Dual Classic winning filly Love and Derby hero Adayar feature among nine confirmations for what promises to be a mouthwatering renewal of the Group 1 King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Qipco Stake at Ascot on Saturday, July 24th.
The former, landed last year’s 1000 Guineas and Oaks and looked as good as ever following a 10 month absence when making a winning return to action in the Group 1 Prince of Wales’s Stakes at Royal Ascot last month. She is currently the 5/4 favourite with Paddy Power fo follow-up and give Irish trainer Aidan O’Brien a fifth winner in the mid-summer showpiece following the previous triumphs of Galileo (2001), Dylan Thomas (2007), Duke Of Marmalade (2008) and Highland Reel (2016).
Fillies have an excellent recent record in the race, following the exploits of three-time winner Enable, Taghrooda and Danedream. Speaking at the Curragh on Sunday, trainer Aidan O’Brien said: “The plan at the moment is that we’re looking at running Love in the King George. Mogul and Broome are also there, but Love is the most likely to run. Something else could run but I’m not sure just yet. Everything has gone well with her since Ascot.”
Love is the joint second top rated in the race on 122, with Addeybb surprisingly rated 3lb her superior. However, she receives a 3lb sex allowance from that rival. I think she is far more classy than William Haggas’ charge and very much the one to beat. In my book she is therefore a worthy favourite for the King George.
The Charlie Appleby trained Adayar is aiming to bridge a 20-year gap for Derby winners in the 1m 2f contest, with no horse doing the double since Galileo in 2001. In this period, three Derby winners have contested the King George VI & Queen Elizabeth QIPCO Stakes during their Classic campaigns, with Kris Kin faring best in third in 2003.
Adayar romped to a 4 1/2 length success at Epsom and that has earned him a rating of 121. As three-year-old he receives a handy weight for age allowance from the likes of Love. So on adjusted rating he comes out on a mark of 132 and that puts him 7lb clear of his opponents. It makes the son of Frankel arguably the one they all have to beat and he is a standout 9/4 second favourite with William Hill.
The other contender from the Classic generation is Martyn Meade’s Lone Eagle who was narrowly denied by Adayar’s stablemate Hurricane Lane in the Group 1 Irish Derby at the Curragh on June 26th. Also among the five-day confirmations are the aforementioned Addeybb, winner of last year’s Group 1 QIPCO Champion Stakes and a 33/1 shot with Paddy Power and fellow British Champions Day scorer Wonderful Tonight. David Menuisier’s star filly defeated the boys in the Group 2 Hardwicke Stakes at Royal Ascot on her reappearance and can be backed at a general price of 10/1.
Leading four-year-old Mishriff, who hails from the yard of John and Thady Gosden is likely to take his chance after pleasing connections since his comeback third to St Mark’s Basilica in the Group 1 Coral-Eclipse at Sandown Park on July 3rd. That was his first start since recording a memorable big-race double in the Saudi Cup on dirt and Group 1 Dubai Sheema Classic on turf earlier in the year. He is currently a top priced 7/1 with William Hill.
Ted Voute, racing manager for Mishriff‘s owner Prince Faisal, said: “I talked to John after Mishriff worked on Saturday and John was very happy with him. It has very much been left up to John where he runs next and, having discussed it with the Prince, Ascot looks the likely target. I thought Mishriff was a bit gassy at Sandown in the first half of the race, which happens to a lot of horses after some time off, and I just wondered whether he needed a race under his belt to get him spot on. He seemed to run very well backing up from Saudi to Dubai.
“St Mark’s Basilica is clearly a very good horse and I think it is going to take a very good horse to beat Love on Saturday. We want to win a Group 1 in England with Mishriff and you can’t win one unless you run in them. He has beaten some very good horses from around the world and now is the time to see what he can do against the big battalions from England and Ireland in particular.”
Trainers William Muir and Chris Grassick were forced to scratch stable star Pyledriver from the King George VI & Queen Elizabeth QIPCO Stakes due to a setback. Pyledriver was a leading fancy following a hugely popular first Group 1 success in the Coronation Cup at Epsom last month.
Speaking to the media in Lambourn , Muir said: “We did exactly the same as before the Coronation Cup; we went over to Charlie’s gallops and Martin rode him, he was delighted with him, he went magnificently. It was not a hard piece of work, but the way he came through it was fantastic. I walked off the gallops thinking, ‘It will take a good horse to stop this’.
“I walked across to meet him coming across the road, he was bouncing and bobbing and kicking, I thought then this horse has never been better, I couldn’t have him better. Martin came back and said, ‘He is in such a good place’. He was washed down, put in the box, he had a roll, everything was fine, he never took a funny step anywhere, then in the evening my head girl rung me, I was at Newbury races, and said, ‘Pyledriver is just not quite right on his off hind’.
“We are hoping it is a groin injury, but we are going to make sure we don’t leave any stone unturned. So we will X-ray his tibia, if there is nothing there, we will scan his pelvis, I don’t think it is, but it will put my mind at rest. Then we can go from there and will know it is soft tissue.”