Idol Horse Top Five: Most Impressive ‘King George’ Winners
Ascot’s high-summer feature has been won by plenty of champions and has produced some epic races, but which horse had the most ‘wow’ in winning it?
THE KING GEORGE VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes is the ‘diamond’ in Europe’s mid-summer racing calendar and has been since it first appeared in 1951 as part of the Festival of Britain: it is the high-summer weight-for-age highlight that was at least the equal of France’s great autumn gem, the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe.
Let’s be honest, though, the race hasn’t quite measured up to that level through the last few seasons and seems to have struggled to draw the depth of quality and the broader interest befitting its traditional status. Some years the race has looked downright soft compared to the great contests of the past and is playing second fiddle to the Arc.
That’s not to say every year has been below par, nor was every old-time King George packed with top talent, and it would be churlish to knock Enable’s recent and unmatched achievement of winning it three times, for example. Still, it feels like it has been a while since a winning performance was so stunning as to bring a universal ‘wow’ without dissent, so in an unashamed delve into a rosy retrospective, we’re going to take a look at the five most impressive ‘wow factor’ winners.
In doing that, let’s be clear about some of the ‘rules’ here. First off, this is a subjective exercise and we’re not beholden to naming the best horse ever to win the King George, or the highest rated edition of the King George, as being the most impressive: we’re not basing it on ratings, though they’re interesting to know. The cream rises anyway, as we’ll see.
What constitutes ‘impressive’ is open to interpretation, too, and for our purposes the visual impression, the ease of the win, is the most important element, and then factor in the strength of opposition. Then the potentially deciding element: was the easy win achieved as a three-year-old receiving weight-for-age, or as an older horse giving away 14lb or thereabouts to the Classic generation.
5. Mill Reef, 1971
The little horse needs no introduction: a brilliant, undefeated two-year-old, he was no match for the equally-legendary Brigadier Gerard in the 2,000 Guineas, but trounced his rivals in the Derby at Epsom, battered them in the Eclipse Stakes by four lengths and then headed to Ascot for the ‘King George.’
He faced nine rivals, and while none was up to anything like his status, the Irish Derby hero Irish Ball was there, as was the eight-length Hardwicke Stakes winner Ortis. They might as well have stayed at home: Mill Reef eased upside Ortis with a furlong to run and his rider Geoff Lewis was motionless as he cruised clear for a six-length win, a record margin at the time.
He went on to win the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe of course, and, as a four-year-old, added the Prix Ganay and Coronation Cup before a broken leg ended his career.
4. Ribot, 1956
When Ribot lined up for the King George he had won 13 races in a row and was already the standout European champion after his brilliant three-length win in the previous year’s Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe.
His four-year-old campaign had already brought four wins, by margins of four lengths, eight lengths, 12 lengths and eight lengths. That meant he went to post at Ascot as the 2-5 favourite in a nine-strong line-up that also featured the 2,000 Guineas runner-up Chantelsey, the Derby third Roistar, the Belgian Derby winner Todrai, and the Queen’s runner, the three-year-old High Veldt who had won the Two Thousand Guineas Trial at Kempton and the Thirsk Classic Trial.
Ribot was a standout on the formbook and rolled past High Veldt to lead comfortably at the top of the home straight. His jockey Enrico Camici pushed him out hands and heels on the soft going and the Italian champion powered clear to win by a long-looking five lengths from the year-younger High Veldt.
3. Generous, 1991
Twenty years after Mill Reef, the wonderful, flaxen-edged, white-trimmed, golden chestnut Generous was Europe’s mid-summer bombshell, and, given his looks and his style, a more visually awesome King George win than his is hard to name.
He had a muddled juvenile campaign under trainer Paul Cole’s watch, but wrapped it up with a 50-1 win in the G1 Dewhurst Stakes. Generous then kicked off 1991 with an eye-catching fourth in the 2,000 Guineas before dominating the three-year-old middle-distance division: he posted a five-length defeat of the top-class Marju in the Derby at Epsom and then a masterful three-length victory in the Irish Derby, in what amounted to a one-sided head-to-head with the brilliant G1 Prix du Jockey Club winner Suave Dancer.
So, to Ascot, and there Generous faced the previous year’s Prix du Jockey Club winner Sanglamore, plus high-class stalwarts Rock Hopper, Terimon, Sapience, and the emerging future Group 1 winner Saddler’s Hall, in a field of nine. He destroyed them: he swept past Saddler’s Hall to lead out of the turn for home, stretched well clear under Alan Munro and then eased down through the final 50 metres for an epic seven-length score over the chasing Sanglamore.
2. Nijinsky, 1970
The image of Lester Piggott easing Nijinsky from behind runners into the wide-open ground of the Ascot straight is spine-tingling, even five decades and countless replays later. Vincent O’Brien’s brilliant colt had arrived at that moment via undefeated champion juvenile honours, then a series of three-year-old wins in the Gladness Stakes, 2,000 Guineas, the Derby, and the Irish Derby. He seemed unbeatable.
When it came to the King George he was faced with only five rivals, but they were top drawer: the previous year’s Derby victor, Blakeney; Karabas, winner of the Washington DC International; Crepellana, the 1969 Prix de Diane heroine; and Caliban who had won the Coronation Cup a month prior.
Nijinsky was imperious, quickening for Piggott without being extended. The son of Northern Dancer sped away from his rivals with ease, his rider looking left and right for non-existent dangers, and cruised past the post at what seemed three-quarter pace. The winning margin was two lengths over Blakeney but it could have been wider, with four lengths and more back to the rest.
1. Montjeu, 2000
How does any horse top Nijinsky? Well, it comes down to that weight-for-age concession on top of the breathtaking ease of the victory. Nijinsky was a three-year-old in receipt of a stone weight-for-age from Blakeney when he blew him away: the four-year-old Montjeu was level weights with the classy runner-up Fantastic Light and the Coronation Cup winner Daliapour and still toyed with them while on the bridle.
The French champion had won the previous year’s French Derby, Irish Derby by five lengths, and Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, the last of those with a devastating deep-closing burst of acceleration that had to be seen to be believed.
By the time Montjeu got to Ascot in July, he was building an impressive record as an ‘older horse’ thanks to easy wins in the G1 Tattersalls Gold Cup and G1 Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud. But when it came to easy, they were nothing compared to the King George.
The colt was ‘cantering’ over the top of his rivals when jockey Mick Kinane shifted him wide into the straight and let him cruise from fifth to first without an ounce of pressure applied. Kinane was still motionless when Montjeu took the lead a furlong and a half out, passing the hard-pressed Daliapour. He rolled home on the bridle, barely tested, a length and three quarters clear of the chasing Fantastic Light, with three and a half lengths back to Daliapour.
Had Kinane asked for more, Montjeu would surely have exploded several lengths clear of the pursuers. On that day, he looked unbeatable.
Honourable Mentions
It feels wrong to leave out the great mare Dahlia, but she fails to make the cut by a whisker. Dahlia, the first horse to win the race twice, in fact gets two honourable mentions.
Her first, under Bill Pyers in 1974, was a strong-running six-length defeat of the subsequent ‘Arc’ winner Rheingold, albeit in receipt of 17lb, being a three-year-old filly. Her second, conceding 14lb to the Queen’s three-year-old filly Highclere, winner of the 1,000 Guineas and Prix de Diane, was also impressive as she quickened under Piggott’s hands and heels to score by two and a half lengths from the top-class royal runner.
Another great mare, Enable, is the only three-time winner of the race, and her 2017 victory saw her gallop relentlessly down the home straight under a Frankie Dettori drive to win by four and a half lengths from Ulysses. The good to soft ground, which she relished, and the likelihood that Ulysses was probably better at 10 furlongs than 12, as well as her being pushed out, counted against her making the top five.
Dancing Brave was an exceptional three-year-old and his King George win in 1986 was certainly impressive. He showed electric pace to put daylight on his rivals down the home straight, but he had to work a little too much at the finish under Pat Eddery to hold the year-older Shardari by three quarters of a length for it to be considered supremely impressive, even if it was four lengths back to Triptych in third.
The Vincent O’Brien trained Ballymoss was an impressive three-length winner in 1958, seeing off the talented filly Almeria by three lengths, with that year’s Derby winner Hard Ridden well beaten in sixth. He capped his season with a famous ‘Arc’ win.
On reflection, Harbinger was a harsh omission from the original version of this article, but after listening to the cries of irate Harbinger fans, and accepting that the dismissive prejudice against his mind-blowing 11-length win was indeed too tough, here he is. The Sir Michael Stoute-trained colt was a slow-burner and returned from injury to blossom in the summer of his four-year-old season when he won four on the bounce: in the King George, his first and only Group 1 win, he was driven clear and pushed out to cross the line well ahead of the in-and-out Irish Derby winner Cape Blanco, perennial place-getter Youmzain, and the Derby winner Workforce, who enjoyed a much-needed rest afterwards before taking the Arc. Harbinger never raced again.
St Jovite in 1992 opened up a wide margin on his rivals under jockey Stephen Craine. The Jim Bolger-trained three-year-old had won the Irish Derby by 12 lengths and this time he extended under a drive to win by six lengths over Saddler’s Hall, with subsequent King George winner Opera House in third. But, as impressive as it was, that pumping drive will never top a horse that cruises past struggling Group 1 winners on the bridle and is eased through the line, like Montjeu.
