Another King George moment to savour for Christophe Soumillon
King George reaction: Marcus Townend on Goliath's Ascot win
By Marcus Townend
16:24 · SUN July 28, 2024
Our man at the track Marcus Townend on Goliath's King George win and another off-day for Auguste Rodin.
His name is synonymous with one of the biggest turn-ups in the history of the world but the equine Goliath delivered a racing shock of his own with his 25/1 victory in the £1.25million King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot.
The biblical story of the giant Philistine warrior being downed by the sling and shot of the diminutive shepherd boy David has been passed down the generations as an example why you should never be daunted by seemingly insurmountable odds and that anything is possible.
His equine namesake – the first French horse to win this treasured mid-summer prize in 18 years – offered up his own lesson.
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Never be swayed by a racehorse’s reputation. Anything can happen on the Turf.
Once again far too many pundits and punters fell for the charms of 7/4 favourite Auguste Rodin, who is starting to stretch the dictionary definition of the word mercurial.
Aidan O’Brien’s colt is clearly talented and you have to give the Coolmore team credit throwing him into some testing battles on the track. The problem with Ryan Moore’s mount is that six defeats in 14 races is seriously starting to take the gloss off his reputation.
Auguste Rodin has some pretty good wins on his record, including an English and Irish Derby plus a Breeders’ Cup Turf.
The trouble is his defeats are starting to become as memorable as his successes. When he is good Auguste Rodin is very good but when he is bad he's pretty bad too especially when he has been billed as a superstar.
His run on Saturday wasn’t as anywhere near as poor as his 127-length last in the King George 12 months earlier but an 11-and-a-half length fifth behind Goliath fell into the comprehensive category, especially off the back of his win in the Prince of Wales’s Stakes at Royal Ascot.
It looked there like Auguste Rodin might have turned over a new leaf, new tactics of being ridden closer to the pace paying dividends, according to O’Brien.
Those tactics were deployed again on Saturday as his stablemates Hans Andersen and Luxembourg cut out the early pace but they didn’t work this time.
Check out Ben Linfoot's Saturday analysis
Was the ground against Auguste Rodin?
O’Brien’s reasoning that the ground had been over-watered and become unsuitable for Auguste Rodin was hard to swallow and not supported by race times.
Auguste Rodin will probably win again but the lesson from this testament from Ascot is that anyone who backs him must etch into his thought process that he carries a serious wealth warning if you side with him. There are two Auguste Rodins.
Punters were not the only ones to underestimate Goliath.
He had almost garnered most attention for his strange gait, suffering from stringhalt making him a candidate for the Ministry of Funny Walks.
Even trainer Francis Graffard conceded he had jitters when he looked up and saw his Goliath’s odds which before the race were as long as 28/1.
"You feel like you might be made to look like a fool and you don’t want that because you feel like you know what you are doing," said the Chantilly-based trainer.
Last month he ended a six-year drought for French trainers at Royal Ascot when Calandagan romped to success in the King Edward VII Stakes and he was not put off returning to the Berkshire track with Goliath even though he had been easily brushed aside by Isle of Jura in the Hardwicke Stakes.
Pace key to the improvement
Graffard knew his horse needed a strong pace to be at his best and he got it on Saturday courtesy of Auguste Rodin’s two pace-setting stablemates.
They probably overdid it in front but that allowed Christophe Soumillon to sit quietly and cruise into contention far more easily than he could have envisaged as he won his second King George far more easily than his first time with Hurricane Run in 2006.
The winning rider was adamant there was no fluke about his victory.
Goliath and Christophe Soumillon win the King George
Soumillon said: "For sure if you look at what the horse won in the past he was not a multiple Group One winner like the big favourites but on paper and what’s going on on track is different. He worked amazingly well last week which was what gave me and Francis the great opportunity to come here because everybody knows it's the toughest place to win a race, especially with French horses.
"It was a very smooth race and at the two furlong marker it was game over for the others."
With both Goliath and Calandagan being geldings they can’t run in the Arc, so there will no doubt be more trips back to Britain.
Given the French focus is on their home Olympics, Goliath's stunning romp at Ascot probably won't cause a ripple outside racing circles in his homeland.
But British punters will not be underestimating Graffard’s runners in the near future.
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