King George shaping up to be race for the ages

The King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes on Saturday at Ascot is England’s best race this year, perhaps in several years. It’s deep, with seven of the 11 entrants having a legitimate claim to contention, and it’s competitive, with Auguste Rodin the tepid 7-2 general favorite in antepost wagering Thursday.

Contested over 1 1/2 miles, the Group 1, $1.5 million King George is part of the Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series, offering the winner automatic fees-paid entry into the Breeders’ Cup Turf and travel expenses to Santa Anita. Any of this race’s big seven – Auguste Rodin, King of Steel, Hukum, Emily Upjohn, Pyledriver, Luxembourg, and Westover – would be heavily favored over any North American turf horse in a race at 1 1/4 or 1 1/2 miles.

Auguste Rodin won the Derby at Epsom, where King of Steel finished a strong second, and came back to capture the Irish Derby in less forceful fashion. Both colts get 11 pounds from their older male rivals and eight from older filly Emily Upjohn, though only six 3-year-olds have won this race in the 2000s.

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King of Steel easily could turn the tables on Auguste Rodin. A massive Wootton Basset colt trained by Roger Varian, King of Steel has raced only four times. An impressive debut winner last fall at Nottingham, he failed to cope with heavy ground in the Futurity at Doncaster, won by Auguste Rodin, finishing seventh. Set to make his 3-year-old debut in the Dante Stakes, King of Steel was scratched when he balked at being loaded into the starting gate, and thus came into the Derby light on experience and absence the recent start Auguste Rodin possessed. And while Auguste Rodin merely was workmanlike July 2 in the Irish Derby, King of Steel, after pulling too hard in the early stages, was a resounding winner of the King Edward Stakes over 1 1/2 miles at Royal Ascot.

Six-year-old Hukum has started only twice the last 14 months but has looked capable of a King George win in both outings. He beat Pyledriver by more than four lengths in the Group 1 Coronation Cup at Epsom, went on the shelf for more than a year, and returned with a game win over 2022 Derby winner Desert Crown two months ago at Sandown.

After losing to Hukum, Pyledriver returned to capture the 2022 King George by almost three lengths over Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe winner Torquator Tasso. Pyledriver missed 11 months but appeared undiminished winning the Hardwicke Stakes at Royal Ascot in June.

Luxembourg and Westover both are capable 4-year-old colts and there’s no reason 4-year-old filly Emily Upjohn can’t win. She threw a clunker in the 2022 King George but clearly wasn’t herself, and in two 2023 starts she defeated Westover in the Coronation Cup and gave seven pounds to top-rated 3-year-old Paddington finishing second over a 1 1/4-mile trip short of her best in the Eclipse Stakes three weeks ago.

The Ascot course was rated good-to-soft Thursday and should continue drying through Saturday. There is nothing soft about this King George renewal.

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