Roger Varian is confident King Of Steel is at the top of his game ahead of his bid to provide Frankie Dettori with what could be a farewell winner in Britain in Saturday’s Qipco Champion Stakes at Ascot.
Narrowly denied Derby glory by Auguste Rodin at Epsom, the Wootton Bassett colt enjoyed his day in the sun when dominating the King Edward VII Stakes at Royal Ascot before running well in defeat in both the King George and the Irish Champion Stakes.
With owners Amo Racing no longer retaining Kevin Stott, Dettori has been called up for what is scheduled to be the Italian’s final mount in Europe on British Champions Day – and Varian believes his star three-year-old is in prime condition as he looks to give his rider the perfect send-off on UK soil.
“Regardless of whether Frankie is signing off or not, I think he’ll suit the horse, and I think the race will suit him too,” said the trainer.
“He (Dettori) came and rode him and he was happy with him. It won’t be an easy race, but both horse and jockey go there in good form. I wouldn’t swap him.
“He’s been training great and he looks terrific. They tell you when they are right, and he’s telling us right now.
“The Breeders’ Cup isn’t completely off the table, but the Champion Stakes at Ascot comes first of course and that’s where our focus lies.”
King Of Steel is one of 11 horses in contention for the Champion Stakes following the confirmation stage, with Horizon Dore, Mostahdaf and last year’s winner Bay Bridge other major players.
Cirrus Des Aigles (2011), Almanzor (2016) and Sealiway (2021) are among the recent French-trained winners of the Champions Day highlight – and having extended his winning streak to four in the Prix Dollar, Patrice Cottier’s Horizon Dore bids to add his name to the roll of honour.
Mostahdaf demonstrated his top-level capabilities by winning the Prince of Wales’s Stakes at Royal Ascot and the Juddmonte International at York during the summer, but connections will be concerned about the prospect of significant rain later in the week for a horse who prefers fast ground.
John Gosden, who trains Mostahdaf in partnership with his son Thady, warned late last week: “Mostahdaf has won on soft, but we’ll have to see what the weather brings through the week. He ran in bottomless ground in the Arc last year and hated it, but if you get him on better ground he’s got a great turn of foot.”
The Clarehaven team have also confirmed Nashwa, although she also has the option of running in the preceding Queen Elizabeth II Stakes.
Gosden added: “Nashwa ran a huge race when third in the Irish Champion Stakes, where she was flying at the finish. She’s in great order, but a decision probably won’t be made about which race she runs in until later in the week, probably Wednesday as I don’t like leaving it until Thursday morning.”
Bay Bridge will step back in distance after finishing sixth in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, while William Haggas has left in both last year’s third My Prospero and the globetrotting Dubai Honour.
Via Sistina (George Boughey), Royal Rhyme (Karl Burke) and Aidan O’Brien’s pair of Point Lonsdale and Paddington are the other acceptors, although the latter is widely expected to line up in the preceding QEII over a mile.
Paddington has been one of the stars of the season for Ballydoyle, winning the Irish 2,000 Guineas, the St James’s Palace Stakes, the Coral-Eclipse and the Sussex Stakes before meeting with defeat for the first time this year when third behind Mostahdaf on the Knavesmire in August.
Among 13 possible rivals this weekend are Dermot Weld’s Irish Guineas, Coronation Stakes and Matron Stakes heroine Tahiyra, Nashwa, her stablemate Inspiral, 2000 Guineas winner Chaldean and the supplemented Angel Bleu.
The afternoon gets under way with the Qipco British Champions Long Distance Cup, which is set to stage a mouthwatering clash between Trueshan and Kyprios.
Alan King’s Trueshan has bounced back from an underwhelming start to his campaign by winning the Doncaster Cup and the Prix du Cadran in the autumn and he now gets the opportunity to land this Group Two prize for the fourth year in succession.
Kyprios won the Gold Cup, the Goodwood Cup and the Irish St Leger in 2022 before registering a remarkable 20-length verdict in the Cadran. He was beaten on his return from nearly a year on the sidelines in the Irish Leger last month, but can be expected to take a significant step forward.
Coltrane is also among 10 hopefuls, but Gold Cup hero Courage Mon Ami is a notable absentee.
Kinross (Ralph Beckett) and Shaquille (Julie Camacho) are two of 18 speedsters to stand their ground for the Qipco British Champions Sprint.
There are also 18 horses in contention for the Qipco British Champions Fillies And Mares Stakes including Free Wind (Gosdens), Time Lock (Harry and Roger Charlton), Sea Silk Road (Haggas) and the doubly engaged Via Sistina. Henry de Bromhead has supplemented Group Three winner Term Of Endearment.
The Balmoral Handicap is the concluding race and Lincoln winner Migration, trained by David Menuisier, is at the head of the weights after 32 horses were confirmed.
Ghostwriter gallop sparking Cox’s Classic dream
Clive Cox has been buoyed by a racecourse gallop ahead of Ghostwriter’s Qipco 2000 Guineas bid, confident his smart Newmarket form can prove a positive in the opening Classic of the season.
The son of Invincible Spirit was unbeaten throughout his two-year-old season and finished 2023 with a statement victory on the Rowley Mile in the Royal Lodge Stakes.
With that experience under the colt’s belt, Cox was happy to forego an early-season trial in favour of a pipe-opener at Kempton, with Ghostwriter – a general 14-1 shot to claim the scalp of Aidan O’Brien’s odds-on favourite City Of Troy on May 4 – reported to have thrived over the winter.
“I’m very happy with Ghostwriter and he has his Newmarket course form,” explained Cox.
“I’m very pleased he has done exceptionally well over the winter and we will be going there with a racecourse gallop under his belt. He’s done very well and that is why he hasn’t run in a trial.
“He’s been to Kempton and he’s a very athletic, clean-winded horse who has done well over the winter and we think that will have benefitted him far more than racing on testing ground, with his previous experience at Newmarket hopefully holding him in good stead.”
Another star juvenile for the Beechdown Stables team last season was the Kennet Valley-owned Dragon Leader, who suffered defeat just the once in five starts in 2023 as he proved a real money-spinner for connections.
Big victories at York and Redcar sandwiched a near miss in a valuable Doncaster event and Cox is eyeing stepping the son of El Kabeir up in trip this term when ground conditions allow him to return to action.
“He was a very productive runner last year earning over £300,000 in prize-money,” continued Cox.
“I’m pleased to say he’s wintered well, but he’s definitely better with a dry surface and we wouldn’t be making any concrete plans at the minute. When the ground gets a little bit quicker you will see him.
“Last year he was looking like seven furlongs would help him and I would be very hopeful he will get a mile. We kept him at six last year simply because he was so well qualified for those races. Six and a half was no problem for him at Doncaster though in the Weatherbys race.”
‘Mixed emotions’ for connections of Surrey Quest after epic Scottish National
Connections of Surrey Quest may have suffered agony at Ayr in the Coral Scottish Grand National, but could have bigger and better days on the horizon, with next year’s Grand National now entering calculations.
After four miles of action, Toby Lawes’ progressive seven-year-old was left to fight out a thrilling finish to the Ayr feature with Willie Mullins’ Macdermott, with the trainers’ title-chasing Irishman’s runner coming out on top after not only a titanic battle to the line but an excruciating wait while the judge deliberated over the result.
A standard-bearer over jumps for the Surrey Racing syndicate, Surrey Quest’s owners headed to Ayr full of confidence in their Kevin Brogan-ridden 20-1 shot after some promising results this season.
And despite being left with “mixed emotions” following the nose reversal at the hands of the Danny Mullins-ridden winner, they can take comfort that their charge has continued on the upward curve that has already seen him strike twice in his four starts this term.
“We’ve got mixed emotions and we thought the horse was in absolute brilliant shape heading up there,” said Clive Clive Hadingham, co-founder of Surrey Racing with Steve Grubb.
“Statistically we might have needed the run, but other than that everything went to plan and Toby was very meticulous in his preparations. He came here in great shape and everything went to plan, we just lost out on the nod.
“Winning is everything in this business and coming second, not matter how close, it feels like we came nowhere. We’d have been happy with a top-seven finish to be honest so we have to be proud. Kevin and Toby have done a fantastic job with this horse.
“We know he is a good horse and we wouldn’t have come up here if we didn’t think we had a chance. Surrey Racing as a company doesn’t go to races we don’t think we have a chance in and we’re just so proud of the run – we honestly thought at the line we had done it.
“Willie Mullins has so much ammunition and it’s just unfortunate we have come up against one of his and I guess the funny thing is if he wasn’t going for the championship he might not have been here today.”
Surrey Quest holds an entry for the bet365 Gold Cup at Sandown on the final day of the jumps season, but his exertions north of the border make it unlikely he will try to replicate what Kitty’s Light’s achieved 12 months ago and make a rapid reappearance.
Instead sights are fully turned to Liverpool and the famous Grand National fences where Surrey Quest could take in December’s Becher Chase ahead a crack at the big one itself in 12 months’ time.
Hadingham continued: “It’s just mixed emotions, we’re so proud of him and we’ve had a super time up here in Ayr. I guess now we know we’re going to go on to bigger and better things with him.
“We might have a look at the Grand National now and we might look at coming back to Ayr again. He’s such an economical jumper that now the National has changed a bit and the fences are slightly lower, that is something we can look at.
“There’s so many big races next year he can go for and the Becher is one we will look at and we’ll take it from there.”
Arrest expected to make his mark as a four-year-old
Kieran Shoemark is relishing stepping into the boots of Frankie Dettori aboard Arrest, as the St Leger runner-up makes his return in the Dubai Duty Free Finest Surprise Stakes at Newbury.
Arrest played a key role in Dettori’s UK swansong last season and was a beaten favourite for the Italian’s final Derby ride at Epsom, before just failing to send the 53-year-old off in a blaze of Classic glory when second to Continuous at Doncaster in September.
Shoemark was three places behind Arrest with Gregory on Town Moor, but having taken the reins aboard many of John and Thady Gosden’s star Clarehaven inmates since the relocation of Dettori to California, he will get the leg-up aboard Arrest for the first time on Saturday afternoon.
The 28-year-old hopes the soft-ground loving colt can build on his positive finish to last season and feels there is plenty of improvement to be seen during his four-year-old campaign.
“He’s obviously a big horse and hopefully he’s going to improve with age,” said Shoemark.
“Hopefully the ground is not going to dry out too much at Newbury and we know he wants soft ground.
“His run in the Leger was brilliant – the ground went against me on Gregory, but he enjoyed it. He’s a proper mile-and-a-half horse, not short of speed by all means, and the softer the better for him.
“He’s a big, strapping horse and I honestly believe he will get better with age. He’s entitled to, so there will be plenty to look forward to for the year ahead.”
As well as winning the Chester Vase, Arrest’s other victory last term came at Newbury in the Geoffrey Freer Stakes and joint-trainer Thady Gosden is confident the race more commonly known as the John Porter is the ideal spot to kick-start the son of Frankel’s season.
“He’s a very talented horse, he ran great last year and was second in a Classic,” he said.
“He’s developed very well over the winter and is a horse of great size and quality and he’s really filled into his frame and has been really pleasing leading into this race.
“He doesn’t mind getting his toe in at all and the track and trip should suit.”
Arrest will be in receipt of 3lb from William Haggas’ Hamish, who went through 2023 unbeaten, winning on four occasions, all at Group Three level.
Hamish is one of two in the race for the Somerville Lodge handler alongside Mujtaba, but main hopes lie with the stable stalwart, who is owned by the trainer’s father, Brian, and got the better of Karl Burke’s Al Qareem on his final start of last year in the rearranged St Simon Stakes.
The Spigot Lodge-trained five-year-old is another slated to concede weight to Arrest and his trainer is excited to get Al Qareem back on track.
Burke said: “I’m looking forward to seeing him run and he’s been ready to run for the last month.
“He’s working well, a mile and a half is his minimum trip, but on this ground I’m happy to start him off there.
“He’ll step up and be a good one-mile-six and two-mile horse later in the year. It’ll be a tough race, but I think he’ll run really well.
“We were lucky to keep him and he got travel sickness coming back (from Dubai). He’s hard work at home, Danielle Mooney rides him every day and he pulls her arms out every day, but he’s a lovely horse to have.”
Simon and Ed Crisford’s Chesspiece was behind Arrest when sixth in the Leger before finishing off his season with a silver medal in the Listed Noel Murless Stakes at Ascot.
He makes his first start after being gelded in the royal blue of Godolphin, while Andrew Balding’s Alsakib steps out of handicap company after finishing last year on a real high on home soil.
Max Vega won this in 2022 and having finished third last season, returns for a third crack, while trainer Ralph Beckett is also represented by Salt Bay.
Last year’s Irish Derby fourth Peking Opera makes his first Flat outing for Gary Moore, having been seen juvenile hurdling this winter, with Jack Channon’s Certain Lad completing the line-up.
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