on good-to-firm going in the Hardwicke last time, albeit fairly well beaten in the end by Isle Of Jura.
French horses are renowned for struggling when they come over and run on better ground conditions, as homegrown horses are just suited to it a lot more, and ultimately we just might have the better horses on the sounder surfaces. I think that could well ring true here, and although he ran well at Royal Ascot on good to firm ground last time, I just think there are much better horses here. However he could do what he did last time and plug on well into the placings, but it would need an almighty career-best effort to even do just that.
4. Hans Andersen (Aidan O'Brien & Sean Levey)
The massive outsider of the whole field, rated just 102, this would probably be the biggest shock in recent times if Hand Anderson were to land this contest or even place, and ultimately this lad might just be here as a pace setter for Auguste Rodin, a tactic that the "lads" like to employ when it comes to one of their big guns running in these top Group 1 races.
He was the pace setter for City Of Troy in the Coral-Eclipse last time, and was probably there to do the same for Auguste in the Prince Of Wales's Stakes the time before, so in a way he has probably the most underappreciated job in this field here as he will have to set a pretty frantic pace for Auguste Rodin to aim at and then go from there.
It is somewhat a shame he is being used like this, as he was a talented two-year-old and did place at Group 2 level as a youngster, as well as being a Group 3 winner on his first start as a three-year-old. Sean Levey is having a very good season with Haatem and Rosallion, but I think even with his magic, he will struggle to get this lad's head in front in a contest of this nature. Sean's mind will no doubt be on bigger things next week as Rosallion is (hopefully) set to line up in the Sussex Stakes next Wednesday, providing we don't get much rain between now and then.
5. Luxembourg (Wayne Lordan & Aidan O'Brien)
Another runner for the older brigade, and a plum ride for Wayne Lordan, who heads over to Ascot for his only ride of the weekend. Admittedly Luxembourg did look to have slightly lost his way since beating Bay Bridge in the Group 1 Tattersalls Gold Cup at the Curragh back in May 2023, running 6 times after that and only placing on three occasions.
However, some of those efforts were in pretty good Group 1 contests, which includes a 2nd in the 2023 Prince Of Wales's Stakes, a 2nd in the Irish Champion Stakes behind Auguste Rodin, and another 2nd in the Group 1 Hong Kong Gold Cup, just a head behind Romantic Warrior, who is the Hong Kong superstar.
That run in the Hong Kong Gold Cup might be very underrated, and although he did disappoint in Saudi and Dubai afterwards, he soon put that behind him when having his first run of the turf season in the UK, running out a resounding winner in the Group 1 Coronation Stakes at Epsom on Derby weekend, after an all inspired front running ride from the main man Ryan Moore.
Evidently he likes to set the pace now and be at the front end of the field, so with Hans Andersen also being here he might not get the easy lead he got last time, and given the fact he hails from the same yard as Auguste Rodin. they might not want him to burst away like he did at Epsom, so it will be very interesting to see how he gets ridden by Wayne here.
If Auguste Rodin were not in this field then I would be all over Luxembourg as he still clearly has Group 1 talent, judged on how he won last time out from the front, but given the fact Auguste is the yard’s first string, it is very hard to gauge how the race might be run.
However, if he can reproduce his efforts from early last season and that Coronation Cup run, he might be hard to catch. I think he could have a real each-way chance here on Saturday if he is given an easy time at the front end.
6. Middle Earth (John and Thady Gosden & Oisin Murphy)
I must admit I don't really know what to make of Middle Earth, as the son of Roaring Lion looked to have the whole world at his feet when winning the Group 3 Aston Park Stakes at Newbury for his first run of the 2024 turf season, and he was a firm pick of mine heading into the Hardwicke Stakes at the royal meeting last month.
Given the fact Continuous did not fire at all, the race was there for the taking and unfortunately he just lacked the pace to catch Isle Of Jura, and was even beaten into 2nd place by a French horse who has better form on softer going.
With that in mind, I am just unsure on what to make of Middle Earth's chances heading into this contest at the weekend. One thing is for sure is that since he has got racing under his belt (was not seen as a two-year-old and has only raced eight times in his career) he has come on in leaps and bounds, winning 50% of his career races at this stage, but I just feel the Group 2 was there for the taking at Ascot last time, and I am struggling to see how he can land a blow on the main rivals here for this contest on Saturday.
One thing to take out of that race last time was Oisin Murphy’s comments on the fact the race was run at a slow pace and he just did not have the speed in the closing stages to land a blow and was very one paced, so with the championship pace that could be on show for the King George this weekend, that could easily bring a little more improvement out of the Gosden trained horse.
Oisin also stated this might be his last run in the UK before heading off to Australia for the Caulfield Cup, so depending on how he gets on this weekend, could depend if he goes Down Under or not. There is no doubt he is a talented sort and if he gets a quicker pace than last time, he could easily be staying on well in the closing stages, but with the slight lack of pace, he might just find a few of these too good.
7. Rebel's Romance (Charlie Appleby & William Buick)
It’s brilliant to see Godolphin and Charlie Appleby run this lad in this contest on Saturday, he was last seen winning the Listed Wild Flower Stakes at Kempton under the floodlights back in December, before going on to land the Group hat-trick at Doha, Meydan and Sha Tin respectively.
He has also won two Group 1's in Germany in August and September in 2022 before going on to land the Breeders Cup Turf back in 2022, which seems like a lifetime ago and is actually surprising given the fact that he is still in training and seemingly better than ever.
The one main concern might be the fact that he has only raced in the UK five times previously, compared to the 14 times he has raced abroad, so it begs the question whether Ascot and the way the races are run in this country will suit.
One thing for sure is that he is in the form of his life, arriving into this race off the back of a Group 1 double. A 2-length winner of the Dubai Sheema Classic, where he firmly put Auguste Rodin in his place, you could argue the race did fall apart with the latter not running to his actual form, but Rebel's Romance was there to pick up the pieces in the end, winning pretty nicely indeed.
He then went on to back that Group 1 winning effort up with another run at the top level, this time travelling right across Asia to Hong Kong where there were a few question marks on whether the way the races are run over there would suit him. He soon put those questions to bed when winning the contest in grand style by 2 lengths, really relishing the early pace set by Moments In Time, he soon went clear readily in the closing stages to win the Group 1 contest going away.
He is clearly in the form of his life, and if he were to run well in this contest that would take his winning prize pot to over £7 million, which is staggering given the fact he has only raced no more than 20 races in his life.
Ground conditions at this stage are very much in his favour, and I can't wait for the battle with Auguste Rodin and Bluestocking. The obvious Appleby and Godolphin Ascot form is a concern like it always is with the boys-in-blue horses, but I think if he can reproduce his last two efforts, he will be bang there come the finish.
8. Bluestocking (Ralph Beckett & Rossa Ryan)
Probably one of the most likeable fillies in training and maybe one of the best at the moment, Bluestocking impressed as a three-year-old when running in some strong contests without winning, but she has seemingly taken her form to another level this season now a year older.
A very decent 3rd in the Ribblesdale last Royal Ascot on just her third every start, she then went on to come a very good 2nd behind Savethelastdance in the Irish Oaks, just getting outstayed and maybe looking like she lacked that little bit of experience and knowhow in the closing stages as Savethelastdance did stay on the best that day.
She continued to play the bridesmaid, coming 4th behind Warm Heart in the Yorkshire Oaks before another 2nd this time in a Listed contest at Chester, looking green still and probably not handling the track formation of Chester. She then ended the season with another 2nd-placed effort in the Fillies and Mares race at Ascot on Champions Day, where the really soft ground maybe went against her.
The reason she has captured the imagination of the public appears to be how she always runs so well in these races, but just falls short to a horse who always seems to really bounce back to form, so when she was a popular winner when she finally got her head in front at York on her first run as a four-year-old this season. That was in the Group 2 Middleton Stakes where she was sent off the 5/2 2nd favourite, and although she was taking on a horse who won the contest last season in Free Wind, she had no troubles handling that task as she blitzed clear to win by an easy 6 lengths, registering her first win since her only run as a two year old, and finally getting some winning black type to her name.
She then lined up back in Group 1 company when going over to the Curragh for the Pretty Polly Stakes, a race in which she was sent off the 11/10 favourite, and she duly obliged the strong market support by winning the contest going away, to beat an unfortunate Emily Upjohn by a little under 2 lengths, really staying on well in the closing stages after looking to be in a little bit of trouble down the home straight as Emily Upjohn scooted away from the field around the home bend.
However, Ralph Beckett's filly stayed on superbly well and was a well deserved winner of a Group 1, the first one of her career.
As I mentioned she is seemingly getting better with age, and in receipt of 3lbs from the big boys here, she would need by far a career-best to win the race, but she has clearly turned a page this season and looks very good. The cheekpieces return here on Saturday, and given that she wore them on probably her best performance visually at York two runs ago, they can only be a good thing for her come Saturday. Rossa Ryan is one of the most underrated pilots out there, and to see him win onboard this girl in the Pretty Polly Stakes last time was brilliant to see, and he deserves to ride her here once again on Saturday.
9. Sunway (David Menuisier & James Doyle)
The underrated James Doyle is a very good jockey when it comes to picking up spare rides - just look at his performances in both Guineas a few years back when winning the 2000 on Corebus and 1000 on Cachet.
Although Sunway is yet to win this season, he was a Group 1 winner in his final start as a two-year-old in France, it is very clear that David Menuisier holds this horse in very high regard and even more so now he is a year older. David was very bullish when he sent him over to France for the French Derby, and although he only came 7th, he was only beaten by a little over 4 lengths in what was a bunched field. Perhaps the typical way French races are run with the slow early pace all the way around and the final straight sprint did not suit this horse, as he seemingly was keeping on at the same sort of pace down the home straight.
It was his effort last time out that caught the eye, running on well in the closing stages of the Irish Derby and picking up the pieces to claim 2nd spot behind Los Angeles, only beaten by three quarters of a length, and beating Ambiente Friendly into third.
Menuisier has since come out and stated that was his best performance to date, and he also said he is probably the best horse he has trained to date, so once again more bullish quotes from the trainer towards his horse.
The better ground expected at Ascot on Saturday should suit, and if there is a quiet pace throughout, Sunway will no doubt be there picking up the pieces late on, as the staying ability is probably his best attribute. There is plenty more to come from this lad, and given the bullish nature of his trainer with some lofty plans for this horse, it is only a matter of time before Sunway is winning a big contest of this nature.
Granted he might not be as good as the main market leaders, but one thing for sure is that he will be staying on well in the closing stages if there is a quick pace throughout. I think he could run well and claim another placed effort here on Saturday, and what a day it would be for David if he was to get his head in front, which could be possible if Auguste Rodin does not turn up.
Final predictions
Forecast:
- 1st Auguste Rodin
- 2nd Bluestocking
- 3rd Sunway
Plays in the race:
- Bluestocking - 5/1 Each Way (Main selection)
- Sunway - 14/1 Each Way (2nd selection)
All previews and tips provided by @ Jake Russell