Conduit heads KGVI and QE Stakes Sat.

Conduit leads home Stoute one-two-three

Report: Ascot, Saturday
King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Stakes (Group 1) 1m4f, 3yo+

CONDUIT, a well supported 13-8 favourite, led home a Sir Michael Stoute one-two-three in the King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Stakes.

Tartan Bearer just got the better of Ask for second although the first three came very close in the final furlong and the stewards were quick to call an inquiry.

Stoute became the first man in history to train the first three home in the Group 1 contest.

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Ascot pleased with King George day attendance


THE King George day crowd at Ascot was fractionally up on last year, which pleased the racecourse executives considering the current economic climate.

Director of communications Nick Smith said: "We've had anything from 25,000 to 35,000 over the years, but today's 26,232 is slightly up on last year's 26,179, which was perfectly satisfactory. The changeable weather may not have helped, and nowadays you've got to be happy with 25,000 or over anywhere but one of the major festivals."

Unlike in 2008, the eight-race card was augmented by an after-racing concert, by Supergrass, and although Smith said it ishard to quantify the numbers that it might have added, he expects the course to continue putting on similar shows.

He said: "We'll continue to put bands on going forward. We are in the middle of a recession, and if it has helped maintain crowd numbers at the 2008 level I'd say it was a fairly good sign."

Conduit 7-1 for Arc after King George victory

Report: Ascot, Saturday
King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Stakes (Group 1) 1m4f, 3yo+

CONDUIT, a well supported 13-8 favourite, led home a sensational Sir Michael Stoute one-two-three in the Betfair King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Stakes.

No trainer has ever saddled the first three home in the Group 1 contest and Conduit became the first St Leger winner to lift the King George in over 50 years.

Ladbrokes make the King George winner 7-1 for the Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe at Longchamp in October, while William Hill make Conduit 8-1 (from 14-1) with Paddy Power going the same price from 10-1.

The Aidan O’Brien-trained trio of Rockhampton, Frozen Fire and Golden Sword made the contest a true test of stamina from the off, with the former opening up a sizeable lead down the back straight.

However, it was the Stoute trio who were all travelling within themselves as the field swept into the straight. Ask and Tartan Bearer played their hand first, but Breeders’ Cup Turf winner Conduit raced up to the leaders at the furlong marker.

The three came very close together as they battled out the finish and it was Conduit who started to gain the upper hand close home. At the line he had around a length and a half to spare over 7-2 shot Tartan Bearer in second with Ask a fraction behind him in third.

The stewards were quick to call an inquiry but allowed the result to stand. However, Ryan Moore, rider of Conduit, was hit with a three-day ban for careless riding.

A delighted Stoute said: "It's nice to watch, especially when the third got back up.

"I'm very proud of them - they've all run great races. The others [Tartan Bearer and Ask] are top-class horses. They are lovely, sound horses.

"It ranks very high among them [his career achievements] - this is a bit special.

"We've been very lucky. We've been one-two in the Guineas and one-two in the Breeders' Cup.

"We werealso one-two in the Juddmonte [International at York] so it's nice to watch."

Who needs fallon,Scotia Magic and me tipped the same outcome..

Yeah well. I also tipped a scratched horse to place-but I suppose you can't lose anything on those!

Conduit could lead strong Stoute Arc party

CONDUIT could lead Sir Michael Stoute's charge for the one outstanding honour missing from his big race haul, with connections of the King George winner willing to sanction another twin assault if it would help secure an elusive victory in the Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe.

The Weinstock family's Ballymacoll Stud's need to win Europe's richest race is as urgent as Stoute's, having endured second places with Pilsudski, twice, and Sun Princess, and third places with Troy and Ela-Mana-Mou, but from Saturday's one-two in the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes, sponsored by Betfair, in which Conduit led home Tartan Bearer, they may have found the blueprint.



With the third in the King George, Ask, plus a fourth Stoute-trained contender in Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud winner Spanish Moon, featuring in the Arc betting, Coral make Stoute a 5-1 chance to finally lift the trophy at Longchamp.

Future plans for Conduit and Tartan Bearer have yet to be discussed, but with 34 days between the Arc and Breeders' Cup Turf, an appearance at Longchamp beforehand is certainly viable for Conduit.

Conduit looks natural for Arc after King George


WORLD CLASS: An analysis of the best performances of last week according to Racing Post Ratings

TOP OF THE CLASS: Conduit 127

Trainer: Sir Michael Stoute (GB)

King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes, Ascot, 1m4f, July 25

CONDUIT has stormed up the global turf leaderboard after his King George victory on Saturday.

The four-year-old bounced right back to his Breeders' Cup-winning best at Ascot with an RPR of 127 - and we may not have seen the best of him yet.

He scored with a length and three quarters to spare over solid Group 1 yardsticks Tartan Bearer (125) and Ask (124) and there can be no doubt about the level he achieved.

The runner-up and third both arrived on the back of sound efforts; both had proven form at the track and both ran up to their best.

An RPR of 127 ranks Conduit alongside Scenic Blast in a share of fourth on the list of the world's leading turf performers.

Although the winner did only what was expected of him on Saturday, the layers' casual reaction to his victory may underestimate his very real chance of following up in the Arc.

This latest win was just a snapshot of his current ability and there are good reasons to believe the progressive sonof Dalakhani will be able to build on this effort by October.

Look at last season, when he improved his RPR on every single start. He did the same at two.

Look at his record over 1m4f plus, where he is practically unbeaten.

His sole defeat at the trip came when a fast finishing second to the front-running Campanologist in the King Edward VII Stakes. And few will doubt he was the better horse that day.

Look at, or rather listen to, his trainer.

Sir Michael Stoute's record at improving older horses is legendary and he has always said this horse has been aimed at an autumn campaign.

Look at the ratings.

Even with the fillies' allowances factored in, he is second only to Sea The Stars of the likely contenders on RPRs.

Importantly, look at what he has to beat.

Sea The Stars (131) would be the obvious number one choice, but connections look intent on a 1m2f campaign for their superstar.

He had Conduit a fair way behind at Sandown, but 1m2f was never going to be an optimum for Stoute's charge and over 1m4f it should be much closer. If Sea The Stars runs, he commands serious respect.

Next best on the figures is Fame And Glory (126+), who is in a similar boat to Conduit, having already achieved a very high standard, but just needing to step it up a touch more to land an average Arc.

Remember that Soldier Of Fortune, rated 127 before the Arc, was a similarly impressive Irish Derby winner from the same yard and he was unable to follow up at Longchamp.

Fame And Glory may be open toslightly more improvement than Soldier Of Fortune was and if he can land the Prix Niel en route he would rank a solid favourite.

The fillies, Stacelita (122+) and Sariska (123+), both looked smart when landing their Classics, but neither matched the level of form achieved by the mighty Zarkava (124+ before the Arc) last year.

Zarkava had two clear-cut successes over Goldikova to her name at the same stage of the season and improvement will be needed from this year's fillies if they are to match her achievement against the colts.

Vision D'Etat (124) was beaten in the race last year and has only run to a similar level again this season.

Cavalryman (119+) and Cutlass Bay (114) need to step up almost a stone, while Casual Conquest (123) still has something to find with the big guns.

Let's not get carried away with Conduit's chances, as the Arc will be his toughest assignment to date and the race is pretty tight on the figures.

But to have him behind the fillies in the market is an insult to what the triple Group 1 winner has already achieved, let alone what he may yet be capable of.

Back to last week and the next best performance on RPRs came from the Michael Jarvis-trained Pressing, who was on the mark in the Grosser Dallmayr Preis at Munich.

He had finished second to Linngari in the same contest last year with an RPR of 118 and a repeat performance was enough for him to go one better on Sunday.

Fatal Bullet was a late addition to the dirt/all-weather list from the previous week, having posted a career best RPR of 121 in the Bold Venture Stakes.

The progressive four-year-old had finished second to Midnight Lute in the Breeders' Cup last season and he looks set for another bold showing in the feature sprint this year.

TOPTURF PERFORMERS

1 Sea The Stars (Ire) Coral-Eclipse 131

2 Gladiatorus (UAE) Dubai Duty Free 129

Rip Van Winkle (Ire) Coral-Eclipse 129

4 Conduit (GB) King George 127

Scenic Blast (Aus) King's Stand 127

6 Fame And Glory (Ire) Irish Derby 126

Paco Boy (GB) Queen Anne 126

8 Sacred Kingdom (HK) KrisFlyer Sprint 125

Tartan Bearer (GB) King George 125

Yeats (Ire) Ascot Gold Cup 125

TOP DIRT/AW PERFORMERS

1 Well Armed (US) Dubai World Cup 128

2 Rail Trip (US) Hollywood Gold Cup 125

3 Big City Man (KSA) Golden Shaheen 124

Rachel Alexandra (US) Kentucky Oaks/Mother Goose 124

Zenyatta (US) Vanity Hcap 124

6 Fabulous Strike (US) Carter Hcap 122

Game Face (US) Princess Rooney 122

Summer Bird (US) Belmont Stakes 122

Two Step Salsa (UAE) Wasel Trophy 122

10 Albertus Maximus (US) Donn Hcap 121

Einstein (US) Santa Anita Hcap 121

Fatal Bullet (US) Bold Venture S 121

Friesan Fire (US) Louisiana Derby 121

Gayego (UAE) Mahab Al Shimaal 121

Mine That Bird (US) Kentucky Derby 121

Success Brocken (Jap) February Stakes 121