Ascot Serves Up Eight-Race Card This Saturday Afternoon

Card Tops £2m In Total Prize Money

Nine go to post for Saturday's Gr.1 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot, where Calandagan defends the title he won twelve months ago against Masquerade Ball, the Japanese colt who chased him home by a head in the Japan Cup, and a home challenge led by Irish Derby winner Benvenuto Cellini. Juddmonte's Kalpana,second in last year's renewal, returns for Andrew Balding and gives the Gulf's longest-established bloodstock operation a live stake in Britain's richest all-age race, now worth £2,000,000 (US$2,680,000) and due off at 18:35 GST (15:35 BST).

Ascot's director of racing has already described the renewal as generational, and the numbers back the framing: 20 broadcasters across 120 territories are carrying the race this year, more than three times the count secured in 2021, with Dubai Media and Abu Dhabi Media among those showing it live into the region. A nine-race card follows, run throughout on going described as good to firm.

Calandagan Defends King George Crown

Calandagan's Saint-Cloud form has settled the market's confidence in him, and Francis-Henri Graffard's racing manager Nemone Routh described the gelding as unusually settled heading into the race. "Calandagan has come out of Saint-Cloud very well. Mentally, I think it was a very good race for him," she said. A repeat win would put the Graffard stable within one victory of a third straight King George for Aga Khan Studs, following Goliath's 2024 success, and would draw Calandagan level with Brigadier Gerard as only the second horse to complete the King George and Champion Stakes double in the same season.

Takahisa Tezuka's Masquerade Ball arrives having strengthened physically since stepping up from the mile and a quarter that produced his only top-level win. "He's the best horse I've trained and I'm very proud of him," the trainer said this week. Aidan O'Brien saddles four, headed by Benvenuto Cellini and Minnie Hauk, who met Kalpana in last autumn's Arc, plus Lambourn and Action, while Kalpana, Wurttemberg and 2024 winner Goliath complete the nine.

Extremely Zain Heads Big Field

The best-funded of the six supporting handicaps, the seven-furlong International Handicap, carries a purse of £150,000 (US$201,000) and has attracted the biggest field of the afternoon at 17. William Haggas's Extremely Zain and Jack Channon's Mezcala head the market on official ratings, with James Fanshawe's Back In Black and Jamie Osborne's Amazing Journey both racing off marks in the high 80s to low 90s. Harry Charlton's Completely Random and David O'Meara's Akkadian Thunder add depth from yards in form this summer, while Ian Williams's course specialist Aalto and Andrew Balding's Stellar Sunrise complete a field that runs the full spread of the weights below Golden Mind's assigned handicap mark of 102. Eighteen entries paid to stay in at the final forfeit stage, and the resulting field size makes it one of the more competitive supporting handicaps on the day's card.

Touleen Leads Valiant Stakes Test

The Gr.3 Valiant Stakes brings fillies and mares together over the round mile for a purse of £95,000 (US$127,300), and Owen Burrows's Touleen, ridden by William Buick, heads a field of eight. Jane Chapple-Hyam's course-and-distance winner Kon Tiki takes the ride of Ryan Moore, while Oisin Murphy partners W McCreery's Skydance and James Fanshawe saddles Pina Sonata. Jack Channon's Sukanya and Brian Meehan's Esna add further depth from three-year-old ranks, while Charlie Johnston's Arisaig and Hugo Palmer's Cheshire Dancer carry the experience of older mares into the race. The result has often shaped the older-filly programme through the autumn, and with Touleen racing from the top of the weights, the pattern looks set to continue. Buick partners the yard's leading three-year-old filly this term, and Burrows has taken his string to the meeting in career-best form.

Alta Regina Chases Group Placing

Earlier on the card, the Gr.3 Princess Margaret Stakes gives this season's leading two-year-old fillies their first test beyond five furlongs for a purse of £80,000 (US$107,200), and it carries a Breeders' Cup Win and You're In berth into the Juvenile Fillies Turf at Keeneland in October. Wathnan Racing's Alta Regina, sixth in the Group Two Queen Mary Stakes last month, steps up in trip for Trainer Hamad Al Jehani, one of two Sioux Nation fillies in the field alongside Paddy Twomey's Velozee, also out of the Queen Mary.

Richard Hannon's Dark Issue and Andrew Balding's Moonrise both make their first starts beyond the minimum trip after finishing minor-placed in stakes company at Royal Ascot, while Donnacha O'Brien saddles Dee's Funny Girl under Ryan Moore. Eleven fillies make up the field, the largest of the day's two juvenile contests, as Wathnan Racing's Royal Ascot campaign extends into the meeting's second weekend.

Blue Rc Tops Straight-Mile Field

The straight-mile handicap, worth £60,000 (US$80,400) and restricted to horses rated up to 105, draws eleven runners headed on the weights by James Tate's Blue Rc and Daniel and Claire Kubler's Grizedale. James Owen's Asmen Warrior arrives from a yard operating at close to an 80 per cent strike rate this season, while Jane Chapple-Hyam's Crown Board and Andrew Balding's Spanish Voice add further depth from the upper end of the weights.

Richard Hannon's Christian David, Jennie Candlish's Frankies Dream and David O'Meara's Spoken Truth complete a field that also includes Jack Channon's Urban Lion and Jamie Osborne's course specialist Hickory, an eight-year-old racing off the minimum trip for the grade. The straight course has a reputation for rewarding pace on quick ground, a factor that should suit several in this field on the day's good-to-firm surface.

Getreadytorumble Leads Sprint Test

The final race of the day, a five-furlong sprint handicap worth £60,000 (US$80,400), draws the biggest field outside the International Handicap at fourteen. Jack Channon's Getreadytorumble and Stuart Williams's King Of Light head the weights, with David and Nicola Barron's course specialist Pilgrim and Ralph Beckett's Bolo Neighs also racing from towards the top of the handicap. Robert Cowell saddles two, Kylian and Rhythm N Hooves, while Tom Clover's Rocking Ends and Julie Camacho's Indian Run add depth from yards in good form this summer.

George Baker's Desert Cop, Geoffrey Harker's Sir Yoshi and Michael Keady's pair Emperor Spirit and Underwriter complete a sprint field that typically produces a fast-run, draw-sensitive finish over the minimum trip. Trainers report the sprint division at Newmarket and Malton in strong health heading into the closing weeks of the turf season.

Never Enough Heads Juvenile Field

The day's other juvenile contest, a six-furlong maiden worth £50,000 (US$67,000) restricted to colts and geldings who have run no more than once, gives Ed Walker's Never Enough and James Fanshawe's Tumishi the highest form figures in a field of nine. Taylor Fisher partners J R Jenkins's Silent Sadhu, while Oisin Murphy takes the ride on Andrew Balding's Izuba and David Egan partners Dean Ivory's Ahoy. William Haggas's Perfect Strike, Eve Johnson Houghton's Crazee In Havana, Harry Charlton's Astralite and Oliver Cole's Public Affection complete a field still finding its form over the six furlongs, with most of the nine yet to race beyond their debut outing. None of the nine has raced beyond a single start, leaving the form book largely untested heading into a race that has previously launched Group-race winners.

Green Falcon Tops Biggest Field

The smallest purse on the card, a mile-and-a-half handicap worth £30,650 (US$41,071) for horses rated 61-80, draws the largest field of the day at fifteen. David Menuisier's Green Falcon and Dylan Cunha's top-weighted Hengest, who also saddles Patrol and Sir Griflet from the same yard, head the market on official figures. Emma Lavelle's Masterinthewoods, Brian Meehan's Edwin Hubble and Jane Chapple-Hyam's Primo Lara add depth from the upper end of the weights, while Eve Johnson Houghton's Ohara and Richard and Peter Fahey's Mudita complete a field that runs the full length of the round course. Grace Harris, working from a strike rate above 80 per cent this season, saddles Oasis Sunrise from towards the bottom of the weights. The 15-strong field is the largest of the nine races on the card, reflecting the depth of the current handicap population at this rating band.

Gulf interest on the day centres on two runners. Wathnan Racing's Alta Regina heads Qatar's leading juvenile operation in the Princess Margaret Stakes, seeking the placing that would carry her into the Breeders' Cup picture in October. In the King George, Juddmonte's Kalpana carries the deepest Gulf-connected form of the afternoon, a dual British Champions Fillies and Mares Stakes winner at this course bidding to go one place better than her defeat by Calandagan twelve months ago. Between them, the two results will say plenty about how strongly Gulf-owned operations feature across the closing stretch of Britain's summer programme.

Gr.1 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes
? 1 Calandagan (T: F-H Graffard / J: Mickael Barzalona)
? 4 Masquerade Ball (T: Takahisa Tezuka / J: Christophe-Patrice Lemaire)
? 9 Benvenuto Cellini (T: A P O'Brien / J: Ryan Moore)
? 7 Minnie Hauk (T: A P O'Brien / J: Wayne Lordan)
? 6 Kalpana (T: Andrew Balding / J: Colin Keane)
? 2 Goliath (T: F-H Graffard / J: Christophe Soumillon)
? 5 Wurttemberg (T: Hiroshi Miyamoto / J: Oisin Murphy)
? 3 Lambourn (T: A P O'Brien / J: William Buick)
? 8 Action (T: A P O'Brien / J: Sean Levey)
International Handicap
? 9 Extremely Zain (T: William Haggas / J: Tom Marquand)
? 6 Mezcala (T: Jack Channon / J: George Bass)
? 8 Back In Black (T: James Fanshawe / J: Daniel Muscutt)
? 17 Amazing Journey (T: Jamie Osborne / J: Saffie Osborne)
? 2 Completely Random (T: Harry Charlton / J: Ryan Moore)
? 10 Akkadian Thunder (T: David O'Meara / J: Jamie Spencer)
? 13 Aalto (T: Ian Williams / J: William Buick)
? 3 Great Acclaim (T: Eve Johnson Houghton / J: Charles Bishop)
? 7 Stellar Sunrise (T: Andrew Balding / J: Oisin Murphy)
? 11 Saytarr (T: James Horton / J: Mickael Barzalona)
? 4 Two Tribes (T: Richard Spencer / J: David Egan)
? 16 Leadman (T: David O'Meara / J: Jack Doughty)
? 12 Ata Rangi (T: Ed Walker / J: Ashley Lewis)
? 1 Golden Mind (T: Richard & Peter Fahey / J: Ryan Sexton)
? 15 Philanthropist (T: James Fanshawe / J: Silvestre De Sousa)
? 5 Arctic Dawn (T: Daniel & Claire Kubler / J: Colin Keane)
? 14 Sword (T: Stuart Williams / J: Marco Ghiani)
Gr.3 Valiant Stakes
? 8 Touleen (T: Owen Burrows / J: William Buick)
? 3 Kon Tiki (T: Jane Chapple-Hyam / J: Ryan Moore)
? 7 Skydance (T: W McCreery / J: Oisin Murphy)
? 4 Pina Sonata (T: James Fanshawe / J: Daniel Muscutt)
? 5 Sukanya (T: Jack Channon / J: Tom Marquand)
? 6 Esna (T: Brian Meehan / J: Mickael Barzalona)
? 1 Arisaig (T: Charlie Johnston / J: Jamie Spencer)
? 2 Cheshire Dancer (T: Hugo Palmer / J: Colin Keane)
Gr.3 Princess Margaret Stakes
? 1 Alta Regina (T: Hamad Al Jehani / J: Jamie Spencer)
? 2 Dark Issue (T: Richard Hannon / J: Pat Dobbs)
? 3 Dee's Funny Girl (T: Donnacha Aidan O'Brien / J: Ryan Moore)
? 8 Moonrise (T: Andrew Balding / J: Oisin Murphy)
? 11 Velozee (T: P Twomey / J: W J Lee)
? 4 Glorious Game (T: Hugo Palmer / J: Colin Keane)
? 5 Harlequin Sky (T: Jane Chapple-Hyam / J: Christophe Soumillon)
? 9 Nuit d'Eclair (T: Kevin Philippart De Foy / J: David Egan)
? 7 Miss Kodi (T: Clive Cox / J: Harry Davies)
? 10 The Can Can Queen (T: Charlie Johnston / J: William Buick)
? 6 Magnesium (T: John Butler / J: Silvestre De Sousa)
Betfred Handicap
? 1 Blue Rc (T: James Tate / J: Colin Keane)
? 5 Grizedale (T: Daniel & Claire Kubler / J: Oisin Murphy)
? 4 Asmen Warrior (T: James Owen / J: Cieren Fallon)
? 2 Crown Board (T: Jane Chapple-Hyam / J: Silvestre De Sousa)
? 6 Spanish Voice (T: Andrew Balding / J: William Buick)
? 8 Christian David (T: Richard Hannon / J: Sean Levey)
? 11 Frankies Dream (T: Jennie Candlish / J: William Pyle)
? 10 Spoken Truth (T: David O'Meara / J: David Egan)
? 3 Urban Lion (T: Jack Channon / J: Tom Marquand)
? 7 Hickory (T: Jamie Osborne / J: Saffie Osborne)
? 9 Salam Dubawi (T: Jim Goldie / J: Harry Davies)
Five-Furlong Sprint Handicap
? 1 Getreadytorumble (T: Jack Channon / J: Tom Marquand)
? 2 King Of Light (T: Stuart Williams / J: Marco Ghiani)
? 3 Pilgrim (T: David & Nicola Barron / J: William Pyle)
? 4 Bolo Neighs (T: Ralph Beckett / J: Saffie Osborne)
? 5 Kylian (T: Robert Cowell / J: Jamie Spencer)
? 6 All Ways Glamorous (T: Christopher Mason / J: Gina Mangan)
? 7 Rocking Ends (T: Tom Clover / J: David Egan)
? 8 Indian Run (T: Julie Camacho / J: Ryan Sexton)
? 9 Desert Cop (T: George Baker / J: Benoit De La Sayette)
? 10 Sir Yoshi (T: Geoffrey Harker / J: Silvestre De Sousa)
? 11 Emperor Spirit (T: Michael Keady / J: Oisin Murphy)
? 12 Bassenthwaite (T: Clive Cox / J: Cieren Fallon)
? 13 Rhythm N Hooves (T: Robert Cowell / J: Harry Davies)
? 14 Underwriter (T: Michael Keady / J: Jack Doughty)
Six-Furlong Juvenile Maiden
? 1 Ahoy (T: Dean Ivory / J: David Egan)
? 2 Astralite (T: Harry Charlton / J: Cieren Fallon)
? 3 Crazee In Havana (T: Eve Johnson Houghton / J: Charles Bishop)
? 4 Izuba (T: Andrew Balding / J: Oisin Murphy)
? 5 Never Enough (T: Ed Walker / J: William Buick)
? 6 Perfect Strike (T: William Haggas / J: Tom Marquand)
? 7 Public Affection (T: Oliver Cole / J: Jamie Spencer)
? 8 Silent Sadhu (T: J R Jenkins / J: Taylor Fisher)
? 9 Tumishi (T: James Fanshawe / J: Daniel Muscutt)
Mile-and-a-Half Handicap
? 9 Akho Mezzna (T: Jack Jones / J: William Buick)
? 4 Taritino (T: Joe Tickle / J: Taylor Fisher)
? 3 Masterinthewoods (T: Emma Lavelle / J: Marco Ghiani)
? 11 Edwin Hubble (T: Brian Meehan / J: Tom Marquand)
? 2 Primo Lara (T: Jane Chapple-Hyam / J: Saffie Osborne)
? 10 Ohara (T: Eve Johnson Houghton / J: Oisin Murphy)
? 5 Patrol (T: Dylan Cunha / J: David Egan)
? 13 Mudita (T: Richard & Peter Fahey / J: Silvestre De Sousa)
? 12 Green Falcon (T: David Menuisier / J: Jamie Spencer)
? 1 Hengest (T: Dylan Cunha / J: Colin Keane)
? 6 Tailorman (T: Ian Williams / J: Charles Bishop)
? 7 Oasis Sunrise (T: Grace Harris / J: Ashley Lewis)
? 8 Bint Al Daar (T: Kevin & Lauren Frost / J: Daniel Muscutt)
? 14 Sir Griflet (T: Dylan Cunha / J: Isobelle Chalmers)
? 15 A Daughters Love (T: David Flood / J: Jack Doughty)