Enable Heads Field of 11 for King George
If you were in any doubt as to how highly thought of Enable is both with bookmakers and horse racing fans, take a look at the field that has been assembled for the King George at Ascot this Saturday, and then take note that she is already odds-on to win the race. She is up against a top quality bunch of horses here, but despite that the bookmakers and racing fans have here clear of the opposition.
11 runners and riders will go to post for the race on Saturday afternoon, in what looks like one of the best King George fields we have ever seen and certainly the race of the season so far. We have a Prince Of Wales Stakes winner, Japan Cup winner, Coronation Cup winner and other Group One winners going up against Enable, but despite that she is priced up around 4/6 for the race.
Crystal Ocean, second in this race last year, and Group One winner at Royal Ascot last time out, is the second favourite, generally available between 5/2 and 3/1, while Derby winner Anthony Van Dyck is next in the betting at around 8/1.
Hardwicke Stakes winner Defoe showed his class in a lower contest last time out and now steps up to take on the best of the best here, in a race worth £1.25 million. This race isn’t just about British runners either, we have a raider from Japan in the shape of Cheval Grand while France are also represented here with multiple Group One winner Waldgeist coming across the channel for trainer Andre Fabre.
Aidan O’Brien runs four in the race, which comes as no surprise although Anthony Van Dyck is the clear number one from that stable. Remarkably, in a move that is slightly unusual for O’Brien, all four of his runners will wear cheekpieces. Norway, one of his representatives, has worn them before but the other three runners, Anthony Van Dyck, Magic Wand and Hunting Horn, will all wear them for the first time.
Morando and Salouen are the only two we have not mentioned and they round off what is an exciting looking field for this contest.
Will Enable continue her unbeaten run and march on towards a tilt at her third Arc, or will she find this test simply too strong? What an exciting weekend of racing we have in prospect, with this race being the centre piece of it all.