Ocean’s just swell
supposed to ride,” he said. “And then William Buick, but he had to go somewhere else.
“Novellist was very impressive and broke the track record.
“It’s hard to pick one above another as they were all great.”
As for today’s outcome, Murtagh added: “Listen, Michael Stoute likes the race and I just go with Crystal Ocean.
“He won the Hardwicke and that’s the race Stoutey wins before the King George.”
Carson, whose winners were Troy (1979), Ela-Mana-Mou (1980), Petoski (1985) and Nashwan (1989, nominates Petoski as his most treasured winner.
“He’s the one that stands out because we beat that great filly Oh So Sharp,” said Carson. “The horse had just come to himself and was improving. I wouldn’t say I was confident, but I was very hopeful.”
All four of Carson’s winners were trained by Dick Hern who shares the honour with Stoute and Saeed bin Suroor of winning the race five times. Hern’s other winner Brigadier Gerard, the mount of Joe Mercer, was fortunate to keep the race in 1972, according to Carson. “I was second to him on Parnell and should have got the race in the stewards’ room,” he insisted. “Even Joe admitted that he was lucky to get it.”
Carson believes his success with Nashwan was aided by an astute pacemaking ride from Richard Hills. “I must give Richard a lot of credit. I had bottomed Nashwan in the Eclipse – given him a bad ride.
“I said don’t run. He needs a holiday. Dick gave him two days off!”
Tactics will again be crucial in today’s iconic race, but Carson believes everything favours Crystal Ocean.
Another jockey of legendary status, although still at the top of his game in the saddle, is Frankie Dettori. He was successful with Lammtarra (1995), Swain
(1998), Daylami (1999), Doyen (2004) and Enable (2017), but he is currently banned and faces an agonising watch if Cracksman, which he would have ridden, wins.
“If we get the rain, and the ground becomes good, it will swing everything into Cracksman’s favour,” said Dettori. “He’s the class horse.”
The status of the King George is not lost on the 47-year-old Italian.
“When I was a kid the races I watched were the Derby, King George and the Arc,” he said. “Just look at the great horses that have won it – Shergar, Dahlia, Nijinsky, Galileo, and so on.
“When Ribot won in 1956, he came by train from Italy. It took three days to get there! That shows how much the race means.”