Eleven horses are still vying for victory in the 2024 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth QIPCO Stakes, including seven Group 1 winners. The race is a Breeders' Cup 'Win and you're in' event with an automatic entry into the Longines Turf.
Aidan O’Brien is behind five of the remaining contenders, led by Prince of Wales’s Stakes winner Auguste Rodin.
O’Brien, who has won this race four times—most recently with Highland Reel in 2016—is also entering this year’s Coronation Cup winner Luxembourg and last year’s St Leger winner Continuous. Additionally, Hans Andersen and Point Lonsdale remain in the race for Ballydoyle.
The competition is fierce with globe-trotting stars Rebel’s Romance and Dubai Honour. Rebel’s Romance, trained by Charlie Appleby for Godolphin, has not raced on British turf since winning at Goodwood in July 2022 but has secured Group wins in five countries, including Group 1 victories in the US, UAE, Germany, and most recently in Hong Kong in May.
Dubai Honour, trained by William Haggas, won two Group 1 races in Australia last year and showed excellent form at age six by winning the Group 1 Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud in June.
Bluestocking, another Group 1 winner this year, clinched the Pretty Polly Stakes at the Curragh for Ralph Beckett. Meanwhile, David Menuisier's Sunway, the only three-year-old in the lineup, won the Criterium International last year and recently finished second in the Irish Derby.
Although Hardwicke Stakes winner Isle Of Jura is out due to injury, the second-place finisher, French challenger Goliath trained by Francis-Henri Graffard, and the third-place Middle Earth, trained by John and Thady Gosden, are expected to represent that form line.
Final declarations will be made at 10 a.m. on Thursday, July 25th.
Rebel's Romance Image: DRC
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