Harbinger can finally prove himself a genuine Group 1 horse

An Epsom Derby victor meets an Irish Derby winner and one of the best and most progressive older horses in training. That is the essence of what the King George should be. Add in a horse that’s run up the Prix De l’Arc three times; a French filly who’s won the Hong Kong Vase to add some international flavour, and a front runner to ensure there’s no hiding place and that’s precisely we’re being served at Ascot this afternoon.

It’s an enthralling clash with the added dimension that three of the six runners will be setting off from the same Freemason Lodge Stables bidding to emulate another stable companion, Conduit, who won the race last year.

Sir Michael Stoute is the trainer with the happy distinction of fielding half the runners in today’s feature but stable jockey Ryan Moore, who sticks with Epsom hero Workforce, is in little doubt that he’s aboard the right one. Having won the Derby, he also rode Harbinger to a scintillating success in the Hardwicke Stakes at Royal Ascot but even that performance was not enough to make him contemplate switching allegiance from his first Derby winner.