'We've got a bit of a cat-and-mouse game' - Gosden expects tactical King George

Enable is not the only one chasing a place in the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Qipco Stakes record books at Ascot, as victory would mean her jockey Frankie Dettori equals the legendary Lester Piggott's seven wins in the race - and John Gosden will leave the charismatic rider to his own devices on how to ride against the Ballydoyle brigade on Saturday.

At 49, Dettori remains one of the world’s finest riders and his magnificent career has been prolonged by his love affair with Enable, the King George queen in 2017 and again last year, who is the red-hot 1-2 favourite for an unprecedented third triumph.

However, the leading jockey faces an examination of his nerve and nous in the £400,000 championship, in which Enable will face just three rivals, albeit a trio representing the powerful Aidan O'Brien-Coolmore partnership.

The likely first string is Japan, who won last year's Juddmonte International and is the mount of Ryan Moore, and he will be backed up by the 2019 Derby hero Anthony Van Dyck and Sovereign, who landed the Irish equivalent 13 months ago.

Japan beat Crystal Ocean in the 2019 Juddmonte International at YorkCredit: Edward Whitaker

Oisin Murphy and William Buick will be aboard that pair as Team Ballydoyle aim to make it three losses on the spin for the popular dual-Arc heroine, who has improved since her defeat in this month's Coral-Eclipse at Sandown according to Gosden, himself a four-time King George winner.

Gosden, who trains Enable for owner-breeder Khalid Abdullah, said on Thursday: "Frankie likes to train them along with me, but I think it would be very interesting if I tried to ride her as well - there'd be a problem with the weight!

"I think in races of this nature with a small field it will be tactical and you go in there with a blank canvas. You do not, under any circumstances, say, 'We're going to do this, we're going to do that'.

"Let's just see how it pans out and what the Ballydoyle horses do. It will be fascinating tactically, but I'll leave that to the jockey. There's no way you can tie anyone down.

"We always have a plan in a race and quite often you go to plan B, which is a blank canvas and this one is a blank canvas that is plan A."

Piggott's King George winners
Meadow Court (1965), Aunt Edith (1966), Park Top (1969), Nijinsky (1970), Dahlia (1974), The Minstrel (1977), Teenoso (1984)

Dettori's King George winners
Lammtarra (1995), Swain (1998), Daylami (1999), Doyen (2004) Enable (2017 and 2019)

The runs of Ballydoyle horses in last month's St James's Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot - won by Gosden's Palace Pier - came under scrutiny at the time and Gosden, who suggested the small field this weekend was down to the coronavirus-hit campaign, a lack of traditional owner-breeders and the prioritising of speed over stamina in pedigrees, added: "It's disappointing there aren't more runners [from other stables], but we've got a bit of a tactical cat-and-mouse game, so that should be interesting.

"I don't expect a repeat of the Group 1 [the St James's Palace] run at Royal Ascot."

Reminded how Hunting Horn, then trained by O'Brien, raced against Enable in the 2018 Breeders' Cup Turf and last year's King George, the champion trainer replied: "I would have thought we're above all that now, I really would. If I'm concerned about that going into the race, that's not a good thing.

"Interestingly, those horses [Anthony Van Dyck and Sovereign] are ridden by gentlemen who ride for me a lot, so I don't see anything too sinister ahead.

"Enable made the running in the Yorkshire Oaks last year, but you can put her wherever you want to - I'll leave it up to Frankie, I think."

The ground at Ascot was described on Thursday as good, good to firm in places and the forecast is dry until Saturday, when rain could fall.

John Gosden: pleased crowds are returningCredit: Edward Whitaker

No racegoers will be permitted to attend the prestigious fixture due to the coronavirus pandemic, but some will be allowed on the final day of Glorious Goodwood a week on Saturday - something the sport's most famous Panama wearer welcomed.

"We are out in the open air in huge spaces," Gosden went on. "I think the resumption of racing has been handled very well and the biosecurity measures have been absolutely watertight.

"I think the crowds will be put in lots of different areas, socially distanced, and I think we've got to tentatively start and it's a good place to start.

"I think the horses prefer no crowds or razzmatazz or brass bands. There are announcements, but not endless stuff, although I think poor old Frankie misses it - he loves it, doesn't he?"

King George VI and Queen Elizabeth II Stakes
Paddy Power: 8-15 Enable, 5-2 Japan, 9 Anthony Van Dyck, 11 Sovereign

Size doesn't always matter

Those who regard the King George as equal to the Arc as a genuine European championship race need not fret about the size of Saturday's field, as there were only four runners in 1961 and 1964 as well.

In 1961 the best horse in Britain, St Paddy, and the best horse in France, Right Royal, scared away all but two rivals. At the time St Paddy was optimistically regarded as a great champion and he started at odds-on, but Right Royal cut him down to size by a margin of three lengths. Rockavon, the worst 2,000 Guineas winner of the century, was a distant third.

The 1964 King George seemed a walk-over for Santa Claus, who had breezed home in the Derby and Irish Derby and, at odds of 2-13, was the shortest-priced favourite in the race's history.

However, a freak result was the consequence of hard ground (no watering of the course in those days), an inexperienced jockey who gave Santa Claus too much to do, and an easy lead gifted to Nasram, a French-trained front-runner who always surrendered when challenged. This time Nasram was never challenged and he kept up the gallop to beat the favourite by two lengths.

When the pair met again in the Arc, it was a test of merit and Santa Claus finished second with Nasram unplaced after setting the early pace.
John Randall

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