There will only be five Ascot King George runners heading to post on Saturday – but despite the small field – you can certainly make big cases for four of them. Including the expected favourite Jan Brueghel, who will be looking to give trainer Aidan O’Brien a fifth victory in the race.
However, if Jan Brueghel is to add to the Ballydoyle successes in the Ascot King George – there is a monster 28-year stat he (and also Rebel’s Romance) must overcome.
Since 1997 Only ONE Ascot King George Winner Has Come From Stall 1 or 2
Okay, horse racing fans will be shouting – there are only five Ascot King George runners this year.
Plus, with the race being run over a trip of 1m4f – then why should the draw even come into play when trying to find the winner?
However, if we rewind back to the Epsom Derby in June – which is also run over 1m4f – there have been some ‘bogey stalls’, that for some reason have poor returns, in that contest too.
You might remember us telling you stalls 2, 11, 16 and 20 have NEVER produced a Derby winner since the starting gates were introduced in 1967.
And it’s one of those ‘graveyard’ numbers – STALL 2 – that has also eluded a lot of Ascot King George hopefuls over the years.
In the last 28 runnings of the race – remarkably we’ve only seen ONE Ascot King George winner start the race from gate 2.
And the same crazy trend applies to stall 1 – with only ONE winner from that berth too.
Now, there doesn’t seem to be any rhyme or reason for this and unlike the Derby, the King George tends to also have fewer runners – so less traffic issue and all that.
In short – it’s a bizarre stat that’s built up over the years – one that some will dismiss easily, while others might continue to back the trend.
Regardless – all this means two of the fancies runners with horse racing betting sites – Jan Brueghel (stall 2) and Rebel’s Romance (stall 1) – both have this strange trend to overcome.
The only Ascot King George winner from stall 2 since 1997 was Harbinger in 2010.
While the only gate 1 winner in the race since 1999 was Daylami back in 1999.
But What About The Average King George Field Size?
Some might ask this too – as generally the bigger fields at Ascot on the round course will favour higher numbers (7-8).
However, the average King George field size since 1997 (if we take out when it was run at Newbury in 2005) is still only eight.
And this average goes down even more to 7.5 in the last 15 years.
Which further adds to this weird draw stat that’s built up.
What Has Been The Winning-Most Ascot King George Stall?
In contrast to the dire record in the King George from horses coming out of stalls 1 and 2 – this means there’s been several with much better records.
Step forward gates 3 and 4.
In the last 14 runnings – stalls 3 and 4 have produced a healthy 57% return with EIGHT winners – four each.
So, applying that to this year’s race – we can probably rule out pacemaker and 100/1 shot Continuous in gate 3.
But many feel the French raider Calandagan heads here with a big say and with stall 4 – maybe his chance has just got better.
King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Stakes Runners 2025 and Stalls
| Horse | Stall |
| Calandagan | 4 |
| Jan Brueghel | 2 |
| Kalpana | 5 |
| Rebel’s Romance | 1 |
| Continuous | 3 |
King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Stakes Race Details 2025
See below the details for the 2025 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes.
With the Ascot Group One being broadcast live on the ITV Racing schedule.
📅Date: Saturday 26th July 2025
⌚Time: 4:10pm
🏃Trip: 1m 4f
🏆Grade: Group One
🏇Racecourse: Ascot
💷Winner: £850,650
📺 TV: RTV / ITV Racing
Rebel’s Romance Also Has Another HUGE Ascot King George Stat To Overcome
Godolphin’s globetrotting Rebel’s Romance is a horse a lot of punters would have backed over the years.
This veteran 7 year-old has run in 26 races around the world and amassed a stonking £10,805,099 in total prize money.
He was last in action winning the Hardwicke Stakes at Royal Ascot in June (watch below).
However, at the age of 7 – this Charlie Appleby runner has another of the big Ascot King George trends against him.
Since the current format of the race was first run in 1951 – EVERY winner has been aged 6 or younger.
Meaning Rebel’s Romance – if he can win on Saturday – would be become the oldest EVER Ascot King George winner.
WATCH: Rebel’s Romance Winning The Hardwicke Stakes at Royal Ascot
