The King George VI and Queen Elizabeth QIPCO Stakes Betting Tips and Predictions

There is some excellent action on the card at Ascot on Saturday afternoon, but everything is building up to the showpiece event, which will be the The King George VI and Queen Elizabeth QIPCO Stakes.

A prestige race that has been won by modern greats such as Enable, who famously landed this prize three times between 2017 and 2020. The race will take place at 3.40 and will be run over one mile and four furlongs.

This premier middle-distance event, which is a Group 1 open to horses aged three and above, naturally carries a very sizable prize. The winning connections of this contest will pocket no less than an eye-watering £708,875.

Our Betting Tips and Predictions for The King George VI and Queen Elizabeth QIPCO Stakes

Prior to the flagship race of this high-quality meeting, here are our best predictions and betting tips:

Our Best Prediction: Pyledriver (each-way) @ 15/2

Pyledriver’s Royal Ascot success was somewhat overshadowed by his hanging-left antics which prompted a stewards inquiry, though he kept the race and reminded everyone that he is very much a Group horse to take seriously. The six-year-old won the Hardwicke Stakes despite returning from 336 days off and is very much entitled to improve for that reappearance effort.

We shouldn’t forget that this horse has won some top races. In 2021, he landed the Group 1 Coral Coronation Cup over this distance at Epsom, winning on good-to-soft, while he is the defending champion here having won this race in somewhat impressive fashion a year ago. He beat some top, top horses on that occasion, including Emily Upjohn and Westover, who both re-oppose.

On official ratings, no horse in this race outranks Pyledriver, who if taking the necessary step forward in terms of race readiness can prove his superiority. Given his credentials, he’s certainly the one I’d want to be on at the early prices.

Our Each Way Prediction: Luxembourg (each-way) @ 16/1

At much bigger odds, we perhaps shouldn’t forget about Luxembourg. After all, this horse is only rated 2lbs lower than Pyledriver, while on official ratings, he’s considered to be a slightly better animal than the likes of Emily Upjohn and King Of Steel, both of whom are nearer the top of the market.

Aidan O’Brien’s runner is not the choice of Ryan Moore, which will be enough to deter some punters, but this is a colt that is a four-time Group 1 winner, which is rather impressive given that he’s only raced ten times in total. On several occasions, he’s hinted that this step up to one mile and four furlongs would work well, while he’s a proven soft ground performer. Absolutely not one to write off and can certainly go well at sizable each-way odds.