The second race on day three at Royal Ascot is the King George V Stakes. It was first run in 1948 and this is always a hard handicap to solve, run over 1M 4F for three-year-olds only. The draw is always important in these big field handicaps with eight consecutive winners exiting a double-figure stall up to 2018 although three of the last four have been in single figures. Cosmic Sun scored at 66/1 in 2009 but since then eight of the 13 winners have come from the top four in the betting.
Charlie Johnston (his father Mark has had six winners) and Sir Michael Stoute (four) are the leading trainers with owners Godolphin winning four of the past nine runnings. Read on to see which horses are my expert Royal Ascot tips for this 3:05 pm BST race on Thursday.
Bertinelli
Trainer: Aidan O’Brien
Jockey: Ryan Moore
Won the London Cup Handicap at Newbury in May. Raised 5lb for that and moved up another two furlongs today. Progressive and obvious claims for the trainer that won this in 2019 with South Pacific.
Gallerist
Trainer: F-H-Graffard
Jockey: Michael Barzalona
French raider who’s making his handicap debut and is drawn out wide. Winner of three of his four starts and yet to race on good fast ground. Hard one to assess.
Tagabawa
Trainer: Charlie Appleby
Jockey: William Buick
Turf debut having run his three starts on the all-weather. Made a winning handicap debut at Kempton back in April and presumably saved for this race. Won that four-runner race easily by 4L but the handicapper responded by raising him 12lb.
Struth
Trainer: Charlie Johnston
Jockey: Joe Fanning
4lb higher today than when 2L second at Doncaster to the Queen’s Vase hope Saint George over 14F. Dropped in trip here and is hardly hiding anything from the assessor. Stable has done well in this race in the past.
Desert Hero
Trainer: William Haggas
Jockey: Tom Marquand
Finished 3L behind Bertinelli in the London Cup at Newbury. Stepping up in trip here should suit this Sea The Stars colt owned by The King & Queen. His trainer sounded bullish about a big run in an interview last weekend although is drawn very wide in stall 21.
Perfuse
Trainer: Sir Michael Stoute
Jockey: Richard Kingscote
Making his handicap debut here following wins at Nottingham and Doncaster on different types of ground. A progressive type who could run well.
Wonder Legend
Trainer: James Ferguson
Jockey: Daniel Muscutt
Ultra impressive winner of a 10F Doncaster handicap in April, coasting home to beat Westerton by 5L. That run however was on soft ground and conditions will be very different with the handicapper also having had his say in sticking him up 13lb.
Davideo
Trainer: Ralph Beckett
Jockey: Rossa Ryan
Steps up two furlongs having won a Newmarket maiden in good style by 4 1/4L from the Gosden runner Vaguely Royal who’s won a small race since. Galileo colt that should not be underestimated.
Crackovia
Trainer: Charlie Johnston
Jockey: Andria Atzeni
Fourth in listed and Group 3 (Germany) company on her two starts this season. Would need to improve to take a hand in the finish.
Burglar
Trainer: John & Thady Gosden
Jockey: Frankie Dettori
Bounced back to form when winning at Redcar last month over ten furlongs. Steps up to a mile and a half on his handicap debut and can be competitive.
Valiant King
Trainer: Joseph O’Brien
Jockey: Oisin Murphy
Runner up in 10F heavy ground handicap at Leopardstown on re-appearance prior to winning a maiden at Navan racecourse, also on soft ground. The trip should suit today although has questions to answer if the ground is riding fast.
Mr Mistoffelees
Trainer: Hughie Morrison
Jockey: Sean Levey
Wasn’t disgraced on his handicap debut when a 33/1 chance running 7th of 14 in the London Cup Handicap behind the winner Bertinelli. Needs to improve further to have a chance here.
Duke of Oxford
Trainer: Michael Bell
Jockey: Dylan Browne McMonagle
Making his handicap debut. A winner at Chelmsford and Wolverhampton on the all-weather in the spring. Blatantly didn’t handle the soft ground when well beaten in Chester Vase won by Arrest in May.
Lieber Power
Trainer: Andrew Balding
Jockey: Harry Davies (3)
Down the field in the London Cup at Newbury won by Bertinelli. Dropped a couple of pounds for that effort and wears first-time cheekpieces today. Needs to improve to take a hand in the finish.
Land Legend
Trainer: James Ferguson
Jockey: Hollie Doyle
Easy all-weather winner at Newcastle in March and ran well when runner-up to Chesspiece in valuable York handicap 64 days later. Not without a chance despite a 2lb rise in weights.
Inquiring Minds
Trainer: John & Thady Gosden
Jockey: Benoit De La Sayette
First time in a handicap. Runner up to rival Perfuse at Doncaster and now 4lb better off for 2L with that one.
Sisyphus Strength
Trainer: Andrew Balding
Jockey: David Egan
First run in a handicap. Ran 5th in a listed race at Goodwood last time out and hard to assess.
Cloudbreaker
Trainer: Charlie Fellowes
Jockey: Kieran Shoemark
Career best last time out when 4th of 8 to Warm Heart in listed Oaks Trial at Newbury. The handicapper has put her up 10lb for that run which seems a bit unfair.
Double March
Trainer: Sean Woods
Jockey: David Probert
Showed improved form when winning over 10F here in May on soft ground. 7lb higher now and the ground is likely to be different although appears to handle any ground.
Greysful Storm (Reserve)
Trainer: Darryll Holland
Jockey: Jason Watson
First reserve. 25/1 winner of 10F Newbury handicap last time out by 5 1/2L and is now 15lb higher. Needs more to feature if getting a run.
Maasai Mara (Reserve)
Trainer: John & Thady Gosden
Jockey: Cieren Fallon
Second reserve. Winner here over 10F on soft ground in May and not disgraced when 4th at Epsom since. Quirky type.
Chillhi (Reserve)
Trainer: Brian Ellison
Jockey: Luke Morris
Third reserve. Looks out of his depth and will be a major shock were he to get involved in the finish if getting into the race.
King George V Stakes Betting Tips
As always a highly competitive renewal with several unexposed three-year-olds. My shortlist comprises top weight Bertinelli who won the London Cup last time and may still have a bit in hand of the handicapper, Davideo who makes his handicap debut here following a Newmarket maiden success and Sir Michael Stoute’s Perfuse making his handicap debut.
A tough call but the pick is the Aiden O’Brien top-weight Bertinelli.
1. Bertinelli @ 7/1 with Bet365 bonus code (Paying top 6 places at 1/5 odds)
2. Davideo @ 14/1 with William Hill promo code (Paying top 5 places at 1/5 odds)
3. Perfuse @ 17/2 with William Hill (Paying top 5 places at 1/5 odds)
All odds are available at the time of writing.
