2026 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes News - Quotes from connections

Conrad Castleton

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Last updated: Fri 24 Jul 2026 12:44

Conrad Castleton 3 hours ago

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Quotes from connections ahead of the 2026 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes
This Group One takes place at Ascot on July 25th
Read quotes from Nemone Routh, Aidan O'Brien, Andrew Balding and more

Mickael Barzalona riding Calandagan (green) win The King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot. (Getty)

King George Quotes

Nemone Routh (Racing Manager for the Aga Khan Stud)
Takahisa Tezuka (Trainer of Masquerade Ball)
Aidan O'Brien (Trainer of Benvenuto Cellini)
Aidan O'Brien (Trainer of Minnie Hauk, Lambourn and Action)
John Stewart (Racing Manager for Goliath's owners, Resolute Racing)
Andrew Balding (Trainer of Kalpana)
Oisin Murphy (Jockey of Wurttemberg)

Read exclusive quotes from connections ahead of the 2026 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes, which takes place at Ascot on Saturday.

Here's what connections have had to say ahead of this huge Group One.

2026 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes News - Quotes From Connections

Nemone Routh (Racing Manager for the Aga Khan Stud)

Calandagan took his win at Saint-Cloud very much in his stride and we feel like he has improved from that run. He worked well (earlier in the week) and the people who know him best – his rider and head man here – they were basically saying they feel he is exactly where he was this time last year.

He is at the same weight, he has eaten well and we go into the weekend, while I wouldn’t say we’re confident (of winning), we are confident that the horse is in good form. Obviously it is a very tough field but he likes the track and he won it last year so we are hopeful of a very good run.

We have done it the reverse way and it is a long one and quite the trip. Masquerade Ball is a proper horse and has had a little bit of experience travelling to Hong Kong. If he has travelled well he will be a real contender.

Calandagan is showing us all the signs he is fit and well and he travels very easily as well so I don’t think that will be an issue. He has been to Ascot many times before and obviously loves the track. He will have his ground and is in great form.

The opposition this year is very tough and Benvenuto Cellini as a three-year-old gets a very good weight pull at this time of year. It will be interesting to see how the generations match up but we know that our horse, when he is on form and when he gets his ground, he always runs his race.

Takahisa Tezuka (Trainer of Masquerade Ball)

He has matured and developed a lot from three to four, not just mentally but physically as well. He is a lot bigger and stronger. I was nervous about the journey over, but everything went smoothly. The horse seems very happy, while his training is going better than I expected.

The King George is one of the biggest races in the UK – it is a dream to bring him here. We have tried to give him the best preparation, so we hope for the best while also enjoying the experience because it is an honour to be involved.

This race is the biggest of Masquerade Ball’s life so far. Calandagan is not the only horse we have to think about, even though there was only a head between us in the Japan Cup, because there are a lot of other strong competitors. We are looking forward to seeing how much our horse has developed since then.

undefined — Calandagan became the first overseas horse in 20 years to win the Japan Cup, edging Masquerade Ball by a nose in a record time. (Getty)

Aidan O'Brien (Trainer of Benvenuto Cellini)

We think he's a very high-quality, classy horse on fast ground. He's probably a bit quicker than Galileo was, but he moves like him and we think he's brave like he was too," he said.

There's no better mile-and-a-half race anywhere. It's a difficult race, usually run on fast ground and it's run at Ascot too, which is a very special place. You need a horse that stays.

They have to have class and it's where the three-year-olds meet the older horses for the first time (at the trip).

Aidan O'Brien (Trainer of Minnie Hauk, Lambourn and Action)

We ran her in the Prince of Wales's Stakes with a view to coming back for the King George, and we thought that was probably her best run ever. The extra couple of furlongs should really suit her.

Lambourn ran well enough in France last time and wasn’t beaten that far, while Action has been in good form since he ran in the Irish Derby.

John Stewart (Racing Manager for Goliath's owners, Resolute Racing)

It was unfortunate what happened in the Hardwicke, but he ran a good race. I think afterwards he was thinking ‘what did you do Christophe, we had this race!’, but he will get another chance.

I don’t know if he would have actually won being fair and there was three very good horses making a hard charge. He definitely lost a step though when Christophe’s foot came out the irons, so it was just unfortunate.

He came out of the Hardwicke fine and it was always going to be sort of a prep for the King George. We know he likes the track and what we’ve found out is he loves to run clockwise.

A part of that is because of his stringhalt and that’s on his left side, so when he’s going round the turns anti-clockwise it just bothers him a little.

We know he enjoys Ascot and to be honest that is perfectly fine for us – if you said to me your horse can only run at only one track, then I would always say Ascot.

Andrew Balding (Trainer of Kalpana)

She has been slightly easier to train this year. Last year she carried a lot of condition and we struggled getting it off her. This year she seems to be a slightly sleeker and slimmer model for whatever reason.

I don’t think we did much wrong in the race last year. We just got run down by the best horse in Europe as it turned out. She lost nothing in defeat, she just got beat by a better horse on the day. We have been very happy with her, and she showed at Ascot last time that she can be effective on fast ground.

If there was rain, which there doesn’t seem to be, it might inconvenience some of the others, but she has run well enough there to go here with the same level of form she had last year. If she can run a similar race to last year we hope that she would be in the first three.

Oisin Murphy (Jockey of Wurttemberg)

He has very good form in Japan. Croix Du Nord just beat him over two miles last time and I think he deserves his place in the race. He'll handle the fast ground well and it'll be interesting to see how he gets on.

Wurttemberg is a no-pressure ride. Masquerade Ball is the more fancied Japanese horse, but I'm looking forward to it, and we'll see how he goes.

The prize-money for the King George is huge, and it's a very prestigious race, so you're always going to get a strong field.