John Ingles provides the Timeform view on a small but select field for the King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Stakes.
So, after healthier field sizes of nine last year and ten in 2023, we’re back to a handful of runners for this year’s King George. None of the three-year-olds who were engaged earlier in the week has stood their ground, though the five aged four or older who remain are all Group 1 winners.
There’s no lack of interest, either, with the main question being how the rematch between the first two from the Coronation Cup will turn out on this very different track. At Epsom, there was just half a length between Jan Brueghel and Calandagan, with the high-class pair finishing clear of the rest at the end of a truly-run race.
That result shows there’s little between the two four-year-olds, with Aidan O’Brien’s colt just a pound ahead of Francis-Henri Graffard’s gelding on Timeform weight-adjusted ratings here, the pair on 133 and 132 respectively. At the time of writing, most bookmakers were finding them impossible to split at the head of the betting.
It won’t take much to see a different result from Epsom, therefore, and Calandagan may well be able to turn the tables on this more conventional track where he won so impressively at Royal Ascot last year. But after running away with the King Edward VII Stakes by six lengths, Calandagan was kept waiting the best part of a year to register his first Group 1 success.
Back at a mile and a quarter, he was left with a bit to do when running on for second to City of Troy in the Juddmonte International and then met traffic problems behind Anmaat in the Champion Stakes, while he wasn’t seen to best effect again when reappearing this year behind Japan’s Danon Decile in the Dubai Sheema Classic.
Some questioned Calandagan’s will to win when the gutsy Jan Brueghel consigned him to another runner-up finish at Epsom, but there was nothing wrong with his finishing effort last time when belatedly opening his Group 1 account in the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud.
Hold-up performer Calandagan, who travels well in his races, has a new rider in Mickael Barzalona this season and the new partnership now looks to have clicked judging from Calandagan’s performance at Saint-Cloud where he saw off the challenge of last year’s Arc runner-up Aventure to stretch three and a half lengths clear in the final furlong.
As he showed at Epsom, though, Jan Brueghel, who races prominently, is unlikely to go down without a fight. Indeed, it’s a bit of a surprise that the Ballydoyle team see the need for headgear for Jan Brueghel who will be wearing cheekpieces for the first time. Last year’s St Leger winner has only been beaten once in six starts, and while he did look awkward when beaten on his reappearance at the Curragh, the inadequate trip and lack of a recent outing were valid excuses.
One thing Jan Brueghel does need is a truly-run race, which is where stablemate Continuous (119) comes in. His own St Leger victory is rather a dim memory now as he’s employed in pacemaking roles these days, undertaking that task when fourth in the Coronation Cup and more recently when last in the Prince of Wales’s Stakes.
The biggest threat to the first two is Godolphin’s admirable gelding Rebel’s Romance (130), though no seven-year-old has ever won the race. He has gained Group 2 victories in the Yorkshire Cup and Hardwicke Stakes on his last couple of starts, taking his career record to 18 wins from 26 starts for earnings of more than £10m. Among his overseas successes are two wins in the Breeders’ Cup Turf, while his only defeat in Britain to date came in last year’s King George when third behind Goliath and Bluestocking.
While Rebel’s Romance fared best of those who raced close to an unrelenting pace in last year’s race, his close-up style of running could prove an advantage in this year’s smaller field as, along with Jan Brueghel, he should be well placed to pounce once Continuous has served his purpose. However, he did finish a couple of places behind Calandagan in Dubai earlier in the year.
Kalpana completes the field for Andrew Balding, and while she gets a 3 lb allowance from the others, a weight-adjusted rating of 127 still gives her something to find with her three main rivals. She capped a fine three-year-old campaign when winning the Fillies’ & Mares’ Stakes over course and distance last October and has looked in need of a return to this trip in her two starts at the Curragh this year, finishing placed in the Tattersalls Gold Cup and Pretty Polly Stakes. She’s another strong traveller, likely to be ridden in touch.
Summing up, Calandagan is taken to get the better of Jan Brueghel this time, back on a track that clearly suits him, while Rebel’s Romance shouldn’t be far away either in a clash between three high-class performers.
King George Horse-by-Horse Guide
King George: 5 Key Questions
Simon Holt: Thank goodness for the geldings
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