ITS not too often in today’s racing landscape that you could say, hurray, we are back to the good old days, but today’s King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Qipco Stakes can surely fit that bill. It feels a throwback to long hot summers in our school days when the King George was one of the summer’s highlights. Auguste Rodin is trying to emulate Galileo’s summer triple crown.

It recalls days of Time Charter, Diamond Shoal, Sun Princess, Awaasif in 1983 and a race to remember with a host of Group 1 winners in Teenoso leading home Sadler’s Wells, Sun Princess, Darshaan, Time Charter, Luth Enchantee among 12 runners in 1984.

It is a shame that Desert Crown doesn’t take on dual Derby winner Auguste Rodin but then throw in last year’s Irish Champion Stakes winner, Irish Derby winner, the last two Coronation Stakes winners and last year’s King George winner, and it’s a race worthy of any year. The three-year-olds will always have the weight advantage, and the Derby had looked well above average until Auguste Rodin didn’t impress at the Curragh in overhauling his stable companion Adelaide River, with Epsom runners White Birch and Sprewell running no race, while King Of Steel did nothing more than expected in winning the Group 2 King Edward VII at Royal Ascot. Neither colt should be too inconvenienced by good to soft. Pyledriver and Emily Upjohn can handle it and Hukum needs it.

If a lack of pace was an excuse at the Curragh, it should not be here, with Bolshoi Ballet and Point Londale employed. Emily Upjohn had a pretty hard race against Paddington at Sandown. Hukum has quality form while Westover was favourite last year. Pyledriver seems to have always been a bit underestimated. If he comes here in better form than at Royal Ascot, with what looks an ensured decent pace, he could make a bold bid for his fourth course and distance win.

IT’S a terrific week of racing, beginning with the King George leading into Galway and Goodwood. It can raise a rye eyebrow seeing those who slam Cheltenham for having too many races and diluting the quality, getting over-excited by getting word for one in a 50-70 handicap at Galway!

Many pre-Galway newpaper pieces played on the Pope being the most famous person to arrive at the Galway racetrack, but you could counter that by suggesting that the Shark taking a €850 horse on a ride through the biggest races in Sandown, Galway, America, Cheltenham and Auteuil was just as much of a miracle. And Hewick even stopped for a pint in the local!

You do feel the wonderful ride has to end sometime and this could be the place.

Off his current rating, he also sets the race up for many others. That said, he had consistently defied the handicapper and overcome a few mishaps unscathed.

I was never the biggest fan of Kilcruit – can you forgive a horse beaten at 1/14? He did get his act together to notch a decent handicap chase win when favourite at Punchestown, a novice making all, and perhaps surprisingly with such a long run-in, prominent runners have a good record in the Galway Plate. He’s a Willie Mullins runner so deserves full respect and it doesn’t look the highest quality race but I’d look elsewhere for the winner. Perhaps two wins since 2000 is a lower than expected tally for jumping’s most dominant yard.

Barry Connell doesn’t blow his trumpet too much but enjoyed a brilliant year when his high-profile horses lived up to expectations. He seems keen on the chances of Enniskerry and that horse had a perfect flat prep race win. If the underfoot conditions don’t deteriorate, he could be the one.