No stopping Love in King George cracker
WHAT’S not to LOVE about this year’s King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Stakes (3:35pm)?
From Derby winner, Adayar, to gold-plated globetrotter Mishriff, there’s class everywhere you look in the six-runner field.
Irish Derby runner-up Lone Eagle will have his supporters after Hurricane Lane backed up his Classic win at the Curragh with a six-length romp in the Grand Prix de Paris, while Group One winners Broome and Wonderful Tonight are both high-class horses that can’t be discounted if the thunderstorms hit.
But the cream of the crop has to be Aidan O’Brien’s filly, Love.
Bidding for a fifth straight Group One and sixth success at the top level, the daughter of Galileo is a worthy favourite to follow in her father’s footsteps by winning this contest 20 years after he did, and only weeks since his passing.
Her front-running victory in the Prince of Wales’s Stakes last month was impressive, particularly when you account for the 300-day absence, and we know that the step back up to 1m4f will suit her even more.
She’d rather the thunderstorms didn’t materialise, but even if they do things shouldn’t get too testing given we’ve not had rain in over a week, and overall she looks the class act.
Giving weight to a Derby winner won’t be easy, and if quirky trends are to be followed then it could be either Adayar or Lone Eagle’s year.
1961, ‘71, ‘81, ‘91, 2001 and ’11 all went to the Classic generation, but the eight-pound concession might not be enough to overhaul a filly as good as Love in ’21.
With the World Pool back in full swing via tote.co.uk for King George day, and the potential for a slightly softer surface come Saturday afternoon, there could be some value in a Swinger bet – predicting two of the first three horses home.
Wonderful Tonight and Broome are two at bigger prices that will appreciate any cut in the ground, and it could be worth combining those two with the favourite.
POINTERS
Love Ascot (3:35pm)
Swinger: Love, Wonderful Tonight, Broome