Hot on the heels of the footballing jamboree out in North America, this weekend sees horse racing step into the spotlight with an international spectacular of its own.
With 10 runners remaining in contention, Britain, Ireland, France, and Japan are the nations represented in the 2026 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes. Set to be boosted to £2.5 million in 2027, connections will have to make do with £2 million in prize money this year – £1,134,200 of which is earmarked for the winner. Runners from all four nations have a realistic shot at the prize, but the market suggests that France may hold the ace in the pack.
Three in a Row for Graffard?
Just as he had in 2024 and 2025, Francis-Henri Graffard flies the flag for France. If form over course and distance is any guide, the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe-winning trainer may take some stopping. Bidding to join Noel Murless and Saeed bin Suroor as the only trainers to win three consecutive editions, the Chantilly-based handler sends the 2024 and 2025 heroes into battle.
| Year | Winner | SP | Trainer | Jockey |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Calandagan | 11/10 | Francis Henri Graffard | Mickael Barzalona |
| 2024 | Goliath | 25/1 | Francis Henri Graffard | Christophe Soumillon |
Arriving on the back of a defeat in the Group 2 Hardwicke Stakes, Goliath started as a 25/1 outsider in the 2024 edition. However, it soon became clear that the mount of Christophe Soumillon was no back number. Cantering into contention in the straight, the son of Adlerflug cruised clear on the run-in, allowing his delighted rider to start celebrating long before the winning line.
Goliath has since added four further Group-class wins to his haul, including the 2025 edition of the Group 1 Grosser Preis von Baden. Looking set to go close in the Hardwicke Stakes last time, his challenge ended in bizarre circumstances when Christophe Soumillon lost his irons deep inside the final furlong. Granted more luck here, he could go close.
It’s hard to knock a previous winner of the race, but if Graffard is to land the hat-trick, the market suggests that 2025 champ Calandagan is the horse most likely to do it. Having broken his Group 1 duck in the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud, Calandagan started as the 11/10 favourite for this race and delivered in style to reel Kalpana in to score by a length. By the end of the 2025 season, the Aga Khan Studs-owned runner had extended his Group 1 winning sequence to four and climbed to the summit of the global rankings.
Returning with a win in the Dubai Sheema Classic, he then became stuck in the mud in a rain-soaked edition of the Coronation Cup. Back on a quicker surface, he was back to winning ways in the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud last time. While possibly not quite at his brilliant best so far in 2026, he’s at least two pounds clear of his rivals, and the horse they all have to beat.
Benvenuto Leads O’Brien Charge
First successful with the great Galileo in 2001 and most recently with Highland Reel in 2016, Aidan O’Brien has four King George wins to his name. However, given his unprecedented dominance of British and Irish racing, ten years is an awfully long time to wait for a fifth success. Could this be the year that wait comes to an end?
With the clock counting down, O’Brien has four stars still in contention. However, with Lambourn and Action available to back at triple-figure prices, punters are understandably focusing on the claims of Benvenuto Cellini and Minnie Hauk.
With only six three-year-olds coming home in front in the current century, the stats are against Benvenuto Cellini. Nevertheless, at a general price of 3/1, the market rates the son of Frankel as the biggest threat to Calandagan. An impressive winner of the Chester Vase, he flopped at Epsom, only to be deemed a non-runner following an incident at the start. Putting that behind him, he bounced back to register a comfortable victory in the Irish Derby. With connections reporting that he has improved since that success, he may yet threaten Calandagan’s status as favourite.
Minnie Hauk is more than twice the price of Benvenuto Cellini but arguably boasts form at least as strong. Completing the English and Irish Oaks double in 2025, she then lost out by just a head in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe. Second to Ombudsman over an inadequate 1m2f last time, she bids to become the first filly to win the race since the great Enable claimed her third success in 2020.
Ball to Break New Ground for Japan?
Despite their success on the global stage, including famous victories at the Breeders’ Cup and Dubai World Cup, Japan have never won the King George – coming closest when Hearts Cry finished third behind Hurricane Run in 2006.
Masquerade Ball and Wurttemberg are the colts set to represent the Land of the Rising Sun in 2026. Without a win in Group 1 company and seemingly at his best over two miles, Wurttemberg would be a surprise winner. A stronger case can be made for Takahisa Tezuka’s Masquerade Ball. A Grade 1 winner in the Tenno Sho over 1m2f, his most recent outing over this trip saw him lose out by just a head to Calandagan in the 2025 Japan Cup.
Kalpana to Go One Better for Hosts?
Despite regularly facing strong overseas challenges, from Ireland and France in particular, the hosts have held their own in the King George in recent times. Of the 26 editions in the current century, 14 have been won by a British trainer.
The Andrew Balding-trained Kalpana is the main hope for the hosts in 2026. Yet to finish outside the first three in five previous trips to Ascot, she is a dual Group 1 winner at the track having landed back-to-back editions of the Qipco British Champions Fillies and Mares Stakes. However, her peak performance came when finishing a length behind in second to Calandagan 12 months ago. Fit and well following a win at Newbury and a close second in the Hardwicke Stakes, the mount of Colin Keane may be involved in the finish once again.
George Scott’s Bay City Roller is among the outsiders at a general 33/1, despite running out a ten-length winner of the Coronation Cup last time. He will face much quicker ground here, but finished second in a good ground edition of the Tattersalls Gold Cup in May and could outrun his odds.
So will it be Britain, Ireland, France, or Japan? We will know the answer shortly after 3:35 pm on Saturday.