Roger Varian is one of the most talented trainers in the sport and he’s very excited about his stable star King Of Steel. The three-year-old was the runner-up in the Derby last month and he’s set to go up against his elders in Saturday’s King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Qipco Stakes. Varian has been singing the horse’s praises and sounds full of confidence going into the big race. Check out our free tips page for daily content across British and Irish racing.
King Of Steel put in a huge performance to finished second to Auguste Rodin in the Derby. He then followed that up with an impressive victory in the Group 2 Edward VII Stakes at Royal Ascot. Varian isn’t concerned by the return to Group 1 company and is in fact relishing the challenge. He said: We’ve seen King Of Steel’s potential but I don’t think we’ve seen the best of him,” he says. “He’s a big horse who should improve as he gets older and we see him as a horse who deserves to be in the big races. I think he’s a Group 1 horse.
His trainer is under no illusions as to the difficulty of his task but believes his charge has the requisite ability to impose himself in the highest grade. Varian said: “I think if Auguste Rodin runs there will be a natural story involving those two but, my God, we carry the greatest respect for Emily Upjohn, I think you discount Hukum at your peril and Westover is coming into it off the back of a Group 1 win. It’s shaping up like it could be a really good race and I don’t think it’s just about the two three-year-olds. It’s a deep race but I like our horse.”
If you back any of our selections you can watch them live on the free Racing Post app or racingpost.com. Simply log in to one of your bookmaker accounts and click ‘Watch live’ on the racecards.