Run at Ascot racecourse, the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes was established in 1951 and is one of Britain’s most prestigious open-age flat races on the calendar. The race takes place in July of each year and is open to runners aged three years old or older and is run over one mile and four furlongs, three-year-old runners get an 11lb allowance on their older runners with fillies and mares receive a 3lb allowance and four-year-old runners from the southern hemisphere getting a 4lb allowance.
Plenty of the winners go on to succeed in top-class races, both the 2012 (Danedream) and 2013 (Novellist) winners went on to win the Grosser Preis von Baden next time out, a top-class group 1 race in Germany, and the 2015 winner (Postponed) went on to win the Prix Foy at Longchamp next time out and of course, Enable who won the race in 2017, 2019 & 2020 went on to Prix de L’arc so the future form is something to keep on eye on.
The leading trainer in the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes over the last 20 renewals is Aiden O’Brien who has won the race three times with those three winners coming from Dylan Thomas (2007), Duke Of Marmalade (2008) and Highland Reel (2016).
The leading jockey in the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes over the last 20 renewals is Frankie Dettori who has won the race four times with those four winners coming from Doyen (2004) and Enable (2017, 2019 & 2020). The only other jockey to have recorded multiple wins in the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes is Ryan Moore (2 wins).
Let’s take a look at all of the runners individually and assess their overall chances. I will then provide an overall summary along with my free Ascot tips below.
Bolshoi Ballet
Trainer: Aiden O’Brien
Jockey: Sean Levey
Odds: 150/1
A winner of three races in his career to date but none at a high level such as this. He was last seen contesting the Wolferton Stakes at Royal Ascot, where he finished a good second to Royal Champion from the Roger Varian stable. He has gone well in testing conditions before but he would need to put up the performance of his career if he were to take this. No issues with the trip, but he looks relatively exposed.
Deauville Legend
Trainer: James Ferguson
Jockey: Oisin Murphy
Odds: 25/1
Is no stranger to big race success but at most it has been at Group 2 level. This looks a little beyond him although he was a solid fourth in the Melbourne Gold Cup last season. The ground looks to have gone against him today and it has been over a year since he was last tried at this trip. Despite the booking of Oisin Murphy, the four-year-old has plenty on his plate.
Hamish
Trainer: William Haggas
Jockey: Richard Kingscote
Odds: 50/1
Hamish comes here in search of a hat-trick of wins, but this trip looks very much on the sharp side for him. The lightly raced seven-year-old will like the testing ground, but he has never been tried at this elite level. He is a monster in Group 3 races and when he was tried in a Group 2 he struggled. This is another level up again and others will just have too much speed. Likely to try and race prominently from the outset.
Hukum
Trainer: Owen Burrows
Jockey: Jim Crowley
Odds: 9/2
Hukum has been to this track and done it all before at the highest level. Prior to winning the Coronation Stakes at Epsom racecourse last year, he danced home in the mud here over the course and distance to win the Group 3 Cumberland Lodge Stakes. The soft conditions will not be lost on him and he has maintained an excellent level of form since making a winning comeback in the Brigadier Gerrard Stakes at Sandown back in April. A model of consistency and one for the shortlist.
Luxembourg
Trainer: Aiden O’Brien
Jockey: Seamie Heffernan
Odds: 16/1
A Group 1 winner in his own right, Luxembourg got up to win the Irish Champion Stakes at Leopardstown on similar ground last season. He has been abandoned by Ryan Moore today though and may well struggle to give weight away to his younger rivals. Sent off as a favourite for the Prince Of Wales’s Stakes at Royal Ascot, he found one too good in the shape of Mostahdaf. The trip won’t bother him and he is a live each-way contender.
Point Lonsdale
Trainer: Aiden O’Brien
Jockey: Adam Kirby
Odds: 100/1
Point Lonsdale will relish this testing ground. He has won four times under similar conditions, but any time that he has been raised at this level he has found at least one too good. He was far from disgraced in the Coronation Cup last time out at Epsom where he was third to Emily Upjohn on what was completely unsuitable ground. His price seems atrocious and insulting and he could just surprise a few, especially on this ground.
Pyledriver
Trainer: Willie Muir & Chris Grassick
Jockey: PJ McDonald
Odds: 15/2
Maintained his excellent record of going well fresh when landing the Group 2 Hardwicke Stakes at Ascot on his preferred good ground. He is a multiple Group 1 winner having won this race last year and he landed the Coronation Cup at Epsom back in 2021. Like all good horses, he seems to operate on all types of ground. He thrashed Emily Upjohn in this last year and no surprise if he confirms that form once more.
Westover
Trainer: Ralph Beckett
Jockey: Rob Hornby
Odds: 12/1
Was well beaten in this last year by Pyledriver and may struggle here despite winning last time out. That form looks to be completely shady given that he was a heavy odds-on favourite to land one of the weakest-ever Group 1 races I have ever seen at Saint-Cloud. He handled similar ground well last time out though but is likely to be found out by much tougher opposition here this afternoon.
Emily Upjohn
Trainer: John & Thady Gosden
Jockey: Frankie Dettori
Odds: 9/2
She has already had a couple of hard races this season and really struggled to give the weight away to Paddington in the Group 1 Coral-Eclipse last time out. She is a previous course and distance winner, though she has as yet to be tested on the ground this soft. She fluffed her lines badly in this race despite being a three-year-old filly and getting a lot of allowances. It may well be that she does so again against battled hardened rivals.
Auguste Rodin
Trainer: Aiden O’Brien
Jockey: Ryan Moore
Odds: 7/2
A lot has been written about this English and Irish Derby winner already this season as he has recovered from what can only be considered a flop in the 2000 Guineas. Since stepping up in trip there has been no looking back with this son of Deep Impact. This will be the first time this year that he has encountered such soft ground, but he has won on it well in the past including when winning the Futurity Stakes at Doncaster last autumn. He beat King Of Steel well at Epsom and connections will fancy him to do so once more here.
King Of Steel
Trainer: Roger Varian
Jockey: Kevin Stott
Odds: 9/2
Proved to be no fluke about his runner-up position in the Epsom Derby as he has subsequently come out to land a Group 2 next time out at Royal Ascot in the King Edward VII Stakes. He saw off Continuous by over three lengths but the team at Ballydoyle should have a good handle on just how good a run that was. He may well struggle on that basis to turn around the form with his Epsom conqueror in Auguste Rodin despite his obvious well-being.
King George VI and Queen Elizabeth QIPCO Stakes Betting Tips
This is a fascinating renewal of a fantastic race that pits the younger middle-distance runners against their rivals. I think that Ballydoyle have an excellent chance of adding to their haul of wins in this race and it would come as no surprise should Aiden O’Brien train the first three home here.
Three-year-olds only have won three of the last ten renewals of this race and whilst Auguste Rodin is a fantastic horse, he has had a hard couple of races this season. He could well be worth taking on with Luxembourg, who is a Group 1 winner in his own right and if put to sleep out the back, I can see him finishing with a real flourish.
1. Luxembourg e/w @ 14/1 with William Hill promo code
2. Auguste Rodin @ 3/1 with Betfred promo code
3. Point Lonsdale e/w @ 80/1 with Bet365 bonus code
All odds are accurate at the time of writing.
