King George Tips 2023: O'Brien superstar to storm to Ascot win
King George tips for the Group 1 showpiece event, which is run at Ascot racecourse on Saturday 29th July and has attracted some of the premier middle distance horses in training from the UK & Ireland. Our man Steve Chambers previews the big race here and has a big-race tip for what should be one of the finest renewals of the race in recent memory...
Auguste Rodin and King Of Steel served up a thrilling battle in the Derby at Epsom earlier in the season and the pair will lock horns in another mouth-watering clash at Ascot on Saturday afternoon in the King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Stakes, but the pair of top class three-year-olds will face some notable older horses in the 1m 3f 211y contest.
It was the Aidan O'Brien-trained AUGUSTE RODIN that came out on top that day at Epsom, as having fluffed his lines in the 2000 Guineas at Newmarket the Ballydoyle raider relished the step up in trip for the Group 1 Classic and he reeled in King Of Steel, who scooted clear turning for home. King Of Steel has since gone on to cruise to victory in the Group 2 King Edward VII Stakes at Royal Ascot to show that his Derby run wasn't a flash in the pan and the pair are struggling to be split by the bookmakers in this contest. Auguste Rodin followed up his Epsom victory with a dominant victory in the Irish Derby to show he's arguably the best middle distance performer of the Classic crop and is likely to improve for that run again having bypassed the Royal meeting and has always been the apple of O'Brien's eye since the winter and he could just have a little more class than King Of Steel, who has a much tougher task on his hands here than he had at Ascot.
With the three-year-olds getting significant weight from the older horses, both Auguste Rodin and King Of Steel are entitled to be prominent in the betting and Roger Varian's King Of Steel has to be respected, but Auguste Rodin could just be something special and he's sure to be doing all his best work in the closing stages and can duly storm to glory here.
William Muir and Chris Grassick's Pyledriver was a superb winner of the race 12 months ago and the hugely consistent six-year-old will be a leading contender for this year's renewal and having shown his love for Ascot with a win in the Hardwicke Stakes at Royal Ascot then he has to be a notable contender.
However, of the older generation, the one that could be the biggest threat to Auguste Rodin and King Of Steel is Emily Upjohn, who showed she was a top class performer when romping to victory over Westover in the Coronation Cup at Epsom on Derby weekend. That pair will do battle again and Westover could be the each-way play around the 16/1 mark, if finding his best form, but Emily Upjohn was a clear winner that day at Epsom and has to be considered here. However, she was disappointing when comfortably beaten by Paddington in the Coral-Eclipse at Sandown on her last start and it could be that she just finds it tough against the boys to show her best and giving weight away to the three-year-olds here she could be worth taking on.
It's a field jam-packed with real quality and the Owen Burrows-trained Hukum returned to the track in stunning fashion when downing former Derby hero Desert Crown in the Brigadier Gerard Stakes at Sandown and if he can build on that then has to come into the reckoning. Not seen for a year prior to that win, Hukum will face a stiffer test here against proven, race-fit rivals, but he's been a real talented middle-distance performer over the last couple of seasons and he is a real solid yardstick and has to be a major player.
Of the others, Luxembourg and Deauville Legend are both available at double-figured odds and add yet more depth, but both may just struggle to land the money at this high level and it could be those at the head of the market that dominate proceedings and it's Auguste Rodin that can etch his name on to the illustrious roll of honour.
