Leg infection scuppers Desert Crown’s King George challenge

Sir Michael Stoute’s charge will not line up at Ascot.

Desert Crown will miss Saturday’s King George VI And Queen Elizabeth II Qipco Stakes at Ascot due to a leg infection.

The 2022 Derby winner, who was off with an ankle injury for a year following his Epsom triumph, was beaten on his return by Hukum in the Brigadier Gerard at Sandown in May.

Sir Michael Stoute’s charge had been working well in the build-up to a clash with that rival at Ascot and was also set to take on this year’s Derby one-two Auguste Rodin and King Of Steel, along with the high-class filly Emily Upjohn in a mouthwatering renewal of the mile-and-a-half contest.

However, the four-year-old will now be rerouted to next month’s Juddmonte International Stakes at York.

Bruce Raymond, racing manager to the colt’s owner Saeed Suhail, said: “Desert Crown doesn’t run, he has got a leg infection.

“The plan is to go to York, but that is as much as I know.”

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