Nathaniel in pursuit of his second King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes win at Ascot
Last year’s King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes winner, Nathaniel, is all set to make it two, as John Gosden has confirmed him for this season’s Group 1 event. The 1-mile 4-furlong meeting is scheduled to take place at Royal Ascot this weekend.
Nathaniel’s connections took almost two weeks to receive the vibes from the 4-year-old, who has a very good chance of becoming only the third one to win the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes consecutively.
The feat was firstly accomplished by Dahlia in 1973-1974. Swain, in 1997-98, became the dual victor of the King George, which is currently sponsored by Betfair.
Owned by Lady Rothschild & Newsells Park Stud, the bay colt made his seasonal debut on a high note earlier this month. The Group 1 Coral-Eclipse (British Champions Series) saw Gosden’s trainee sealing an emphatic win under William Buick.
He tracked the leaders brilliantly in the beginning, and with help of an excellent effort, the colt established his supremacy three furlongs before the wire. After getting in command, he did not make any mistake.
The 7-2 chance was almost joined by Farhh inside the final furlong, but he did well to beat the 11-4 favourite by half a length. The runners usually get a decent break between the two midsummer features, but the schedule has been squeezed due to London Olympics
this year.
On Nathaniel’s chances in the Royal Ascot battle, the trainer said: "As of this morning, he's a runner. William (Buick) breezed him this morning and I think it went really well - William was delighted. I expect the ground to be on the easy side, not heavy,
and I think it would be wimpish not to run."
The jockey, William Buick, told At The Races: "He's a very tough horse. The boss is happy the way he's come out of the race, but I suppose it's a tough ask two weeks from a race like that. It's a big ask for the horse, all signs are good so far, but I suppose
you don't know until the actual day."
Tags: