Trends analysis

No race for old horses

You’ve seen some sprinters as old as seven winning the King’s Stand in recent years, but in this Group 1, no horse aged seven or older has taken this event at Ascot (Cape Of Good Hope won aged seven when it was held at York in 2005) going back to the days when it was known as the Cork and Orrery. In the last ten years only Gold-fun in 2016 has come close for the veterans when he was narrowly beaten as a seven-year-old. Interestingly, like Cape Of Good Hope, he was trained in Hong Kong.

Australian three-year-olds on the other hand fare particularly well. Star Witness (2011) and Brazen Beau (2015) were placed aged three, while Aidan O’brien’s successful recruits from Australia, Starspangledbanner (2010) and Merchant Navy last year, were also in their Classic season.

Course form is very important for the home team. All of the last five winners trained in Britain had recorded a top-two finish at this track previously, with three of the last four successful doing so in the previous season’s Champions Sprint.

Verdict

No standout candidate. Sands Of Mali and Kachy boast top previous form at the royal meeting. The former, the winner of last year’s Champions Sprint, has plenty going for him, outweighing the nagging negative of his disappointing display in Dubai.