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KING GEORGE VI & QUEEN ELIZABETH QIPCO STAKES, Gr.1

By Major Srinivas Nargolkar (Retd.) | 23 Jul 2021 |


The Race
This race honours the parents of Queen Elizabeth II, the ruling monarch. In 1950, Britain lacked a top race which brought the Classic crop and the older generations together over the traditional distance of a mile and a half. Ascot had two races; one, the King George VI Stakes run in October for 3yo’s over two miles and other the Queen Elizabeth Stakes over a mile and a half run in July. These two races were combined and the first King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes was run in 1951. It was won by Supreme Court. Supreme Court was bred by Mr. T. Lilley but when he failed to meet his modest reserve at the Sale, the breeder gifted him to his wife, Mrs. Vera Lilley. The colt had no Classic engagements but had a splendid record as a three year-old, winning the White Lodge Stakes, the Chester Vase, the King Edward VII and then the big 'un at Ascot in which he scalped a host of good horses like Arctic Prince, Tantieme, Aquino, Scratch II, Belle of All and others. The next two renewals were won by Derby heroes Aga Khan's Tulyar and Sir Victor Sassoon's Pinza, and the race was firmly established. 

Trends
So far, fourteen Derby winners have gone on to annex the King George. Restricting ourselves to the last twenty years, only Galileo has done so this century. It must be mentioned that just three Derby winners have turned up at Ascot since Galileo. Four year-olds have won the race a dozen times as against the five three year-olds. Galileo quelled the challenge of eleven rivals but Enable had to contend with just two last year. On an average, eight runners have gone to the post. Favourites have done well, winning eleven times. Three fillies have triumphed  and of them, Enable, won thrice to establish an all time record. The race has been dominated by the wards of trainers John Gosden (5), Sir Michael Stoute (4) and Aidan O'Brien (4). Sir Michael, who has no runner this year, won the race with only four year-olds. Johnny Murtagh  and Frankie Dettori have each ridden four winners this millennium. Overall, Dettori has seven to his credit and is tied with Lester Piggott. He could edge ahead this year.

By and large, most of the King George winners have gone into the race with a Gr.1 victory over a mile and a half under their girths while there are some who had a Gr.1 win but not over the distance and others a distance victory but were not Gr.1 winners. A race at Royal Ascot has been the preferred lead-up for English and Irish-trained horses while those coming from France have used the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud as a stepping stone. A win in the previous start is not a pointer because exactly half of them had it and the other half did not. Trends highlight how things have panned out in the past but do not foretell a winner.  Most of the winners had had a race 20 to 40 days prior to the King George. However, Sir Michael Stoute produced Golan after 244 days to win in 2002 ! It is the horse on the day that is most important.

The Race This Year
Though there are just six runners, it is a very competitive race for it includes five Gr.1 winners of whom three -- Mishriff, Love and Adayar  -- have won Classics. Five have a win over a mile and a half with Wonderful Tonight being a course and distance winner. Lone Eagle (Galileo - Modernstone) is neither a Classic winner nor a distance winner on paper but he was beaten just a neck in the Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby, Gr.1 on his last start.      

Though the four year-olds have been dominant over the last two decades, none has won in the last four years. The four year-old filly Love (Galileo - Pikaboo by Pivotal) heads the ante-post market and she certainly has the credentials to do so. She was unbeaten in three starts last year winning the Qipco One Thousand Guineas, Gr.1 by four and a quarter lengths, the Investec Epsom Oaks, Gr.1 by nine lengths and the Darley Yorkshire Oaks, Gr.1 by five lengths. Last month, running after a gap of 309 days, she lifted the Prince of Wales's Stakes, Gr.1, beating the Maker's Mark Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf, Gr.1 winner Audarya in a fighting finish. That run will surely bring her on. Her own form is boosted by Ballydoyle's purple streak. On each of the three Saturdays so far this July, Aidan O'Brien has sent out a Gr.1 winner. Ryan Moore, who has ridden her in her last seven starts, will again be on board. Love is bred a bit like Frankel; she is by Galileo -- now sadly no more -- has Danehill in the bottom of the pedigree and traces to Samovar though through a slightly different branch. On Sunday, she was available at 5/2 when 20 runners still held the ground. The odds dropped to 5/4 on Monday evening. 

Love will come from Ballydoyle accompanied by Broome (Australia - Sweepstake), Japan (Galileo - Shastye) the winner of Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud, Gr.1 on his last start. He has been at his best as a five year-old, winning thrice and placing second an equal number of times in his six starts. He is the oldest horse running and will run his own race but he lacks the star quality of Love.

The challenge from the Classic crop will be led by Godolphin's Cazoo Epsom Derby, Gr.1 winner Adayar (Frankel - Anna Salai by Dubawi). He has not raced since the Derby. The two two subsequent winners to emerge from that race are Hurricane Lane and the unplaced favourite Bolshoi Ballet. His stablemate Hurricane Lane, who was almost eight lengths behind him in third at Epsom, has since picked up the Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby, Gr.1 in a close finish and followed it up with a romp in the Grand Prix de Paris, Gr.1. Bolshoi Ballet crossed the pond and won the Belmont Derby Invitational Stakes, Gr.1. On the other hand, Mojo Star, the Epsom runner-up and the fourth placed Mac Swiney were not on board at the Curragh. Mojo Star did not get a clear run and Mac Swiney is probably better at a bit shorter and prefers a cut in the ground. Six remaining runners have failed to come in 1-2 in their starts since Epsom. Do the Gr.1 performances of Hurricane Lane and Bolshoi Ballet add gloss to the Derby form or do they suggest that the duo was off colour on that day ?  It is well to remember that it was Hurricane Lane who commanded the stable's confidence at Epsom. Also, the last four Derby winners have won precisely one race between them after their Epsom triumph.  Adayar will have to run to his rating to confirm the Derby form. Both Adayar and Hurricane Lane are sons of Frankel; the latter, though, has a much better dam line being from the same family as Harzand. Adayar's current odds of 5/2 are way too short especially as there are other older horses in addition to Love who have their own claims. 

Lone Eagle, who did not run at Epsom, had earlier finished about four lengths behind Adayar in the bet365 Classic Trial, Gr.3 at Sandown. However, his Curragh run and Hurricane Lane's subsequent win at Longchamp in the Grand Prix de Paris, Gr.1 are more recent pointers and significantly, Dettori, who almost won the Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby, Gr.1 on him, continues the association. He is from Juddmonte's Mofida family which has produced high class runners like Elmamul, Reams of Verse and Midday. At the Curragh, he had a forward pitch most of the way and Detttori  sent him on well before they turned into the straight. The jockey's tactics in this contest will be watched with interest. 

The other four year-olds are Mishriff (Make Believe - Contradict) and Wonderful Tonight (Le Havre - Salvation).  Mishriff won the Prix du Jockey Club, Gr.1 at Chantilly last year and a Gr.2 race at Deaville. Early this year, he won the Saudi Cup, Gr.1 at Riyadh and the Longines Sheema Classic, Gr.1 at Dubai. Recently, he was well beaten by St. Mark's Basilica in the Coral-Eclipse Stakes, Gr.1 at Sandown. That may well have been a preparatory run but the fact is that he is yet to win a Group race in England. He is trained by John and Thady Gosden and Papa Gosden has won this race five times in the last decade so knows exactly what is required. Mishriff did win over a mile and a half in Dubai but this is a far sterner test for a horse who is probably best at a bit shorter.He will be ridden by David Egan who piloted him in his Gr.1 double in the Middle East. 

The filly Wonderful Tonight is seeking a course and distance hat-trick. She was bred in France, is trained by a Frenchman in England and has raced more in France than in England. Her two wins in England have come at Ascot so she obviously loves the Berkshire course. Last month, she won the Hardwicke Stakes, Gr.2 beating Broome comfortably. She is a game  and consistent filly who has missed the board only once in her nine career starts. She was ridden in her last two wins by William Buick who will be on Adayar so Oisin Murphy has been booked. It will be Murphy's first ride on the filly. 

Some rain has been forecast for Saturday and it could affect the going. While the colts are versatile and have won on a variety of surfaces, the two fillies have contrasting likings. Love has never won on a ground with a give in it while Wonderful Tonight is yet to win on good going. 

A Tribute to Galileo
Galileo won this race exactly twenty years ago. Since then, he has produced two winners -- Nathaniel and Highland Reel -- who have emulated him. His son Nathaniel sired Enable who set a record by scoring thrice. His impact on racing as a sire has been nothing short of sensational. In this race itself, four of the six runners have Galileo in their pedigrees. If one of them were to win, it would be a timely, posthumous homage to that  great patriarch. 

PAST THE POST
The 1975 renewal of this race, won by Grundy after an epic battle with Bustino, is often called the "The Race of the Century". Grundy (Great Nephew - Word From Lundy by Worden II) is one of the most underrated horses considering his imposing record. He was born at Overbury Stud at Tewkesbury in Gloucestershire and was purchased by the Italian Dr. Carlo Vittadini for 11,000 Gns. at the Sale through the agent Keith Freeman. Trained by Peter Walwyn, he was unbeaten at 2, his four wins including the Champagne Stakes, Gr.2 at Doncaster and the Dewhurst Stakes, Gr.1 -- by six lengths from Steel Heart -- at Newmarket. 

As he was being readied for his 3yo campaign, Grundy was kicked in the face by a stablemate in Walwyn's Seven Barrows yard at Lambourn. He was not quite fit when he ran in the Greenham at Newbury and next time out was second to Bolkonski in the Two Thousand Guineas. He then reeled off a hat-trick of Irish 2000 Guineas, Gr.1, Epsom Derby, Gr.1 and Irish Sweeps Derby, Gr.1. At Ascot, he faced a formidable field which included the great Dahlia -- winner of the race two years running previously -- Arc winner Star Appeal, Dibbidale (Irish Oaks) and Lady Beaverbrook's Bustino (St. Leger). Grundy was the favourite with Bustino, trained by Maj. Dick Hern, his closest rival in the betting.

To get better of the favourite, the Hern stable employed two pacemakers. They did their job, in turns, perfectly for two thirds of the way when Joe Mercer sent Bustino on and he entered the straight about two lengths in front. Pat Eddery on Grundy was not idle and had moved into the slipstream. Under Eddery's hard driving, Grundy slowly inched up and a great duel unfolded over the last two furlongs. First one, then the other held a narrow advantage but the younger horse was clearly in front at the post. They returned, utterly exhausted, to the unsaddling enclosure amidst a thundering ovation. Bustino never raced again while Grundy ran lifelessly in his only start thereafter before he was retired. Fittingly, Saturday's card at Ascot starts with Pat Eddery Stakes, L.

Four years later, a similar tactical ploy of two pacemakers was employed by the connections of Own Opinion in the Invitation Cup at Mahalakshmi. The other lesson from the race was Mercer's putting away the whip on Bustino in the closing stages of the set-to. He was later to say that the horse giving more than his all and a whip would have only made him sulk. Next time we blame a jockey for not whipping a horse, we should remember Mercer's words.

You can view the epic race between Grundy and Bustino here