WITH some tantalising clashes between generations, nations and sexes in the offing, it’s hard to imagine there will be many better races run this season than today’s Group 1 King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Stakes (3.35) at Ascot.

A glance at last year’s Longines World’s Best Racehorse Rankings shows that we’ve got last year’s highest-rated horse in the world in action, Calandagan, the highest-rated turf three-year-old on the planet from 2025, Masquerade Ball, and the two highest-rated fillies in the world from last season, Minnie Hauk and Kalpana.

For good measure, we’ve got the 2024 King George winner, Goliath, back for another bite of the cherry, as well as last month’s impressive Irish Derby hero Benvenuto Cellini, who is technically still unbeaten in his three-year-old season after being declared a non-runner at Epsom due to stalls difficulties.

One of the most intriguing elements of the nine-runner affair is the rematch between French star Calandagan and Japanese ace Masquerade Ball, given there was only a head between them when finishing first and second in the Japan Cup last November.

Francis Graffard’s recent Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud winner has the advantage of more up-to-date match practice, though his younger rival emerged with massive credit from an excellent second to the mighty Romantic Warrior when last seen in the Group 1 QEII Cup at Sha Tin in April.

The mount of Christophe Lemaire exercised alongside fellow Japanese challenger Wurttemberg at Newmarket earlier this week, and trainer Takahisa Tezuka believes there has been physical improvement in his autumn Tenno Sho winner since last locking horns with Calandagan.

Speaking through a translator, Tezuka said: “He has matured and developed a lot from three to four, not just mentally but physically as well. He is a lot bigger and stronger. I was nervous about the journey over, but everything went smoothly. The horse seems very happy, while his training is going better than I expected.

“This race is the biggest of Masquerade Ball’s life so far. Calandagan is not the only horse we have to think about, even though there was only a head between us in the Japan Cup, because there are a lot of other strong competitors. We are looking forward to seeing how much our horse has developed since then.”

Major praise

Lemaire said in April that the colt has the potential to be ‘one of the greats’ of Japanese racing.

Tezuka added: “I was very happy with those comments. Christophe has ridden many great horses, including Equinox, so it was an honour to hear that from such a great jockey.

“The horse’s owner Mr [Teruya] Yoshida loves Ascot and, from last year, pushed me to challenge for this race. The King George, rather than the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, is our main reason for bringing Masquerade Ball to Europe.”

As for the defending champion, director and French racing manager for the Aga Khan Studs, Nemone Routh, said: “The King George has always been Calandagan’s main objective this summer. We toyed with the idea of not going to Saint-Cloud because we did not want to compromise his chances for the King George, but he came right just before that race and we felt we needed to know where we were with him after Epsom.

“Calandagan has come out of Saint-Cloud very well. Mentally, I think it was a very good race for him. His regular rider thinks he has improved from Saint-Cloud and is spot-on for the King George, which he will need to be as it looks a stronger field this year. He will have to be at the top of his form, but we know he loves Ascot and always runs well there.

“Calandagan has been the ultimate racehorse for us. He is so consistent and, if he can, always gives the best of himself. He is just a top-class horse.”

Ballydoyle challenge

Aidan O’Brien is responsible for nearly half the line up (four representatives) and this year marks 25 years since his first victory in the race with Galileo.

“We think Benvenuto Cellini is a very high-quality, classy horse on fast ground. He’s probably a bit quicker than Galileo was, but he moves like him and we think he’s brave like he was too,” O’Brien said.

“We ran Minnie Hauk in the Prince of Wales’s Stakes with a view to coming back for the King George, and we thought that was probably her best run ever. The extra couple of furlongs should really suit her.”

Andrew Balding has made no secret that this £2 million contest has been a prime target for Kalpana when staying in training this season. She got within a length of Calandagan when second 12 months ago.

“She worked well on Saturday, I was very happy with her,” said Balding.

“She’s a very good horse on her day and loves Ascot – she’s not put in a bad turn there yet, so hopefully that will continue. I’m sure she’ll be there or thereabouts again.

“I think she’s a little bit fitter than she was last year and we were always sort of struggling to get weight off her last year. This year, she has come to hand and stayed in a good place. It just seems to have occurred that way, but we are very happy with her. It’s one of the most important middle-distance races of the summer and has always been a main target for her.”