Racing UK’s unbeatable King George guide
Saturday 21 July 2012
The King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes is the centrepiece of the English Flat racing season and this year’s line-up is surely about as good as it gets.
Although Camelot has not crashed the party at Ascot, last year’s champion returns to defend his crown today.
Nathaniel heads a dazzling array of talent from the Melbourne Cup winner Dunaden to the French and Japanese Derby winners Reliable Man and Deep Brillante. There is also another Classic victor in Masked Marvel, the St Leger winner, while St Nicholas Abbey has accumulated four Group One victories, the last of which was in the Coronation Cup at Epsom.
Add in to the mix Danedream, who won the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe in October by five lengths, Sea Moon, who was impressive in the Hardwicke Stakes and Brown Panther, who pushed Masked Marvel at Doncaster in September and it is easy to can see it is a high-class race.
Below Racinguk.com brings you a revealing two-part interview with William Buick, the 23-year-old rider who is to get the leg up on Nathaniel.
In the first part of the exclusive interview Nick Luck asks the rider about whether his meteoric rise has surprised him and how significant his relationship with John Gosden has been in shaping his success.
In the second part Luck concentrates on Buick’s string of victories this season and whether he can make a push for his maiden jockeys’ title. He also gets to the heart of why Clarehaven Stables has been so prolific during this campaign and whether The Fugue should have won the Oaks at Epsom.
If Nathaniel were to win the King George the prize-money would propel Gosden to within striking distance of Aidan O'Brien in the trainers' championship. Gosden trails the Irish handler by around £500,000 and although Gosden came second in 1997 he has underlined that he harbours no ambitions to winning his maiden title. To read the intervew click here:
Sea Moon is currently vying for favouritism for the King George and Teddy Grimthorpe has reported that Sir Michael Stoute’s charge has the required improvement to be a real danger as he tries to step up to his first Group One success. To read our interview and to watch our analysis with Rishi Persad and Steve Mellish click here:
Craig Williams, the Australian jockey, has flown halfway around the world in order to partner Dunaden in the Ascot showpiece. Williams has ridden the Melbourne Cup winner twice with two victories and believes a hat-trick is well within the pair’s compass. Williams reveals that the team behind the horse feel he has improved markedly and is a much more impressive physical specimen than when winning the race that stops a nation. To read the interview and watch our big-race analysis with Chris Dixon and Tom O’Ryan click here:
The Racinguk.com team have collated all the most important quotes from connections of the other runners in the Group One middle distance event. From Joseph O’Brien, who reports the going may be too soft for St Nicholas Abbey who has drifted markedly in the betting markets this week to the bullish racing manager of Deep Brillante , we’ve got all the bases covered. Click here for more:
And finally, if you want to have a bet, Tanya Stevenson has made her selections for the big race, as well as the rest of today's racing here:
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