King George tips: why this horse can win the big Group 1 at Ascot - including five picks for one contender
The King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes (3.40) is shaping up to be one of the races of the season with a high-class field of 11 taking their chance in Saturday's Group 1. Here, our experts give their views on who will come out on top . . .
3.40 Ascot, Saturday: King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Qipco Stakes racecard and betting
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Hukum
Forecast odds: 7-2
By Ron Wood
What a race this is – even in the absence of Desert Crown – and Hukum is my fancy, just preferred to Auguste Rodin and King Of Steel. One of Hukum's best runs came over the King George course and distance on soft ground, and he may get through the conditions better than the two three-year-olds. He was as good as ever in winning on his comeback at Sandown.
By Charlie Huggins
Enable and Adayar are the only three-year-old winners of the King George in the last eight years, with Emily Upjohn and Westover the latest of the Classic generation to disappoint in last season’s race. Preference, therefore, is for dual course-and-distance winner Hukum, who demonstrated an impressive turn of foot when defying a 356-day layoff to beat Desert Crown over an inadequate trip in the Brigadier Gerard. The last time Hukum encountered soft ground over this track and trip he won a Group 3 by six and a half lengths so conditions should suit. Hukum also comfortably beat the subsequent winner of this race, Pyledriver, in last year’s Coronation Cup and should confirm the form on their first clash since.
Emily Upjohn
Forecast odds: 5-1
By Joe Eccles
Emily Upjohn pulled far too hard in this race last year and didn't get home, but she looks a totally different proposition now and can right last year's wrongs under Frankie Dettori. John and Thady Gosden's filly ran an excellent prep for this in the Coral-Eclipse three weeks ago, when getting to within a half-length of star three-year-old Paddington despite giving the colt a hefty 7lb weight allowance. Back over a more suitable trip and on ground that will provide no cause for concern, she looks the one to be with.
By Jack Haynes
Given Auguste Rodin's display at the Curragh, it would not be surprising if King Of Steel reverses the Derby form, but preference is for Emily Upjohn. She beat a subsequent Group 1 winner in Westover in the Coronation Cup and ran perfectly well over 1m2f when second in the Eclipse. She has more to offer back over this trip and can provide Frankie Dettori with a record eighth and final victory in the race.
By Conor Fennelly
Emily Upjohn should be closer to the head of the betting given she has looked in tremendous heart in her two starts this season. The turn of foot she showed in the Coronation Cup at Epsom was extraordinary and she was just held by an incredibly resolute and talented Paddington in the Eclipse since. She came alive at Ascot last October and her tendency to be quite free might well be alleviated by the large field this weekend. She is a massive player.
By Keith Melrose
This filly was the best older 1m4f horse in Europe after the Coronation Cup. Come on, we all thought it. And did that really change when she finished a narrow second to Paddington in the Eclipse? She gave a dual Guineas winner a start in a race that put speed at a premium. Emily Upjohn is a Group 1 winner over this course and distance already. She deserves to be up with the favourites for this, rather than on their shoulders.
By David Jennings
Emily Upjohn is a far more manageable filly now than she was this time last year and it could turn out that trying to give Paddington 7lb over his best trip and not hers was an impossible task. The presence of a pair of Ballydoyle pacemakers will ensure a brisk tempo from the outset and that is exactly what she needs to get into her rhythm. The make-up of this race makes way more sense than the Eclipse ever did for Emily Upjohn and I think she will win. In fact, I cannot believe she is 11-2.
Auguste Rodin
Forecast odds: 11-4
By Graeme Rodway
Auguste Rodin did well to come from further back than King Of Steel and win the Derby at Epsom in a race where they finished fast. He wasn't at his best in the Irish Derby last time, but still did the business and his last three wins have all been achieved after he looked in trouble at one stage or another. He isn't flashy, but gets the job done and probably does only what is needed to win.
Pyledriver
Forecast odds: 13-2
By Liam Headd
I’m siding with last year's winner Pyledriver, with connections having had this race in mind for some time. The Hardwicke Stakes at Royal Ascot was classed as a prep run for this, but he delivered a career-best effort on Racing Post Ratings after 336 days away from the track. He’ll improve for the run again and the going change should not be a concern given he’s won on ground with a bit of give in it before. His record at Ascot also speaks volumes, having won three of his four starts, and he should run another big race.
Westover
Forecast odds: 16-1
By Paul Kealy
This is a wide-open race for the very simple reason that there is very little between many on their best form and they include Westover. He was 13-8 favourite for this last year, but set off like a bat of hell and was never going to last home. However, he went off at that price for a reason, and his form this season suggests he's as good if not better than he was then, and he's more tractable, too. Seconds in good Group 1s at Meydan (ahead of subsequent Price of Wales's Stakes winner Mostahdaf) and Epsom (outsped by Emily Upjohn off a steady gallop), have been followed by a straightforward Group 1 win in France, so he heads here in top form. This is likely to be a test, and Westover stays really well, while an outside draw may prove an advantage when the inside-drawn Ballydoyle pacesetters fall back through the field.
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