QEII Glory For Farhh's King of Change

Considered by many to have enjoyed the rub of the green when runner-up in the G1 2000 Guineas, Ali Abdulla Saeed's King of Change (GB) (Farhh {GB}) cocked a snook at his detractors in style in Saturday's G1 Queen Elizabeth II S. at Ascot. Seen only once in the interim when enjoying a perfect warm-up when winning the Listed Fortune S., the 12-1 shot was settled in mid-division early by a confident Sean Levey. Coaxed to the front with finesse with 1 1/2 furlongs remaining, the bay stayed on strongly despite drifting left and had 1 1/4 lengths to spare over The Revenant (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) at the line, with Safe Voyage (Ire) (Fast Company {Ire}) 1 1/2 lengths back in third. “He's been a tricky horse who has had minor setbacks and the fact that they got him here is a great training performance and a team effort,” his rider said. “I rode Toronado and Sky Lantern at home, but neither of them gave me a feel like him.”

One of the least-exposed runners on the entire card, King of Change had yet to race at this time last year which is no surprise given his physical stature and after two second placings in a Nottingham maiden and Wolverhampton novice contest over further than this mile on Halloween and in November he was put away. Returning not in a Guineas trial but a novice back over the course and distance of his debut, the bay earned his place in the line-up for the Newmarket Classic by beating the useful King Ademar (Scat Daddy) by 2 1/2 lengths Apr. 10 and started at 66-1 for the May 4 feature. One of a trio who raced against the stand's rail, he ended up second to the more battle-hardened Magna Grecia (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) in the Guineas having been led by the not-inconsiderable talent Shine So Bright (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}).

In the immediate aftermath of the Guineas, a widely-held theory was that this now obviously high-class trio had lucked out on a more favourable strip. Doubts persisted as to the merit of the form for several weeks after Magna Grecia was injured when only fifth in the G1 Irish 2000 Guineas and King of Change remained in the shadows. It was only when Shine So Bright reappeared to beat Laurens (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}) in the G2 City of York S. at the August Ebor meeting that credibility was restored to the three isolated Guineas runners and that was continued as King of Change came back to take Sandown's Fortune Sept. 18. With the pace provided by Jason Watson on the smooth-travelling G1 Falmouth S. scorer Veracious (GB) (Frankel {GB}) proving sufficient, Levey was content to sit and wait several lengths down the field. Magna Grecia was the first of the main protagonists in trouble, then the Irish Guineas hero Phoenix of Spain (Ire) (Lope de Vega {Ire}) felt the pinch along with the 7-2 favourite Benbatl (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}).

King of Change was the only one of this line-up capable of a defining move in the race and that came from the three-furlong marker to the point where he established his dominion still a long way from home on ground this testing. That he hung late denied him a clearer margin over the year-older The Revenant, but there was no denying his superiority at the finish. “Some people said I was little petulant not celebrating finishing second in the Guineas,” trainer Richard Hannon said. “We always thought the world of this horse and second in the Guineas is a great run, but you don't remember those. Now he'll be remembered.”

“I thought he'd run well in the Guineas, but he had a hard race so we put him away. We thought it would be fast ground at Royal Ascot, but we got the first one in 10 years where it rained all the time!,” Hannon added. “It was always about next year for him, so we took our time and he came back to win his listed race well. I thought he'd win or go close today, as there was no fluke about his Guineas run and there was no fluke here. He's taken on the Guineas winner there and beaten him. I was impressed with The Revenant in Longchamp and impressed with this horse today. The [G1] Queen Anne will be on the agenda next year.”

Francis-Henri Graffard was disappointed that The Revenant was tasting defeat for the first time in 2019. “I hate being second,” he said. “The race here with Bateel [who was also second in the Fillies & Mares in 2017], I still can't digest that. When you come and you have done the job and the horse is in top form, you really hope. Second is not a great position to be, but we have to be proud of our horse. He came from far back and he was coming, but he just got beaten. The winner won easily and he was prominent and we had to make up a lot of ground. We can't find any excuses and he ran a fantastic race. He will stay in training next year, as he is a gelding. He is a fantastic horse.”

By the 2013 G1 Champion S. hero Farhh, King of Change is bred to appreciate easy ground as does his half-brother and fellow participant in this race Century Dream (Ire) (Cape Cross {Ire}) who was successful in the G3 Diomed S. and third in this race 12 months ago. They are two of the first three foals out of Salacia (Ire) whose sire Echo of Light (GB) was also just as much at home on a soft surface as a sound one. She is out of Neptune's Bride (Bering {GB}), who annexed the G3 Prix Fille de l'Air and is a daughter of the G3 Prix de Ris-Orangis winner Wedding of the Sea (Blushing Groom {Fr}). Also connected to the smart Dubai Escapade (Aus) (Dubai Destination) and Countess Fager (Dr. Fager), Salacia also has the unraced 2-year-old filly Banna (GB) (Pivotal {GB}), a yearling filly by Golden Horn (GB) and a filly foal by Sea the Stars (Ire).

Saturday, Ascot, Britain
QUEEN ELIZABETH II S. (BRITISH CHAMPIONS MILE SPONSORED BY QIPCO)-G1, £1,100,000, Ascot, 10-19, 3yo/up, 8fT, 1:44.88, hy.
1–KING OF CHANGE (GB), 127, c, 3, by Farhh (GB)
1st Dam: Salacia (Ire), by Echo of Light (GB)
2nd Dam: Neptune's Bride, by Bering (GB)
3rd Dam: Wedding of the Sea, by Blushing Groom (Fr)
1ST GROUP WIN; 1ST GROUP 1 WIN. O-Ali Abdulla Saeed; B-Rabbah Bloodstock Ltd (GB); T-Richard Hannon; J-Sean Levey. £623,810. Lifetime Record: 6-3-3-0, $995,418. *1/2 to Century Dream (Ire) (Cape Cross {Ire}), GSW & G1SP-Eng, GSP-UAE, $509,134. Werk Nick Rating: A++. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–The Revenant (GB), 130, g, 4, Dubawi (Ire)–Hazel Lavery (Ire), by Excellent Art (GB). O-Al Asayl France; B-Al Asayl Bloodstock Ltd (GB); T-Francis-Henri Graffard. £236,500.
3–Safe Voyage (Ire), 130, g, 6, Fast Company (Ire)–Shishangaan (Ire), by Mujadil. (£52,000 Ylg '14 DNPRM). O-Ross Harmon; B-Adolf Schneider (IRE); T-John Quinn. £118,360.
Margins: 1 1/4, 1HF, 1HF. Odds: 12.00, 4.00, 40.00.
Also Ran: Veracious (GB), Mohaather (GB), Happy Power (Ire), Century Dream (Ire), Lord Glitters (Fr), Raising Sand (GB), Phoenix of Spain (Ire), Accidental Agent (GB), Move Swiftly (GB), King of Comedy (Ire), Magna Grecia (Ire), Imaging (GB), Benbatl (GB). Click for the Racing Post result or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. Video, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.