Qatar King George Stakes

Group 2, Goodwood 15:35
£312,000 added,
3yo plus,
5f, Class 1   
Friday 2nd August 2019

1 Battaash 1/4F
2 Houtzen 16/1
3 Ornate 33/1
9 ran NR: Intense Romance, Little Kim
Distances: ¾l, 2½l, 1l Time: 56.20s (fast by 0.70s)

Battaash justified his position as the 1/4 favourite, winning the five-furlong contest for the third year in a row - something which has never been done before.
 
The Charlie Hills-trained, Jim Crowley-ridden five-year-old son of Dark Angel, owned by Hamdan Al Maktoum, didn't manage the four-length triumph of 2018, but held off 16/1 chance Houtzen by three-quarters of a length.
 
Crowley said: "He's brilliant. Obviously he was not as visually impressive today as last year; he wasn't doing a lot in front and to be fair, I never used my stick on him today, just hands and heels. Maybe if I had given him a reminder he would have gone on and been more impressive, but I really didn't want him to go on and win by five or six lengths and have a harder race than he had to. We've got other races for him this year and I'd love it to be third time lucky in the Nunthorpe at York.
 
"He's a special horse. He's all speed and he probably only just gets five furlongs. If there were four and a half furlong races around he'd be unbelievable. Ascot just finds him out a little bit; it's almost like six furlongs there, but he loves it here. Hopefully it's third time lucky for the Nunthorpe.
 
"He was quite on it early on. We went very quick, as you would imagine. The horse who led me along couldn't take me any further. There just aren't many horses around quick enough to lead him. It was a great performance; fair play to Charlie [Hills] and all the team. He's settling down a bit - he was much better going out and going down to the start today, and he's growing up a lot. 
 
"Goodwood is my local track and it's fantastic to win here. It's a pleasure to be associated with this horse."

Trainers Quotes

Owner Hamdan Al Maktoum said: "Every year, he runs in a different way. The first year he ran very fast from the beginning, the second year was alright but this year he idled a lot.
 
"The first year he ran at York, a dog came and barked behind him and he got nervous a lot. The second year, they held him like they did at Ascot last time. When they hold him, he gives up. I hope he is going to York this year and he will run better.
 
"There is no tactic - you should just let him run with the horses. He doesn't need to be put in behind or anything because it is a short distance.
 
"I am enjoying it, particularly because it is the third time here and Goodwood is a very nice racecourse."

Betfred King George Stakes (Group 2)
£312,000 added, 3yo plus, 5f, Class 1
9 ran
Going: Good to Firm

NO. (DRAW) DIST HORSE AGE WGT TRAINER JOCKEY SP
1 (05)      Battaash 5 9-5 Charles Hills Jim Crowley 1/4F
2 (04) ¾ Houtzen 5 8-13 1 Martyn Meade Ryan Moore 16/1
3 (08) 2½ Ornate 6 9-2 David C Griffiths Phil Dennis 33/1
4 (06) 1 Rumble Inthejungle 3 8-13 Richard Spencer Frankie Dettori 10/1
5 (03) 1 El Astronaute 6 9-2 John Quinn Jason Hart 7/1
6 (07) 1¼ Judicial 7 9-2 Julie Camacho P. J. McDonald 28/1
7 (10) nk Copper Knight 5 9-2 Tim Easterby David Allan 14/1
8 (09) 1 Big Brothers Pride 3 8-10 F Rohaut Oisin Murphy 7/1
9 (11) 4 Rebecca Rocks 5 8-13 Henry Candy Harry Bentley 25/1
NR (02) 111-66 Intense Romance 5 8-13 Michael Dods  NON RUNNER
NR (01) 96-409 Little Kim 3 8-10 K R Burke NON RUNNER