It was always a strong possibility to happen, and about an hour before the start of racing at Ascot on Saturday trainer John Gosden declared Cracksman (GB) (Frankel {GB}) out of the G1 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth S. due to the going.
The 4-year-old was said by connections to have needed some give in the ground to line up, and while some thunderstorms pierced England's dry spell on Friday evening, it wasn't enough to change the ground description and by Saturday morning sun and winds were quickly drying things out again.
“Unfortunately the ground dried up and he is not running,” Gosden explained. “We've walked the track and checked it. We had 25 millimetres at Newmarket and it is soft there, and York is soft. It is the nature of summer thunderstorms-they hit one place and not another. The horse is in great form, but I don't want to put him back on this type of ground again. He didn't appreciate it last time at the Royal meeting. There is plenty of nice racing to come and we are only halfway through the season. The stewards have been very understanding about it, as has everybody here. We were very much wanting to run. Mr Oppenheimer is here and is very keen, that's why we stayed in, but we just got unlucky with the thunderstorms. It is getting quicker and quicker. If we had the rain Newmarket and York had, we would be in business.”
Gosden still saddles the 4-year-old filly Coronet (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) in the feature race.
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