'Exceptional' King Of Steel likely to drop down in trip as Roger Varian looks forward to next season

Roger Varian will look after King George third King Of Steel for the rest of this season as he believes the son of Wootton Bassett "could be exceptional next year".

Varian was delighted with the Amo Racing colt's third behind Hukum in Saturday's race of the season at Ascot and while a plan for the rest of the campaign has yet to be decided, with Varian keen to let the colt tell him when he is ready to run again after three races in two months, he suspects his next start will be over shorter.

"He looks a genuine Group 1 performer and we're taking a lot of encouragement from the run," said Varian. "It's too early to say where he'll run next, but I think it's likely it will be over a mile and a quarter. We'll run him when he's ready to run again and I think he'll keep getting better. We have to mind him a little bit this year because I think he could be exceptional next year as a four-year-old when he's that little bit stronger.