James Doyle will climb aboard one of the best spare rides of the season on Saturday week, after he was booked to ride Crystal Ocean, the second favourite, for Sir Michael Stoute in the King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot. Crystal Ocean is a 3-1 shot for British racing’s midsummer showpiece behind the odds-on favourite, Enable, who is 4-6 to extend a 10-race winning streak that dates back to May 2017.
Frankie Dettori, Enable’s regular jockey, was aboard Crystal Ocean when the five-year-old registered his first win at Group One level in the Prince of Wales’s Stakes at Royal Ascot last month, while Ryan Moore, who seems sure to be claimed to ride for Aidan O’Brien in the King George, was in the plate for his two previous wins in 2019.
That left Doyle as an obvious choice for the ride, not least as he steered the Stoute-trained Poet’s Word to victory in last year’s King George when Crystal Ocean was a neck away in second.
Enable is the undisputed star of European Flat racing having won the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe for the past two seasons and made a belated return to action in exceptional style in the Eclipse Stakes at Sandown Park this month, beating Magical by three-quarters of a length on her first start for 245 days.
Yet she is not the world’s top-rated racehorse. That honour belongs to Crystal Ocean, who was raised to a new mark of 127 after his Royal Ascot success, 4lb in front of Enable, who will receive a 3lb mares’ allowance from Crystal Ocean.
This year’s King George promises to be an exceptional renewal, with at least half a dozen previous winners at Group One level among the possible opponents for Enable and Crystal Ocean. Aidan O’Brien’s entries include Antony Van Dyck and Sovereign, the winners of this year’s English and Irish Derbys respectively, as well as Japan, who took the Grand Prix de Paris at Longchamp last Sunday.
Hamilton 1.40 Point Of Order 2.10 Arnold 2.40 Harvey Dent 3.10 Dutch Coed 3.40 Lever Du Soleil 4.10 New Arrangement 4.40 Retirement Beckons (nb) 5.15 Poyle George Two
Chepstow 2.00 Loose Chippings 2.30 Papa Delta 3.00 Above 3.30 Mad Endeavour 4.00 Maid From The Mist 4.30 Flying Dragon 5.05 Paddy The Chef
Leicester 2.20 Fantom Force 2.50 Forseti 3.20 Dramatic Device 3.50 Mr Tyrrell 4.20 Gentlewoman 4.50 Sauchiehall Street (nap) 5.25 Evening Attire
Ffos Las 5.50 Midnight Folie 6.20 Grageelagh Girl 6.55 Surrey Blaze 7.30 Pink Eyed Pedro 8.00 Harbour Force 8.35 Jacbequick 9.05 Sunset Showdown
Epsom Downs 6.00 Ascot Week 6.35 Goodwood Rebel 7.10 Allegiant 7.40 Cool Reflection 8.15 Ashazuri 8.45 Shaleela’s Dream
Defoe, the Coronation Cup winner at Epsom last month, is also an intended runner, while Oisin Murphy has been booked to ride Cheval Grand, the 2017 Japan Cup winner, for Yasuo Tomomichi.
Anthony Van Dyck, at 7-1, is the only runner apart from the market leaders on offer at a single-figure price. Defoe is a 10-1 chance while André Fabre’s Waldgeist, the winner of three Group One events, is 16-1.
