King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Stakes (Group 1)

THERE was a shock in the Group 1 “King George” at Ascot last Saturday, with the French-trained Goliath (Francis-Henri Graffard/Christophe Soumillon) landing the big event in style despite an SP of 25/1.

Runner-up in the Hardwicke Stakes over the same course and distance last month, Goliath relished the stronger gallop set by the Ballydoyle hare Hans Anderson, helped by Coronation Cup winner Luxembourg essentially acting as a second pacemaker.

With the pace therefore unrelenting, Goliath was able to improve on the form he showed at the Royal Meeting, travelling notably strongly into the straight as uneasy favourite Auguste Rodin came under pressure.

Sweeping past the leaders with well over a furlong left, the race was soon in the bag for the gelding with the pronounced stringhalt, and it was Bluestocking (Ralph Beckett/Rossa Ryan) who emerged as his closest challenger in the latter stages, the Pretty Polly heroine running on well to be beaten two and a quarter lengths, with the pair more than three lengths clear of Rebel’s Romance (Charlie Appleby/William Buick) in third. Auguste Rodin disappointed in the race for the second year running, finishing only fifth after trying for a run on the inside early in the straight.

While Aidan O’Brien was unhappy with the ground for Auguste Rodin, feeling that it was cut up badly near the rail, it seemed odd that the plan was to persist with a run up the inside after walking the track. The track tends to favour those who come a little wider from the home turn, and that is the route that the winner and second went.

On that note, Goliath was drawn on the inside when runner-up in the Hardwicke, and a wider draw here was also very much to his benefit.

Shallow result

There was no fluke about this win for Goliath, with Bluestocking the best guide to the form given Auguste Rodin’s underperformance. The race was perhaps not as deep as it looked at first glance, but the winner scored very much on merit.

As a gelding he won’t be in line for an Arc bid, but the prospect of seeing him back here next year is a heartwarming one, and he’s a stablemate to another exceptional gelding in the shape of Calandagan, giving Graffard a bit of a headache in terms of finding suitable races for the pair, but one I’m sure he relishes.

“I knew Goliath, with a good pace, could quicken like that,” said the victorious trainer. “We came to Ascot to find a strong pace and still at Royal Ascot he was too keen, so I was really hoping for some pace here.

“But to be fair when I saw the big odds, I was like ‘Oh my God, nobody believes in him’. He travelled so nicely though and when he was like that, I knew he’d be able to quicken strongly.

“When you come and you are around 28/1, you feel you might look like a fool and you don’t want that, but I think some punters will be happy now.”

THE Group 3 Sodexho Live! Princess Margaret Stakes saw the Albany Stakes runner-up Simmering (Ollie Sangster/Ryan Moore) backed into 11/8 favouritism, and she sent punters to the payout counter breathing a sigh of relief, getting up close home having looked held a furlong out.

The pace in the six-furlong contest was set by Alice Fairfax with Simmering finding plenty of cover and seeming to travel comfortably within herself.

Mandurah took over with under two furlongs left and she briefly caught her rivals flat footed as she quickened, but she was unable to sustain that run, and was challenged on the far side by Simmering and Betty Clover, while Tales Of The Heart ran on strongly in the centre.

Simmering took time to quicken initially, but kept on best inside the final furlong, denying Betty Clover (Eve Johnson Houghton/Georgia Dobie) by a neck, with Tales Of The Heart (Ralph Beckett/Rossa Ryan) half a length behind her in third.

With only a length covering the first four home, it’s doubtful whether Simmering improved on her excellent second to Fairy Godmother in the Albany, but she still showed signs of greenness when first asked to challenge between rivals before finishing strongly, and she shapes as if she will benefit from another furlong.

Ollie Sangster told the press: “There were a few anxious moments when Simmering was short of room a couple of furlongs out, but she’s won it nicely in the end.

“Ryan said she was still a bit green coming through horses and thinks she’ll improve again. He advised us to go up to seven furlongs next time.”

Valiant Stakes

Friendly Soul (John and Thady Gosden/Kieran Shoemark) was on a recovery mission in the Group 3 Longines Valiant Stakes having failed to handle the York track in the Musidora Stakes, but dropped to a mile and back around a right-handed bend, the 10/3 chance fully justified the huge impression she had made in the Pretty Polly Stakes at Newmarket’s Guineas’ meeting, blitzing her rivals to win unchallenged by three lengths.

She was followed home by Doom (William Haggas/Tom Marquand) who raced in second throughout, with Naomi Lapaglia (Richard Spencer/Rossa Ryan) a neck further back in third.

Friendly Soul is a Kingman half-sister to multiple Group 1 winners owned and bred by veteran horseman George Strawbridge. Her win over Kalpana in the Pretty Polly, where the pair came a dozen lengths clear, was franked when the runner-up was a close third in the Ribblesdale Stakes before landing the Glasgow Stakes at Hamilton.

Friendly Soul settled well when making all both here and at Newmarket, and while she appeared not to handle the track at all at York, John Gosden has a different explanation, while offering hope that racegoers may see plenty more of this exciting filly.

“Friendly Soul was drawn nine in the Musidora and came out of the gates with the racecourse stables on her right and she cocked her jaw,” said Gosden Sr.

“She’s a strong-willed lady and cocked her jaw all the way around there which explained that run. We gave her time afterwards, brought her back for this and she’s done it in good style. She’s the type of filly to get better as the year goes on and I think she’s going to be a lovely filly next year.”

York Saturday

Sky Bet York Stakes (Group 2)

THE Group 2 Sky Bet York Stakes was won in 2023 by the Owen Burrows-trained Alflaila, and the five-year-old entire repeated the feat 12 months on, ridden by Jim Crowley, who had missed the ride last year as he was steering Hukum to victory in the King George.

In a four-runner race lacking an obvious pacemaker, the pace was slack, and the race became tactical, and that suited Alflaila, whose one weakness is a tendency to walk out of the stalls. That quirk was not punished at the weekend, and Crowley was able to settle Alflaila in third behind King’s Gambit (Harry Charlton/Callum Shepherd).

The latter dictated before kicking for home in the straight and kept on willingly but was worn down inside the final 100 yards and beaten half a length. Race favourite Passenger disappointed but was later found to have sustained an injury in the race, and he will be sidelined for the rest of the season as a result.

Alflaila is likely to be back over course and distance for the International Stakes next month, and his rider thinks he has the ability to add a Group 1 to his record.

“Owen’s done a great job bringing him back,” said Crowley. “I thought it was a really good run at Ascot when he wasn’t tip-top going there, and to run fourth in the Prince of Wales’s was great. I believe he’ll probably take another step forward today.”

KARL Thornton was among the winners for the second week in a row at Chester when Sean D Bowen again partnered Grey Fable (7/4 favourite) to win and extended mile and a half handicap. The Derby Bar Syndicate-owned grey pressed leader three out, to lead two out, and kept on well inside final furlong.