Only way is up for Yaz and the King
Goodwood can provide significant consolation for Yazaman and English King – who have both run with credit but no glory in high-profile assignments of late.
English King was in the best of company when, along with 14 others, he was unable to peg back shock winner Serpentine in the Investec Derby at Epsom.
Ed Walker’s son of Camelot was within a length of being best of the rest, however – and although the John Pearce Racing Gordon Stakes will be the other way round of course, it presents a test which should very much suit him over the Derby distance.
He needs to turn that differential of a length back round in his favour against Epsom runner-up Khalifa Sat, already twice a course winner here and therefore likely to run up to his best.
Al Aasy, a convincing Newmarket winner at this same Group Three level last time, is another very significant opponent too.
The impression nonetheless is that the best is most definitely yet to come from English King, who was a well touted second favourite in the Derby and ran well enough in an unconventional edition of that race to strongly indicate that he can set the record straight. He finished with purpose, having started slowly and found himself in a highly-unpromising position. If just a little less goes wrong for him and Frankie Dettori here, English King should restate his pretensions as a colt of the highest class.
Qatar Richmond Stakes contender Yazaman, conversely, has done nothing wrong on any of his three appearances – apart from running into Tactical at both Royal Ascot and Newmarket.
But for the Queen’s dual winner, Yazaman would have a Listed and Group Two success on his CV already, having lost by a length and a quarter each time but beaten 23 others in all.
William Haggas’ juvenile was a debut winner in a small field on lively ground at Yarmouth before that – and on the collateral basis of his performances in the Windsor Castle and then July Stakes, this quick six furlongs presents a perfect opportunity for a deserved Group Two victory. The feature race on a top-quality card is the Group One Qatar Nassau Stakes, in which globe-trotting Japanese mare Deirde is set to defend her title after last year’s 20-1 win. She will be considerably shorter odds to do so, and has plausible prospects of achieving the rare feat, having run with much credit in four subsequent Group Ones, most recently fifth behind Ghaiyyath and Enable in the Coral-Eclipse.
On balance, though, Nazeef has built up a sufficiently convincing body of work in her six successive wins to be a worthy favourite this time.