King George may be next for progressive Universal

There are few harder horses to dislodge from the front than Universal and Mark Johnston’s battler continued his impressive rate of progress in the Princess Of Wales’s boylesports.com Stakes at Newmarket.

As he was robust enough to be winning a third Pattern race from his 10th start of 2013, Johnston and owner Abdulla Al Mansoori are now unlikely to be able to resist the lure of the King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot in just over a fortnight.

Although unsuccessful in Dubai, the winter warmth has propelled the four-year-old to greater heights, and he was the 3-1 favourite after his respectable third in the Hardwicke Stakes at Royal Ascot.