King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes
Date: Saturday 25 June
Coverage: BBC Two (1430-1645 BST) and website streaming (UK only), commentary of all the main races on BBC Radio 5 Live; follow Cornelius Lysaght at twitter.com/5liveracing
More details  Conduit is fancied to win the prestigious race |
Sir Michael Stoute has three strong entries in Saturday's King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot. St Leger and Breeders Cup Turf victor Conduit is joined by Derby challenger Tartan Bearer and Coronation Cup winner Ask in the £1m feature. The Stoute trio fill positions one, two and five in the betting, with the nine-time champion trainer's number one jockey Ryan Moore on favourite Conduit. Mick Kinane is on board Tartan Bearer, with Olivier Peslier partnering Ask. Stoute has won the prize, first run in 1951, three times, with Shergar (1981), Opera House (1993) and Golan (2002) - the latter owned, like Conduit and Tartan Bearer, by Ireland's Ballymacoll Stud.  | 606: DEBATE |
Both Conduit and Tartan Bearer were beaten last time out, in both cases in quality races- respectively Sandown's Eclipse Stakes and at Royal Ascot- over distances shorter than the King George's mile-and-a-half. Emphasising that this distance is best for both horses, Stoute told attheraces: "I don't think there's much between the two of them. "I think Conduit was not quite there for the Eclipse - he's in better shape for Saturday. Whether he's at his full peak I'm not sure. "Tartan Bearer is in great shape. He had a good winter and a good spring, with no interruptions." About Ask, he added: "The more ease in the ground, the more favourable for him - the softer the better." The Stoute trio, plus last year's Epsom Oaks winner Look Here and a quality three-year-old in Golden Sword, trained by Aidan O'Brien and runner-up in the Irish Derby, are ensuring that the 'it's not what it used to be' brigade are being kept at least at bay. That contingent which yearns for a true, all-aged championship are, however, largely correct. Although it's good to see a talented member of the Classic generation like Golden Sword in the line-up, this one-and-a-half mile distance is not popular at this stage of a top three-year-old's career these days. The higher echelons of the thoroughbred breeding industry demand stallions with a blend of stamina and speed, as demonstrated in victories over one-and-a-quarter miles. It's a fact of modern racing life which inevitably takes the shine off the historic King George.
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