Torquator Tasso, last year’s Arc winner, is a 12-1 chance for the King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot on Saturday, which is a sign of the quality in this year’s race even with only half a dozen runners going to post.
Westover, the Irish Derby winner, and Emily Upjohn, unlucky when second in the Oaks, provide a strong challenge from the Classic generation, while even the outsiders, Broome and Pyledriver, already have Group One wins to their name.
What the field lacks, however, is an obvious pacemaker. Broome, who set a decent gallop for Love, his stable companion, 12 months ago, is Aidan O’Brien’s sole contender this time around and will presumably be ridden with a little more restraint.
If so, Mishriff (3.35) could be ideally placed to take advantage. John Gosden’s five-year-old stays 12 furlongs but has enough speed to win two Group Ones at a mile and a quarter.
James Doyle, who takes over from David Egan after an unfortunate run in the Eclipse last time, is a razor-sharp tactician and last year’s runner-up is a fair price at around 7-2 to give his rider a fourth Group One win of the campaign.
Ascot 1.50 Ralph Beckett’s juveniles generally improve for their first run so it was very encouraging to see Palm Lily quicken nearly three lengths clear of the runner-up on debut at Kempton last month. At around 8-1, she is an excellent bet to give Expert Eye his first Group winner as a sire.
York 2.05 Tom Scudamore is two-out-of-four in this novelty event for jump jockeys over the straight five furlongs and he looks to be aboard the likeliest winner again here as Val De Travers won with plenty to spare at Musselburgh last time.
Newcastle 1.00 Life On The Rocks 1.35 Iron Sheriff 2.12 Amaysmont 2.47 Fariba 3.22 Tremendous Times 3.57 Elegant Erin 4.32 Thundering 5.03 Oh So Chic
Newmarket 1.27 The Parent 1.57 Divine Magic 2.32 Francesco Clemente 3.07 Wowzers 3.42 Smeaton’s Light 4.17 Sir Maxi 4.52 Vaunted
Ascot 1.50 Palm Lily 2.25 Zanbaq 3.00 King Zain (nap) 3.35 Mishriff 4.10 Naval Power 4.45 Saga 5.20 Mountain Peak
York 2.05 Val De Travers 2.40 Lucky Man 3.15 Dubai Honour (nb) 3.50 Florida Filly 4.25 Geremia 5.00 Let Her Loose 5.35 Piastrella
Lingfield 5.08 Wannabe Betsy 5.40 Mhajim 6.10 Rocking Ends 6.40 The Spotlight Kid 7.10 King Of The Dance 7.40 Federal Street 8.10 Breach 8.40 Healing Power
Salisbury 5.25 Mountain Ash 6.00 Signcastle City 6.30 Q Twenty Boy 7.00 Karuoka 7.30 Michaels Choice 8.00 Bellstreet Bridie 8.30 Easy Equation
Ascot 2.25 Zanbaq is improving fast and had to switch at a vital stage before finishing a length behind the winner in the Sandringham Handicap at Royal Ascot. A repeat of that form would make her very tough to beat here.
York 2.40 Lucky Man was an excellent second in the hot three-year-old handicap over this track and trip in June and will be a live contender if first-time cheekpieces eke out a little improvement.
Ascot 3.00 The race of the day from a betting perspective, and King Zain is an interesting contender at around 14-1. He has already improved sharply in two runs since joining Harry & Roger Charlton and posted a strong time when successful at Kempton in May despite winning with plenty to spare.
York 3.15 Dubai Honour has an absence to overcome but he ran very well first-time up in the Britannia last season and has the clear beating of this field on ratings.
Derby winner ruled out of the International
Desert Crown, last month’s Derby winner at Epsom, has been ruled out of a possible run in the Juddmonte International Stakes at York’s Ebor meeting in August and will now be aimed towards “the end of the season” according to Bruce Raymond, racing manager to the colt’s owner, Saeed Suhail.
Sir Michael Stoute’s lightly raced three-year-old was an impressive winner of the Epsom Classic, maintaining his unbeaten record after three starts with a two-and-a-half length defeat of Hoo Ya Mal with Westover, the subsequent Irish Derby winner, back in third.
Desert Crown was being prepared for the King George & Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot but Stoute was forced to scratch him from Saturday’s race when a foot problem emerged last week. He had been quoted at around 7-2 second-favourite for the Juddmonte International, over the same course and distance where had established his Classic claims with a three-and-a-quarter length win in the Dante Stakes in May.
Desert Crown did not make his two-year-old debut until early November 2021 and Stoute said that he had not been an easy horse to train after his Dante success, stating that the colt was “only just ready” for the Classic trial.
“We’ll try to prepare him for the end of the season, either the Arc [in early October] or the Champion Stakes [two weeks later],” Raymond said. “I’ve not spoken to Sir Michael, but the York race is 17 August, he’d need to be galloping by now. I just don’t think there is enough time to prepare him.”
With Desert Crown out of the running, the unbeaten Baaeed – hot favourite for the Sussex Stakes at Glorious Goodwood on Wednesday – is now odds-on for the International Stakes at 10-11 (from 5-4).
The Derby winner remains an uneasy favourite for the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe on 2 October at around 5-1, but Westover and Emily Upjohn, the market leaders for Saturday’s King George, are now edging closer in the betting on 7-1 and 9-1 respectively.
