Saturday marks the 76th running of the King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Stakes (G1) at Ascot, an event considered to be Britain’s premier all-aged middle-distance race over 12 furlongs.
And again this year, this race offers the winner a nearly all-expenses-paid trip to the Breeders’ Cup Turf (G1), set for October 31 at Keeneland, via the Breeders’ Cup Challenge “Win and You’re In” series.
This year the prestigious event will offer a record purse of £2 million ($2,676,908). The summer feature attracts an international cast of elite thoroughbreds, serving as a key mid-year clash between Classic-generation 3-year-olds and seasoned older horses, often acting as a stepping stone toward races like the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe (G1) and the Breeders’ Cup Turf (G1).
The race, first run in 1951 honoring King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, has a storied history of showcasing some of racing’s most notable names. Early standouts include Ribot (1956, an undefeated Italian champion), Nijinsky (1970, 15th UK Triple Crown champion), Mill Reef (1971, European Horse of the Year), and Brigadier Gerard (1972, British Horse of the Year). The 1975 renewal has often been referred to as the “Race of the Century,” with Grundy edging Bustino in a thrilling duel.
Other standout winners include Enable (2017, 2019-2020), the only horse with three victories; Dancing Brave (1986), Montjeu (2000), Galileo (2001), Hurricane Run (2006) and Shergar (1981). Other winners with international successes include German runners Danedream and Novellist in 2012 and 2013 to underscore the race’s global prestige.
Recent victors include Hukum (2023), Pyledriver (2022), Adayar (2021), Goliath (2024), and defending champion Calandagan (2025).
Trainers like Sir Michael Stoute (six wins) and Aidan O’Brien (four) lead all trainers, and Lester Piggott and Frankie Dettori are the top jockeys with seven winners each.
A field of 10 will break from the starting stalls Saturday, led by the Francis-Henri Graffard-trained Calandagan, the clear favorite at 13-8. He won last year’s King George impressively, defeating the highly regarded Kalpana, followed it up with a winning performance in the Champions Stakes (G1), and ended 2025 with a victory in the Japan Cup (G1).
Victories this year came in the Dubai Sheema Classic (G1) and Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud (G2) after a soft-ground blip at Epsom in the Coronation Stakes to mark his only defeat in seven starts over the past year. A top-rated global performer with strong Ascot form (three wins, all Group 1s), he seeks back-to-back wins here. Mickael Barzalona will be back aboard.
Benvenuto Cellini (3-1), owned by the Coolmore conglomerate, Peter Brant and Westerberg and trained by Aidan O’Brien, is a talented 3-year-old son of Frankel and Newspaperofrecord, who was a dual Grade 1 winner, including the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (G1).
The colt’s name evokes the Renaissance artist, and on the track, including a dominant victory in the KPMG Champions Juvenile Stakes (G2) at Leopardstown. This year he won the Chester Vase (G3) and Irish Derby (G1) and would be perfect this year if not for a terrible break in the Betfred Derby (G1), which caused him to be declared a non-starter. Video footage from inside the stalls revealed his left hind leg caught on the starting stall shelf, forcing him to stand on three legs as the gates opened. Japan invader Masquerade Ball (4-1), who finished a close second to Calandagan in the Japan Cup, has targeted this race after finishing second to global superstar Romantic Warrior in the Queen Elizabeth II Cup (G1) in Hong Kong in his only race of 2026. A Tenno Sho Stakes (G1) winner, he adds Far East flair and aims to become the first Japan-trained winner of this race. The son of Duramente is trained by Takahisa Tezuka.
Fellow Japan import Wurttemberg (50-1), second in the Tenno Sho Spring Stakes (G1) at Kyoto in May, adds some Japanese depth but appears in fairly deep. The 5-year-old mare Kalpana (8-1) was a strong second to Calandagan last year at Ascot and has been reported to be fitter this season. She is coming off a win and a second in Group 2 and Group 3 company this season, and trainer Andrew Balding has found a nice spot for her return to the Group 1 level. She represents a solid home chance and could give trouble to the colts again.
Minnie Hauk (7-1) is a three-time Group 1 winner as a 3-year-old and was also second in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe (G1) before a disappointing sixth as the 3-2 favorite in the Breeders’ Cup Turf at Del Mar. She has earned a Group 2 win at the Curragh from three starts this year and is coming off a decent second over this course during the Royal meeting in the Prince of Wales’s Stakes (G1) behind Ombudsman. The Coolmore filly is tough and won’t need much to defeat the boys here if she returns to form.
Goliath (9-1), the 2024 winner, returns off a third in the Hardwicke Stakes (G2) over this course during the Royal meeting. The Germany-bred Graffard trainee is a global Group 1 winner (and known largely for his strange gait due to stringhalt), and with his best, he definitely factors here.
Coronation Cup (G1) hero Bay City Roller (Coronation Cup winner) adds British depth. The Grosser Allianz Preis von Bayern (G1) winner is trained by George Scott. Longer shots include Action (250-1) and Lambourne (100-1), but the race shapes up as a clash between proven Group 1 stars and progressive younger talent.
The Picks: 1 Calandagan, 2 Benvenudo Cellini, 3 Masquerade Ball
The writing team at US Racing is comprised of both full-time and part-time contributors with expertise in various aspects of the Sport of Kings.
