Nathaniel has plenty in his plate in King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Royal Ascot
Coral-Eclipse hero, Nathaniel, seems to have a very good chance in King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Stakes, taking place at Royal Ascot on Saturday, July 21st. John Gosden’s 4-year-old is in pursuit of his second consecutive victory in the £567,100,
Group 1 meeting.
If Nathaniel succeeds in making a play in today’s Royal Ascot battle, he will become only the third one to win the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes twice. The son of Galileo is coming to this battle after an impressive act at Sandown.
On good to soft, the Coral-Eclipse saw him surprising the 11-4 favourite, Farhh, by half a length. It was Nathaniel’s seasonal debut, and he looked in total command all the way through.
Owned by Lady Rothschild & Newsells Park Stud, the bay colt signed off after ending up fifth in the Qipco Champion Stakes here in October. The maverick is in far better position at the moment and thus, the handler is pretty confident of his chances in the
big meeting.
Gosden, however, was not reluctant to admit that it would be a tough task for his charge to tackle the giants like St Nicholas Abbey and Sea Moon.
"It's only a two-week gap and I can't emphasise how tough that is for a horse. He had a hard race at Sandown but he has eaten well, he looks well and has been scoping great and you need to have a go at these top races," said the Clarehaven handler.
He continued: "St Nicholas Abbey won the Breeders' Cup Turf well, he didn't look like he did much at the Curragh and then his run in the Coronation Cup was good. It's nice to meet him, and these races need the form horses. Sea Moon sets a solid standard
too, and it looks a good race."
On the other hand, St Nicholas Abbey is set to fancy his chances after securing a marvellous win in the Diamond Jubilee Coronation Cup at Epsom last month. Sea Moon is certainly another major player after two back-to-back triumphs earlier this season. Owned
by K. Abdulla, Sir Michael Stoute’s trainee is running at the highest level for the first time, and will be under some pressure.
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