Kevin Stott has billed Saturday's King George VI And Queen Elizabeth QIPCO S. as the race of the season so far and backed his mount King Of Steel (Wootton Bassett {GB}) to exact revenge on his Derby conqueror Auguste Rodin (Ire) (Deep Impact {Jpn}).
However, the jockey warned that the Ascot showpiece is far from a two-horse race, and described being a part of such a spectacle as incredibly exciting.
King Of Steel finished just a half a length behind Auguste Rodin at huge odds of 66-1 in the G1 Derby. The dashing grey has since run out an impressive winner of the G2 King Edward VII S. at Royal Ascot and Stott says he couldn't be happier with the Roger Varian-trained colt ahead of Saturday's big race.
“It's probably the Flat race of the season so far,” Stott said on Tuesday. “You've got all the best horses in there–proven ones and up and coming ones. If it's a 12 or 15-runner field then it's going to be really, really exciting. There's not long left now, he did a nice piece of work this morning and it's all systems go.”
Stott added, “It's by no means a two-horse race. There are some very high quality horses in there and especially if we are going to have ease in the ground, there are a lot of horses with very good form on slower ground.
“First and second in the Derby going at it again for the first time since the Derby is obviously a massive thing for everyone.
“You don't know when you have so many good horses pitched against each other, it's exciting and it's very open. Auguste Rodin and King Of Steel are getting a bit of weight from the other horses as they are only three and the others are older and more experienced.”
Stott was visibly disappointed after King Of Steel's Derby defeat, feeling he could have won had he timed his challenge differently, but having had time to reflect, he is more accepting of how the race panned out.
He said, “I still look at the replay now and again from the Derby and go over it again and again. I've got to the stage now where I wouldn't change anything that I did, we just got run down by the better horse on the day.
“I had no pressure on me, I was just riding him to run well, to see what we had, to see if the homework was backing up in a race.
“Between the two and the three [furlong] pole I was in front by two-and-a-bit lengths and the next thing you know I was screaming for the finish line.
“Unfortunately, we just got run down by a very good horse on the day, hopefully we can turn the form around but we have to, first of all, beat some other very good horses in the race.
“It's not just a race between the two 3-year-olds, but I like to think that if it does come down to a battle again from the furlong pole, then hopefully our fella will pull it out.”
He added, “I've got a lot of faith in the horse, but then again Aidan O'Brien is the master of the world that we live in and even though Auguste Rodin's win in the Irish Derby wasn't as visually flattering as the English Derby, he is probably one of the nicest horses that Aidan has trained. Just to be part of a race like this and to ride a horse of this calibre is very exciting.”
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