Group 1 Champion Stakes winner King Of Steel was pre-entered in both the Breeders’ Cup Turf and the Breeders’ Cup Classic, though trainer Roger Varian has yet to finalize whether the colt will ship to California.
Varian entered King Of Steel with first priority to the Turf and second priority to the Classic, according to a report from Steve Andersen of Daily Racing Form. Preliminary indications were that King of Steel came out well from his win Saturday at Ascot, though Varian wants to watch his condition until later in the week before making a final decision about wheeling him back in the Breeders’ Cup.
King of Steel earned a guaranteed, fees-paid berth to the Breeders’ Cup Turf by virtue of his victory in the British Champion Stakes. Jockey Frankie Dettori guided the gray home to get up by three-quarters of a length over Via Sistina. Andersen reported that Dettori will keep the mount if King of Steel runs in the Breeders’ Cup.
The Champion Stakes was King of Steel’s first top-level win, though he already had marked himself as one of the better British sophomores of the year. Despite being a 66-1 outsider in the English Derby (G1) on June 3, he led late and was beaten only a half-length by Auguste Rodin. He won the King Edward VII (G2) at Royal Ascot in his next start, and he ran well in the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth (G1) and the Irish Champion (G1) before prevailing Saturday.
Though Varian has yet to win a Breeders’ Cup race in eight starts, four of his charges have finished in the money. Those include Daahyeh, second in the 2019 Juvenile Fillies Turf; Nahrain, second in the 2011 Filly and Mare Turf; Teona, third in the 2021 Turf and Farraaj, third in the 2011 Juvenile Turf. Varian has two North American graded-stakes wins from 17 starts on the continent: Nahrain won the 2012 Flower Bowl (G1) and Sheikha Reika won the 2018 E.P. Taylor (G1).