*All prices are bang up to date with our snazzy widgets, while odds in copy are accurate at time of publishing but subject to change
A fantastic renewal of the King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Stakes is in store, with a cracking cast of 11 runners assembled at Ascot.
Seven Group 1 winners take their place in the line-up for Saturday’s 15:40, which features last year’s first past the post, a rematch between the first two home in this season’s Epsom Derby as well as the previous two scorers in the Coronation Cup.
The sheer quality on display means punters face a tricky task picking their selection, but a deep dive into the history books could throw up some crucial statistics and info.
King George VI odds can be found on the Paddy Power website and Paddy Power app, otherwise the key trends and a tip based off the big-race stats are below.
Age
The King George VI is open to horses aged three years and older, but the more experienced runners have had the upper hand in the last 10 years as just three members of the Classic generation were first past the post – Taghrooda (2014), Enable (2017) and Adayar (2021).
Course Form
Just three horses since 2014 have won the race on their first start at Ascot so a previous crack at the track is handy, while four of the last five had previously scored at the course.
Distance
A must when looking through the race card is a horse that has been successful over 12 furlongs – something that the last 10 winners of the King George VI had achieved before scoring at Ascot. A big negative for Ballydoyle trio Bolshoi Ballet, Luxembourg and Point Lonsdale.
Draw
A high stall number appears to be crucial as just one winner of the last 10 renewals (Highland Reel in 2016) has come from the bottom half of the draw.
2014: 7 (8)
2015: 9 (10)
2016: 3 (7)
2017: 7 (10)
2018: 8 (8)
2019: 11 (11)
2020: 3 (4)
2021: 4 (6)
2022: 4 (6)
Last Time Out
The previous 10 winners of the King George VI were all placed on their last run, while six of those were successful before heading to Ascot.
Rating
Unsurprisingly, it takes a high-class animal to land the Group 1 as nine of the last 10 winners boasted an official rating of 118 or higher. That means you can strike a line through Bolshoi Ballet, Deauville Legend, Hamish and Point Lonsdale.
Season
A concern for Pyledriver supporters is that eight of the last 10 winners of the King George VI had at least two runs that season prior to Ascot. The only horse since 2014 to have defied this trend was the legendary Enable in 2019 and 2020.
Verdict
EMILY UPJOHN meets all the trends and can bounce back from her narrow defeat in the Coral-Eclipse to earn Frankie Dettori one last King George VI victory before retirement.
Read More on the King George VI
- Gallop over to Paddy Power News for all the latest horse racing tips
- When is the King George VI? Ascot date, start time, runners and betting
- King George VI tips and runner-by-runner guide to Ascot 3.40 on Saturday
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