Ralph hoping West is best
SOME of Ralph Beckett’s earliest racing memories revolve around the King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Qipco Stakes at Ascot, which makes it special to have a contender in Westover capable of lifting the glittering prize. Beckett was nine years old when he saw Dick Hern-trained Ela-ManaMou win in 1980 ridden by Willie Carson, while the aura surrounding the iconic 1981 winner Shergar still burns bright in the Beckett memory. The trainer said: ‘It wasn’t so much the run of Shergar but what did leave a big impression was him being applauded into the paddock. I’ve hardly ever seen that, maybe only with Frankel since. I was pretty much obsessed with racing even then but days like that reinforced my love of the sport. ‘It also now reinforces the importance of the race. ‘If you are an English trainer to win a King George is a big deal. It’s the English Arc.’ Back in spring Beckett was not harbouring King George hopes for Westover, who like his sire Frankel carries the Juddmonte Stud colours of the late Khalid Abdullah. But after scraping home by a short-head in the Sandown Classic Trial in April he was an unlucky third to Desert Crown in the Derby at Epsom, losing all momentum when his home straight run was blocked. He followed that with a seven-length demolition job in the Irish Derby in the hands of today’s rider, three-time Irish champion Colin Keane. Beckett, whose one previous King George runner was ninth-placed Look Here in 2009, said: ‘There was an element of thinking he was a St Leger horse. I remember thinking that. I am not sure I have thought that since the Derby. He has surpassed most if not all expectations. ‘More and more people are telling me that they think he may have won the Derby, but that is water under the bridge. I was thrilled with the run because he had to overcome a tricky draw. ‘We have to concentrate on the now. He is a horse we always felt would develop through the year and it looks like that might be right.’ Westover faces a small but select line-up for the £1.25million race including 2021 Arc winner Torquator Tasso. Five of the six runners are Group One winners but Emily Upjohn, the one who isn’t, may prove his biggest obstacle. She faces colts for the first time and receives significant weight from her rivals. That is something John Gosden, who trains Emily Upjohn with son Thady, has capitalised on before with Enable, who was a three-year-old when winning the first of her three King Georges in 2017, and Taghrooda, who took the prize in 2014 after winning the Oaks at Epsom. An unlucky short-head defeat in this season’s Oaks for Emily Upjohn was one of the lead-up events to the brief divorce between Frankie Dettori and the Gosdens. They have re-affirmed vows but it feels like they need a big win for the union to be blessed.