ITV Racing Tips: Sir Michael Stoute to bag Poetic sixth King George
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We’re in for a cracker at Ascot this Saturday with the King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Stakes the feature race of the day.
There’s also a handful of exciting renewals from York as the Group 2 York Stakes takes precedence there. The ITV crew are anchored at Ascot but covering seven races from both courses.
And we’re in place with our usual preview and tips for each of the televised races.
This year’s running of the King George looks a bit of a cracker with a number of the middle distance stars going up against the younger sorts from the classic generation.
And with £1.25m worth of prize money, everyone is going to want a piece of this. But it should be Sir Michael Stoute’s to lose. He’s a five-time winner of this race and he’s got the top two horses in the betting.
But we’re giving the nod to Poet’s Word here over Crystal Ocean. The five-year-old has won off his last two starts. And that included a massive upset win over Cracksman in the Prince of Wales’s Stakes last month.
James Doyle is back in the saddle again after that triumph. And this progressive sort seems to be getting better and better.
We’re keeping it simple here and going with a horse who’s won this race two years’ running – and looks in good nick this season, too.
Michael Dods’ six-year-old loves it at York with his last three runs here returning 322. He stayed on well in his previous run and the extra distance here should suit him down to the ground.
He’s not actually won in 10 races, but he’s an incredibly consistent sort and will relish the ground. Showers are forecast and he enjoys the good-to-soft conditions.
Dods’ stable is in good form too, so everything points in Get Knotted’s direction.
It’s obviously a big ask to step up from a handicap to a Group 2 but we’ve loads of faith in Fran Berry’s Thundering Blue to go well in the York Stakes.
The five-year-old seems to love it at York. He was second in the John Smith’s Cup here a couple of weeks ago. And he won a handicap at the same distance back in May.
He’s got an official rating of 102 but, in reality, he’s much better than that. Elarqam is the justifiable favourite in the race. But Thundering Blue can definitely stick it to him in this 1m 21/2f renewal.
ITV Racing Tips:
1:50 Ascot – Scintillating
2:05 York – Get Knotted (NB)
2:25 Ascot – Corrosive
2:40 York – Intisaab e/w
3:00 Ascot – Cardsharp e/w
3:15 York – Thundering Blue e/w
3:40 Ascot – Poet’s Word
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing
