2026 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes Confirmed Runners - Calandagan faces eight at Ascot

Jon Vine

Editor

Last updated: Thu 23 Jul 2026 12:27

Jon Vine 54 minutes ago

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The final field for the 2026 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes has been confirmed
9 top horses will contest this massive Group One at Ascot on Saturday 25th July
Calandagan returns to defend his crown, with Masquerade Ball, Benvenuto Cellini and Minnie Hauk also in the field

The starting stalls at Ascot. (Getty)

Nine horses will contest Saturday's King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes, with defending champion Calandagan heading a top-quality field.

Francis Graffard's star bounced back from a poor effort in the Coronation Cup at Epsom by winning his second Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud earlier this month. Calandagan has won four global Group One races since scoring here at Ascot 12 months ago, and Mickael Barzalona's mount remains the favourite with the bookies.

Six Group One winners will line up against Calandagan on Saturday, including his stablemate Goliath, who powered to victory in this race two years ago. Masquerade Ball flies the flag for Japan, and connections are eagerly anticipating a second clash with the favourite, having been narrowly beaten on home soil in the Japan Cup.

Aidan O'Brien runs four in Saturday's feature, with Ryan Moore partnering with Irish Derby winner Benvenuto Cellini. Wayne Lordan jumps into the saddle of former Arc winner Minnie Hauk for the first time. 2025 Epsom Derby winner, Lambourn is the likely pace-angle in Saturday's main event. Three-year-old Action could also help make the running, and it's William Buick and Sean Levey who've picked up the spare Ballydoyle rides.

Kalpana was touched off by Calandagan in this race 12 months ago, and returns to her favourite track on the back of a narrow defeat in the Hardwicke Stakes. Oisin Murphy jumps into the saddle of Saturday's final runner, Wurttemmberg for Japanese trainer Hiroshi Miyamoto.

2026 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes Final Field

Num.	Name	Age	Jockey	Trainer
1	Calandagan	5	Mickael Barzalona	Francis-Henri Graffard
2	Goliath	6	Christophe Soumillon	Francis-Henri Graffard
3	Lambourn	4	William Buick	Aidan O'Brien
4	Masquerade Ball	4	Christophe-Patrice Lemaire	Takahisa Tezuka
5	Wurttemberg	6	Oisin Murphy	Hiroshi Miyamoto
6	Kalpana	5	Colin Keane	Andrew Balding
7	Minnie Hauk	4	Wayne Lordan	Aidan O'Brien
8	Action	3	Sean Levey	Aidan O'Brien
9	Benvenuto Cellini	3	Ryan Moore	Aidan O'Brien