Champion winner King of Steel will be pre-entered for BC Turf, Classic
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King of Steel earned a fees-paid berth to the $4 million Breeders’ Cup Turf at Santa Anita on Nov. 4 with a win in Saturday’s Group 1 Champion Stakes at Ascot Racecourse in Great Britain, but the Kentucky-bred colt’s participation in the richest turf race in the United States will not be determined until later this week, trainer Roger Varian said Monday.
Varian said King of Steel was pre-entered on Monday in the Turf and BC Classic at 1 1/4 miles on dirt as a second option. King of Steel has never raced on dirt in his seven-race career.
“The Turf is our priority,” he said.
Varian said he plans to assess King of Steel’s condition in coming days before deciding whether the colt will be flown to California next weekend.
“We’ll make a decision later in the week,” he said. “It’s too soon. That’s the reason we can’t answer any questions seriously.”
Varian said that preliminary indications are that King of Steel has recovered from his win on Saturday, showing no loss of appetite.
“He has a great constitution,” he said. “He’s good and sound.”
Owned by Amo Racing, King of Steel won his second stakes in the Champion Stakes at 1 1/4 miles, closing from last of eight to take the lead in the final furlong under jockey Frankie Dettori.
With the win in the Champion Stakes, King of Steel was pre-entered in the BC Turf without the financial obligation of a $50,000 fee.
“That’s a good position to be in,” Varian said.
Dettori rode King of Steel for the first time in the Champion Stakes, and will have the mount in the BC Turf, Varian said.
Dettori, arguably the world’s most famous rider, recently announced that he is postponing a scheduled retirement this fall to ride in Southern California for the second consecutive year this winter.
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