‘Who’s who’ of Global giants set for blockbuster King George

The King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Stakes promises to be unmissable, as a high-class international cast including the world’s best racehorse, an Irish Derby winner and a huge player from Japan descend on Ascot.

With £2million in prize-money up for grabs, the Berkshire track has been rewarded with a star-studded line-up, one which could help Francis-Henri Graffard become just the third trainer after Noel Murless and Saeed bin Suroor to win the Group One event three times in a row.

The French handler’s challenge is led by defending champion Calandagan, who not only has a great affinity with Ascot, but would go on to be crowned the world’s best racehorse at the end of a glorious 2025 that concluded with Japan Cup glory in the Far East.

He will meet the horse he conquered in Tokyo, Takahisa Tezuka’s Masquerade Ball, and the five-year-old is fully primed having bounced back from disappointment in the Coronation Cup at Epsom to win the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud last time out.

Nemone Routh, French racing manager and director for owners the Aga Khan Studs, said: “We toyed with the idea of not going to Saint-Cloud because we did not want to compromise his chances for the King George, but he came right just before that race and we felt we needed to know where we were with him after Epsom.

“His regular rider (at home) thinks he has improved from Saint-Cloud and is spot on for the King George, which he will need to be as it looks a stronger field this year. He will have to be at the top of his form, but we know he loves Ascot and always runs well there.

“He is pretty laid-back and runs his races the way he wants to. He does not get involved with the early pace, as he likes to lob along out the back, and then he has incredible acceleration that is sustained over the last few furlongs. Mickael (Barzalona) says, ‘once I ask him to quicken, he just never stops’. That is his main weapon.””

Graffard’s challenge is strengthened by 2024 King George hero Goliath, who has returned to his best this term and is now out to not only gain compensation for his misfortune in the Hardwicke Stakes, but provide his rider Christophe Soumillon with a fitting third win in the race, 20 years on from success aboard Andre Fabre’s Hurricane Run.

Andrew Balding’s Kalpana was another to go down narrowly in the Hardwicke Stakes when a place ahead of Goliath and having also given Calandagan most to think about when second in this 12 months ago, is back at her beloved Ascot as the sole British contender.

Relishing being a part of an all-star contest, Juddmonte’s European racing manager Barry Mahon said: “It’s a who’s who of the top middle-distance horses from around the world and it’s going to be some race. We just hope she runs her usual good race and then hope again that will be good enough.

“She’s definitely been as good as ever this year and has been in great form at home, Andrew has been very happy with her.

“She goes there in great shape, the ground will probably be quicker than ideal but she showed at Royal Ascot she can handle it, even if she is perhaps more effective with a little ease. We’re looking forward to seeing her.”

Joining Masquerade Ball – last seen giving Hong Kong ace Romantic Warrior plenty to think about at Sha Tin – on a globetrotting mission from Japan is Hiroshi Miyamoto’s Wurttemberg, who will have notable local assistance from champion jockey Oisin Murphy.

Meanwhile, it has been 10 years since Aidan O’Brien landed the last of his four victories in the race and his quest for number five is headed by Curragh Classic hero Benvenuto Cellini who bids to follow in the footsteps of Enable and Adayar and become just the third three-year-old in the last 10 years to take home this prize.

O’Brien said: “The colt is in good form. It was a mess in Epsom, it just all went wrong. We weren’t sure whether it did really go wrong or not until he ran at the Curragh.

“We didn’t really know what was going to happen, but he handled the fast ground and did what Ryan (Moore) thought he would do.

“We think he has progressed from the last day, so it will be interesting to see if he’s good enough and hopefully we will know who is the best mile-and-a-half horse at the end of it.”

Benvenuto Cellini is joined by both the Derby and Oaks winner from last year in Lambourn and Minnie Hauk, with the three-year-old Action completing the Ballydoyle quartet.

O’Brien added: “Minnie had a very good run the last day over a mile and a quarter (when second to Ombudsman in the Prince of Wales’s Stakes).

“It was probably her best run ever. She will appreciate a mile and a half and she is in good form.

“The plan would be to go there and then if that went well she could go to York for the Yorkshire Oaks and then she could go back to the Arc for another go at that.”