Profitable out to rule in King George Stakes
dubai — G1-winning sprinter Profitable, who lines up in the G2 King George Stakes over five furlongs, heads a strong Godolphin contingent for day four of Glorious Goodwood on Friday, August 4 according to a press release.
The Clive Cox-trained five-yearold has finished second on both his starts this year and went down by three lengths to Lady Aurelia in the five-furlong G1 King’s Stand Stakes at Royal Ascot on June 20, a race he won in 2016.
He had previously chased home Signs Of Blessing in the G3 Prix de Saint-Georges, run on very soft ground over the same distance, at Deauville, France on May 13.
Profitable, with James Doyle in the saddle, faces 11 rivals including impressive G3 winner Battaash plus Marsha, Priceless and Take Cover, who all finished behind the Godolphin runner in the King’s Stand Stakes.
Clive Cox commented: “I have been delighted with Profitable since his excellent second to Lady Aurelia at Royal Ascot. I am very happy with the weather forecast and couldn’t be more pleased with the horse.
“Profitable has never run at Goodwood before but I don’t think that it is a big deal as he has come down the dip at Newmarket.
“I would hope that the rain would be more in our favour than against. He heads to Goodwood in good form and I have been very pleased with him.”
Frontiersman (Charlie Appleby/ William Buick), an easy winner of a Newmarket handicap in May, has also filled the runner-up spot on his two latest outings and the fouryear-old is out to capitalise on a drop in grade in the G3 Glorious Stakes over a mile and a half.
The four-year-old Dubawi colt stayed on well in the 12-furlong G1 Coronation Cup at Epsom Downs on June 2 and found stable companion Hawkbill three quarters of a length too strong in the G2 Princess Of Wales’s Stakes over the same trip at Newmarket on July 13.
Charlie Appleby reported: “Although Frontiersman was beaten at Newmarket, we were still pleased with his performance. Hawkbill turned up on his A game and he is a tough horse to beat.
“I think that Frontiersman is getting better with racing and we have been pleased with how he has come out of his last run.
“He was third on his debut at Goodwood, so he has some experience of the course, and I am hoping that the ground is not too testing.
“I am expecting him to run a better race again and he looks the one to beat.”
Three Godolphin contenders for the day’s big handicap, the Betfred Mile, include the Charlie Appleby-trained pair of Blair House (William Buick) and G K Chesterton (James Doyle), both four-year-olds, who were second and 19th respectively in the Royal Hunt Cup, also over a mile, at Royal Ascot on June 21.