More Questions Than Answers In King George

[Wandering Eyes]

Saturday’s G1 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth S. will only take its final shape hours beforehand, with the threat of thunderstorms around Ascot delaying the decision regarding one of its key protagonists. It is currently a race of outstanding questions. Will it rain hard enough for Cracksman (GB) (Frankel {GB}) to attempt to fulfil Sir Anthony Oppenheimer’s quest to win the contest that is so close to his heart? If it does, is Cracksman the colt he was on Champions Day?

Which of Sir Michael Stoute’s seemingly rock-solid duo Crystal Ocean (GB) (Sea the Stars {Ire}) and Poet’s Word (Ire) (Poet’s Voice {GB}) is best? What can Hydrangea (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) offer as compensation for Ballydoyle’s current malaise? Can Rostropovich (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) give an indication of how the 3-year-olds compare with their elders? All will be answered in due course from the cauldron within a heatwave.

Winning the prize as the coolest customer will be Stoute, whose ambitions for an outright record of six wins in this prestige event seemed limited at the beginning of the season. For all that Poet’s Word had proven himself a solid Group 1 performer, he had the small matter of a seven-length deficit to make up on Cracksman from the Champion S., while ‘TDN Rising Star’ Crystal Ocean looked to have a major leap to undertake to get near either that rival or fellow Gosden celebrity Enable (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}). As the filly went to the sidelines and Cracksman showed some cracks, Crystal Ocean kept performing. Without assuming the same manner of authority as one of Freemason Lodge’s best winners of this, Harbinger (GB) (Dansili {GB}), he has followed a similar Newbury-Ascot route. The opposition was far from vintage in either the May 19 G3 Aston Park S. or June 23 G2 Hardwicke S., but his progression has had a metronomic aspect to it.

Poet’s Word has already been to the peak, having crushed Cracksman fair and square in the June 20 G1 Prince of Wales’s S. if Stoute has an inkling as to how it will go, he is not letting anybody in. “The official handicapper has one pound between them and we don’t work them together at home,” he said. “They’re very easy and straightforward horses. There’s nothing complex about either colt. It is a very high-level race and is always competitive.”

As far as fillies are concerned, we are in an era like that when Dahlia and Pawneese captured three of the four renewals between 1973 and 1976. Hydrangea may be a surprise “substitute” with Saxon Warrior (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) now restricted to 10 furlongs or less and Kew Gardens (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) taken out late, but on her performance when upstaging Bateel (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) and Coronet (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) in the course-and-distance G1 Qipco British Champions Fillies & Mares S., she is right there with the Stoute duo. ‘TDN Rising Star’ Coronet has looked an improved runner this term, brushing aside the subsequent G2 Lancashire Oaks winner Horseplay (GB) (Cape Cross {Ire}) in the G2 Middleton S. at York May 17 with a nose second to Waldgeist (GB) (Galileo {Ire}) in the July 1 G1 Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud.

“She’s got a bit to find with Hardwicke winners and Prince of Wales’s S. winners, that’s for sure,” Coronet’s trainer John Gosden said. “They set the standard in the race and I’m sure the market will reflect that.”

Rostropovich has spent much of the season under the radar, but he has come the Cape Blanco route having taken in the G1 Prix du Jockey Club and G1 Irish Derby. Runner-up in the latter at The Curragh June 30, he is here on merit according to Aidan O’Brien. “He’s a solid horse,” he commented. “He had a very good run in the Irish Derby, gets a mile and a half, handles quick ground and seems to be in good form since The Curragh. I think he has improved since stepping up in trip.”

Royal Opportunity…

Ascot’s card also plays host to the exciting Royal Intervention (Ire) (Exceed and Excel {Aus}) in the G3 Princess Margaret Keeneland S., with Lord Lloyd Webber and William Farish’s impressive Listed Empress S. scorer taking on the G2 Duchess of Cambridge S. runner-up Angel’s Hideaway (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}) and Highclere Thoroughbred Racing’s promising Newbury novice stakes winner Scintilating (GB) (Siyouni {Fr}). Royal Intervention’s trainer Ed Walker is relishing the biggest moment of his training career so far. “She won very well in the Empress S. at Newmarket and this was the obvious next stepping stone,” he commented. “Given the look of the entries, the race has cut up a bit and we’d be very hopeful that she can successfully make the step up in grade. Obviously, it’s warmer than the Empress was, but she’s in great form and is growing up and improving all the time.”

Away from Berkshire, ‘TDN Rising Star’ Elarqam (GB) (Frankel {GB}) returns for the first time since flopping when favourite for the G1 Irish 2000 Guineas in the G2 Sky Bet York S. Shadwell’s son of Attraction (GB) (Efisio {GB}) failed to build on his fourth in the May 5 G1 2000 Guineas when sixth in the Curragh equivalent, but he had excuses for that effort. “After he disappointed in Ireland, he was thoroughly checked over. He was found to have a respiratory problem–a dirty scope–which was treated and has cleared up,” commented Richard Hills, assistant racing manager to Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum. “He has been freshened up and this looks a good spot for him. His Guineas run was very good and hopefully he can get back on track. If all goes to plan on Saturday, we would look at the Juddmonte International and other big autumn targets.” He will be tested by the G1 Eclipse S. disappointment Forest Ranger (Ire) (Lawman {Fr}) as the G2 Huxley S. winner also bids to get back on track. “He needs to bounce back,” trainer Richard Fahey said of the 4-year-old, who was last of seven at Sandown three weeks ago. “You’d have to say he was probably not good enough in the Eclipse, but he was disappointing as well. He probably ran a bit below-par, but he just wasn’t good enough.”

Plenty of Promise in Six Perfections…

Deauville’s month-long meeting opens on Saturday, with the G3 Prix Six Perfections hosting Al Shaqab’s unbeaten ‘TDN Rising Star’ Spirit of Brittany (Fr) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) from the Jean-Claude Rouget stable. She encounters some promising types, including Team Valor International’s recent acquisition Devant (Fr) (Showcasing {GB}) and the British raiders Beyond Reason (Ire) (Australia {GB}) and Impulsion (Ire) (Footstepsinthesand {GB}).

In the G3 Prix de Psyche, Ecurie De Montlahuc’s G1 Prix de Diane third Homerique (Exchange Rate) sets the standard but there is an unexposed Wertheimer-Fabre project in Impertinente (Ire) (Redoute’s Choice {Aus}) looming.

 

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