The King George

A

Ardross

Senior Jockey
Joined
Aug 8, 2007
Messages
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With Trading Leather expected to run and Hillstar likely to be supplemented , together with the international runners Cirrus des Aigles and Novellist it is looking like a proper KG this year and SNA looks too short to me .
 
Harbinger
Danedream
Nathaniel
Dylan
Duke.....


Gr 2?

It looks a very good race for me in the last decade
 
SNA 2
CDA 3
Trading Leather 5
Novellist 6
Ektihaam 10
Hillstar 16

SNA has been beaten in this twice although he ran well enough last year. 2s is a bit skinny though and the French gelding is a more likely winner on a course he loves.

I prefer Ektihaam to both Trading Leather and Novellist and have him each way at 12s.
 
Traditionally yes, but I don't have an issue with this being the premier middle distance older horse race. It's more of an issue to me that Al Kazeem is sitting it out for the Arc rather than a top-class 3-y-o.
 
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POW
Eclipse
KG
ARC

That's too busy a schedule, especially for a horse who wasn't even having his first run of the season at the Royal Meeting. If he'd been an established Group 1 horse at the turn of the season he would probably have had a different campaign.
 
Why is it too busy a schedule? If he was a handicapper no one would blink of such a campaign. Too many of the top horses are wrapped in cotton wool I think.
 
Unless you have a class advantage like a Sea the Stars or it turned out Dylan Thomas it pays year after year to be well rested before tackling the Arc.

Top horses tend to have better strike rates than your typical handicapper, aside from those that are very well in and hence go on a bit of a winning run. And those creatures don't tend to have to run to their optimum form initially when scoring.
 
the US triple crown is based on horses being able to hold their form at a very high level over different trips in a relatively small period of time...isn't the time thing also a measure of how good a horse is

yes winning lets say 3 Group 1's over a season is superb...but isn't it more impressive to do it over less time?
 
In fairness DJ, the horse has had 3 runs at the top level on fast ground after coming back from an injury. He's entitled to break imo, the big shame is that he'd of lagged up against this lot and the layers would've taken him on again
 
Euronymous said:
Unless you have a class advantage like a Sea the Stars or it turned out Dylan Thomas it pays year after year to be well rested before tackling the Arc.
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I take your point, but I'm not convinced that this isn't a lot of back fitting once the Arc goes to the best horse. Year after year we see the French Derby/Niel horse go off short because that's the profile you supposedly need, despite the last few year's they have barely been 120+ animals.

Sea Pigeon - I accept your point, and connections can obviously do what they like, but devil's advocate, if you've got a horse that has had injury problems, why not crack on with him while he's flying?
 
davidjohnson said:
Sea Pigeon - I accept your point, and connections can obviously do what they like, but devil's advocate, if you've got a horse that has had injury problems, why not crack on with him while he's flying?
Click to expand...

You make him sound like some yak running up a sequence in mid winter around Wolves!

I think you underestimate how good they beleive the horse is and that to give him the best possible chance in the Arc he needs a mid season break after 3 runs on faster than ideal ground. RC has always said the horse has wanted 12f and an ease in the ground. Is it right of me to presume that your frustration at his KG absense indicates that you don't hold out much hope for him in October?
 
It's not that I don't hold out much hope for him. Just a case of playing the probabilities. What price would he be to win the King George? 2/1? What price will he be to win an Arc? 5s? 6s?

In terms of ability, he's just about already good enough to win a typical Arc, Timeform ratings suggest only 1 lb still to find and moving in the right direction.

Maybe it's a shrewd move from Charlton to duck the best older horse in the world (Cirrus des Aigles) and take on an Arc field that lacks a real 130+ performer.
 
davidjohnson said:
It's not that I don't hold out much hope for him. Just a case of playing the probabilities. What price would he be to win the King George? 2/1? What price will he be to win an Arc? 5s? 6s?

In terms of ability, he's just about already good enough to win a typical Arc, Timeform ratings suggest only 1 lb still to find and moving in the right direction.

Maybe it's a shrewd move from Charlton to duck the best older horse in the world (Cirrus des Aigles) and take on an Arc field that lacks a real 130+ performer.
Click to expand...

I think the choice was Sandown or the KG and having beaten the bulk of the field at Ascot and with the break/Arc in mind as well as another 10f G1 commercially, Sandown made more sense.
 
Euronymous said:
POW
Eclipse
KG
ARC

That's too busy a schedule, especially for a horse who wasn't even having his first run of the season at the Royal Meeting. If he'd been an established Group 1 horse at the turn of the season he would probably have had a different campaign.
Click to expand...

Mtoto nearly managed it in 1988. Granted POW was a Group 2 back then and seen as an Eclipse trial rather than a Championship race for older horses.
 
Damn - just for a second i thought this might be about THE King George. I'll log back on in a few months
 
Euronymous said:
Unless you have a class advantage like a Sea the Stars or it turned out Dylan Thomas it pays year after year to be well rested before tackling the Arc.

Top horses tend to have better strike rates than your typical handicapper, aside from those that are very well in and hence go on a bit of a winning run. And those creatures don't tend to have to run to their optimum form initially when scoring.
Click to expand...

Falbrav?
 
Digger said:
Damn - just for a second i thought this might be about THE King George. I'll log back on in a few months
Click to expand...

It wasn't all that funny the first time this "joke" was cracked on this thread and second time round it's a bit tedious.

See you, as you say, "in a few months."
 
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