I was being facetious, Ron. It is quite clear from the result that Goliath had the race set up for him by just sitting at the back and coming with a late run while all those in front of him were stopping. Perhaps when he next runs his connections will employ a pacemaker to set the race up for him. Maybe Francis-Henri Graffard should ask if he can borrow Hans Anderson with Sean Levey again. In the Hardwicke Stakes, Elegant Man made the running, probably on sufferance as nobody else wanted to lead. He had previously been fourth in the Tattersalls Gold Cup where Aidan O’Brien had run Hans Anderson as a pacemaker for Auguste Rodin. Elegant Man’s three career wins have all been on the kitty litter. Goliath was the second lowest rated horse going into the King George (only the pacemaker was lower), so I am not buying for one minute that he improved 11lb in one race until he repeats the performance. His last win was a five runner Group 3 at Longchamp.
It was a bit like Harbinger all over again. Those on the pace cut each others' throats and then comes a French-based jockey on an older horse with a double handful as they round the final bend. Harbinger more impressive though - here a trip down memory lane:
As Phil Bull used to say, the rating only tells you how bad a horse isn't, not how good it is. I don't buy into this "that he improved 11lb in one race". All ratings are retrospective. For me, a horse that can win in that time, so easily, is not a "G2 horse". He has just shown us what he is capable of in a truly run race
Ratings Update: Goliath produces high-class performance please log in to view this image please log in to view this image By Andrew Asquith — published 29th July 2024 Andrew Asquith provides the Timeform ratings reaction from last week, including a significant performance by Goliath in the King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Stakes. While it may not have been a vintage renewal of the King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Stakes, the French-trained Goliath (127 from 116) produced a high-class performance from out of the blue to comfortably beat in-form filly Bluestocking by two and a half lengths. He had finished well adrift of the subsequently sidelined Isle of Jura in the Hardwicke Stakes at Royal Ascot, but he was clearly liberated by a very different tempo of race, relishing the sort of end-to-end test rarely seen in top-level races, recording the fifth fastest winning time in the race this century, and becoming the first gelding to win the race. Goliath travelled notably strongly in mid-field before making smooth headway on the bridle over two furlongs out, produced to lead well over a furlong out and was soon clear without his jockey having to get in any way serious with him. That performance puts him right towards the top of the tree in the middle-distance division in Europe - White Birch is top on 128 - though repeating this sort of performance won't be easy, as his future options, like his stablemate Calandagan who was so impressive in winning the King Edward VII at Royal Ascot, are slightly limited by him being a gelding.
