Watch: American Affair lands King George Stakes thriller

Scottish speedball American Affair bounced back to form to claim top honours in the King George Qatar Stakes at Goodwood.

Jim Goldie’s stable star won the King Charles III Stakes at Royal Ascot last summer, but missed the remainder of the 2025 season through injury.

A second place finish behind the reopposing Night Raider in Haydock’s Temple Stakes in May suggested he retained a good level of his ability, but having trailed home last of all when defending his Ascot title and since come up short in a Listed race at York, he was a 12-1 shot for his latest Group Two assignment.

Always up with the pace in the group that raced closest to the stands rail, American Affair finished off strongly in the hands of his regular partner Paul Mulrennan to get up and beat Rumstar and Time For Sandals down the middle of the track, with Australian raider Asfoora running her best race for a while in fourth.

Goldie senior stayed closer to home, but his son, George, said: “My dad is at Musselburgh, we couldn’t both come here, but I think he’ll be sorry to have missed out!

“My daughter rides him every day, he’s a lovely-natured horse and he’s obviously very talented.

“We had faith he’d be back to this level, we’ve been happy with him at home but things were interrupted by the injury he had at the back-end of last year.

“This year it has been a case of building him back up to his best, he showed a glimmer at Haydock three runs ago, but Ascot was a bit of a disaster – he just pulled too hard.

“He ran well at York when he was drawn badly, so we were coming here very hopeful. He’s been getting back into that flow of racing properly and finishing his race off.

“We were hoping today was going to suit him better, we were coming here very hopeful.”

On future plans, he added: “The plan is to go for the Nunthorpe now, then maybe the Curragh or he could go up to six (furlongs) for the Haydock Sprint Cup.

“We’ve not entered him in the Abbaye, the Flying Five at the Curragh after the Nunthorpe is more likely.”

Weighing-room stalwart Mulrennan said: “He’s done everything right today so, touch wood, he comes back from this good. We’ll enjoy today, but we’ve got the Nunthorpe and possibly America would be nice.

“At this stage of the game I’ve probably got more years behind me than in front of me, but I feel I’m still going strong. It’s very competitive, it’s hard. I’ve only got one ride down here this week, but we’ve made it count.

“I’ve got my driver with me, Adele (wife). The last time I won it was on Moviesta, Adele drove me then. I’ve won this race twice and I probably should have won it twice again – Easton Angel probably should have won and Moviesta another year was unlucky, so it’s been an unlucky race for me and a lucky race for me, but we got it right today.”

Wendy McGrandles of Barraston Racing, who own American Affair with Goldie, said: “He’s had one or two excuses and we always felt that he was as good as he was last year. It’s once in a lifetime for us, small breeders.

“I remember him as a foal and thinking we could maybe send him eventing if he wasn’t fast enough to go racing. He was broken in to go eventing because we weren’t sure whether he would be big enough or fast enough to be a racehorse. He can always do that as a second career!”