Well if Jack Hobbs shows his best form then I think he's a certainty for the first 3 in these conditions. I really don't know what went on with him at Ascot LTO, but some horses do not like Ascot. Maybe he is one of them as he's never won there in 3 attempts.
Jack Hobbs is 5 years old though, if it wasn't for the fact only 3 or 4 year olds win this race and history is not on our side, My Dream Boat would hack up
If the horses run to their best form, the King George promises to be a close finish with a blanket thrown over the first three or four home; but we know that they rarely all run to their peak in the big events so it may not end up that way. According to TurfTrax, the going at Ascot is currently Good to Soft and the weather forecast suggests that there is little chance of it being anything but easy come race time. Depending on how much rain arrives over Friday evening and on race day, it could end up softer. A good victory for one of the leading fancies could see it contract to 3/1 or 2/1 favouritism for the Arc, especially with question marks still lingering over last year’s top European horse Almanzor, yet to race this term. Looking at the victories of dual Oaks heroine Enable, she is no daisy-cutter so she should handle the ease in the ground and if she finds some improvement she could run out an impressive winner. She owes her place at the head of the market to the visually impressive nature of her Classic wins rather than the worth of the form as all the middle distance three year olds look decidedly mediocre, like last year. Ballydoyle are represented by the brothers, Idaho (who is taking a step up in class) and Highland Reel (who clocked a good time at Epsom but may not be at home on the easy turf). Given that Cliffs Of Moher had no real race at all at Sandown, I am surprised that he was not allowed to take his chance here. On the best of his form, Jack Hobbs is the one to beat, will not be inconvenienced by the ground but can he be relied upon to put his best hoof forward? His previous visits to Ascot do not suggest that he is in love with the place! Expectation is that Maverick Wave will make sure there is no hanging around. Ulysses fits the profile of an improving Stoute older horse but is he going to give his best in a top race when it is easy? The ground will obviously be key to My Dream Boat but it seems like a lifetime ago since he won last year’s Prince of Wales’s Stakes, his most recent win; and he has never won over twelve furlongs. Benbatl’s staying on fifth (past beaten horses) in the Derby does not look good enough and he would need to improve on his latest effort, as would Desert Encounter.
Opera House won as a 5yo. I wouldn't let age put me off. Some horses mature late and are still improving at 5. We just don't find out with most of them. Opera House was trained by Stoute and won the Coronation Cup and Eclipse before his victory. As a 4yo he was an unlucky 3rd in the Gordon Stakes (a race won by Ulysses as a 4yo) and finished 2nd in the Eclipse (a race won by Ulysses as a 4yo) and 3rd in the KG&QE. I wonder if Ulysses can do it a year earlier for Stoute, or will he have to wait until he's 5?
Jack Hobbs quite simply does not let himself go on firmish ground. He is a different beast with a bit of juice in the ground. Official ratings; 123 Highland Reel 123 Jack Hobbs 122 Enable 121 Ulysses 119 Sixties Song 118 Idaho I don't know how they can judge Sixties Song but he is an interesting outsider.
I've watched Sixties Song in vids, and can't see him being good enough. If he wins, then European racing is extremely over rated.
During his 3 yr old campaign,Gosden said that he expected Jack Hobbs to improve considerably with age. He injured his pelvis during his seasonal debut race as a Four year old and his under Four length defeat to Almanzor was also a comeback run. He then won at Meyden, the first time he had not encountered race fitter horses and the first time he had completed over 12F since his 3 yr old campaign. Again at Ascot he encountered much fitter horses as he had not had a run since march ( 90 days). Every time he has run at Ascot, he has been beaten but has also had a disadvantageous high draw each time, a major disadvantage when trying to get position before the bend, he has only been tried at 10F when many, including myself, think he's better and shown his best form at 12F and as an older campaigner, he's never raced with a gap of less than Three calendar months. I see nothing in his form to suggest that he needs Soft ground or that he is fragile nor uingenuine. ! Ithink that the first proper opportunity Jack Hobbs has had to prove himself since his 3 yr old days came at Meyden where he won and Ascot on Saturday is his next realistic chance to show his true worth imo.
Yeah I kind of agree, it's hard to look at his form and say he prefers soft ground. He was runner up in the Derby on GF and he won the Irish equivalent on GF. The race in Dubai was described as Yielding. But how soft does the ground really get in sunny Meydan? I don't think soft ground will be a problem for him, I'm just like you not convinced he's an out and out soft ground horse. I think he is capable of running well on any going. I agree about the draw disadvantage too, the draw is very important in 10 furlong races at Ascot, as the bend comes straight away, so you have to give up a lot of ground if your drawn wide. But he still should have run better than 8th out of 8, the other races he was beaten in he still ran with credit from the bad draw finishing 3rd both times.
You really, really do not know much about this horse at all do you. If you did you would not be quoting formlines from when he was a 3yo tut tut tut!
Well clearly you know more than everyone else then Stick, seeing as he was backed to favourite LTO at Ascot on quick ground. Let's not forget either who the first person on this forum was to tell everyone Jack Hobbs was a future G1 winner. I'm not saying the horse isn't suited by soft, or won't go well on soft. All I'm saying is that there was more to that run at Ascot than just the ground. If he'd finished 2nd or 3rd you could kind of say the ground was the reason for the loss, but I'm not buying finishing 8th out of 8 is his true running on any type of ground. There was something not right with him that day for me. This is not pocket talk either, as I never even had a bet in the POW stakes.
Godolphin are confident the underfoot conditions and a return to 2,400 metres would suit Jack Hobbs when he takes on nine others in the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth II Stakes at Ascot on Saturday. The Dubai Sheema Classic winner on the Dubai World Cup night in March is out to restore his status as a top-class middle-distance runner after being tailed off in the eight-runner Group 1 Prince of Wales’s Stakes at Royal Ascot on June 21 in his last start. William Buick, who has ridden the five-year-old by Halling in his last eight starts, says the conditions are in his favour. “He has an excellent chance, especially as he is coming back to a mile and a half on rain-softened ground, two major factors in his favour,” Buick said of the 2015 Investec Derby runner up and winner of the Irish equivalent. “It is fair to say he was uncomfortable on the ground when eighth to Highland Reel in the Prince of Wales's Stakes at Royal Ascot. It was too fast for him and he never let himself down on that ground.”
I do not pay any attention to the opinions of trainers and jockeys, they are the worst judges on the planet when it comes to talking about one of their own horses. It's like listening to a Dad talk about his sons footballing skills. What you have quoted is just the usual pile of excuses that we see on a regular basis from trainers and jockeys. Look at some of the rubbish in that POW stakes, there is no way Jack Hobbs at his best is the 8th best horse in that race on quicker ground. I mentioned his form lines as a 3yo because that was the last time he'd encountered that type of ground prior to the POW stakes. So I had no choice but to go that far back. Here's a reminder of the last time Jack Hobbs ran on quick ground prior to the POW stakes. Now all of a sudden Jack Hobbs runs one stinker on fast ground, and everyone's buying the ground excuses. As I always say take no notice of jockeys and trainers opinions, and go by what you know to be factually correct, and that's the form book.
You really are missing the point Shergs. The horse has had an injury of the type that I am surprised the connections would run him on firm ground after. The horse was looking after himself in the POW. You can tear up the form book prior to his injury and concentrate on what has suited him since. Its complete nonsense to consider what suited him prior to fracturing his pelvis.
The ground in Irish Derby was closer to treacle than gd to firm. Starting to wonder if the bookies have got at the formbook because some of the going descriptions are complete disgrace.
Well it's easy to be wise after the event about it being down to the fractured pelvis he suffered for his last place at Ascot. Perhaps it is down to that, but then again it could well be a number of reasons. Il be happy if he wins, as I do like the horse, but 5/1 about a horse who finished last LTO is not what I'd call a good bet.
That is surely wasn't, I can give a first hand account for that. It was proper good ground that day, we had had a salubrious spell of weather prior to Derby weekend and the horses were bouncing off it.
