King Edward VII Stakes: Mogul out to put Ballydoyle back in the Derby picture

King Edward VII Stakes (Group 2) | 1m4f | 3yo colts and geldings | ITV/SKY

We are less than three weeks away from the Derby, so it is about time a student from the much acclaimed Ballydoyle school put their hand up and came up with the correct answer in one of the trials. Step forward, Mogul.

It was in this very race last year that Japan announced himself to be a top-class middle-distance colt and how fitting it would be if his full-brother could do likewise. Mogul at 8-1 is already the shortest-priced Aidan O'Brien-trained representative in the Investec Derby, but victory here would surely see those odds tumble.

As a brother to Japan, he ought to relish this trip but all four of his outings at two were over a mile so we will not know until he tries. He certainly was not stopping when he won a Group 2 at Leopardstown during Irish Champions Weekend last September. Cormorant, the fifth home there, won the Derrinstown Derby Trial last week.

Arthur's Kingdom would appear to be the Ballydoyle understudy on jockey bookings, but since when did Frankie Dettori play second fiddle to anyone so do not be surprised if he outruns his odds.

Mohican Heights won a Leopardstown maiden on his sole start for Fozzy Stack in Ireland and he looked a shrewd purchase by his new connections when scoring at Salisbury in a Listed race last August.
He is already rated 102, some 8lb inferior to Mogul, but he remains unbeaten and has untapped potential. This will tell us a lot more about him and his Derby credentials.

Papa Power has been strutting his stuff on the all-weather and impressively so. The manner in which he won a Chelmsford maiden in February stamped him down as a decent colt and he confirmed the promise he showed there with a straightforward success from the front at Newcastle later that month. This is a big step up in class, but he deserves his chance in the line-up.

Pyledriver and Sound Of Cannons would appear to have it all to do, but both are rated 103 so it would be foolish to completely underestimate them.

The race revolves around Mogul and there will be a few long faces in Ballydoyle if he is beaten.
Reporting by David Jennings

Racing Post tipster Richard Birch's analysis

A race that invariably attracts horses who have been beaten in the Derby. Of course, that doesn't apply in this most peculiar of years, and it could well emerge that the King Edward VII winner becomes a leading contender for the Epsom Classic next month.

Mogul, generally an 8-1 shot for Group 1 glory on July 4, is the most likely of the six runners to fit that bill.

He won two of his four starts over a mile as a juvenile, highlighted by an authoritative Group 2 success at Leopardstown last September.

And although well beaten, Mogul probably performed to that level when fourth behind subsequent 2,000 Guineas hero Kameko in Newcastle's Vertem Futurity Trophy, for which he started second favourite.

There's a strong likelihood the son of Galileo is better on turf, and he is certainly bred to improve again this year when upped in trip to 1m4f.

Aidan O'Brien had six of the 14 entries, but relies on Mogul, the mount of Ryan Moore, and Arthur's Kingdom, who will be partnered by Frankie Dettori.

Surprisingly, the Ballydoyle maestro has landed the King Edward VII only twice, courtesy of Five Dynasties (2004) and Japan (2019).

Mohican Heights, the only unbeaten colt in the six-runner line-up, was a fluent winner of a Listed Salisbury event over a mile last August.

The form of that race received a timely boost when the third, Berlin Tango, landed the Group 3 Classic Trial at Kempton this month by a length and a quarter from Pyledriver, but the overwhelming feeling is that Mohican Heights will still need to record a career-best effort by some way to topple Mogul.

Berlin Tango's trainer Andrew Balding is represented by Papa Power, the winner of two minor events on the all-weather over 1m2f at Chelmsford and Newcastle in February.

He was clearly going the right way when last seen, but this represents a significant step up in grade on turf.

Pyledriver and Sound Of Cannons are closely matched on Haydock form last September when they filled the first two positions in a Listed race.

The former proved he had trained on well when runner-up to Berlin Tango at Kempton, but Sound Of Cannons was less convincing when only fourth behind English King at Lingfield.

O'Brien may not have the best of records in this Group 2 based on his own incredibly high standards, but it will be no surprise if he sends out the first and second this year.

What they say

Aidan O'Brien, trainer of Arthur's Kingdom and Mogul
We've been waiting to run Mogul for a while. It has obviously been a bit tricky this year with the way the Derby trials have been, and in an ideal world we would have liked to have him out before now. We're looking forward to getting him going. He's done well over the winter and we've been happy with him through the spring. We always thought he would get a mile and a quarter and this will tell us whether he sees out the mile and a half. We'll have to wait and and see. It will be interesting. Arthur's Kingdom is a lovely, straightforward horse who ran well on his final start in France. He looks like he will have no problem over the trip.

David Simcock, trainer of Mohican Heights
We see this as a good starting point. We'll find out plenty about him after this. He's a nice, game horse and doesn't do anything too flashy at home. It'll be interesting but the whole race revolves around Aidan O'Brien's Mogul.

Alastair Donald, racing manager to King Power Racing, owners of Papa Power
He's an exciting prospect. Once lockdown came, the plan was always to use this race as a Derby trial and find out whether he's a Derby candidate or not. He's bred to be a good horse and he's doing everything right. Andrew Balding has already won two Derby trials and hopefully this horse fits in with those others.

William Muir, trainer of Pyledriver
He goes there in great order. He's a great horse to train as he's quite chilled. I think he's come on from his last run – and he had a poor draw that day, which made life more difficult. He's in great shape and we'll see what's what. The step up by two furlongs will be fine looking at the pedigree on his mother's side. I'm really looking forward to the race.

Read more:

Under the radar: a dark horse for each day of Royal Ascot

Royal Ascot 2020: the must-have guide to a five-day horseracing extravaganza

Graham Dench's superb race-by-race guide to the opening day of the royal meeting

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