Champion Stakes hero King Of Steel all set to take on America

PA Sport Reporters
October 27, 2023 11:57 am

‘He’s in great shape. He’s come out of the race really well’.

King Of Steel will aim to follow up his Champion Stakes heroics at the Breeders’ Cup next weekend.

Owner Kia Joorabchian has confirmed the three-year-old is on his way to Santa Anita, most likely for the Breeders’ Cup Turf.

He still holds the possibility of running in the Classic, but his lack of experience on dirt makes the 12-furlong turf event a heavy favourite at this stage.

“We’ve been monitoring him all week, I’ve spoken to Roger (Varian) almost every day and I went to see him this week,” Joorabchian told Nick Luck’s Daily Podcast on Friday.

Kia Joorabchian celebrates with Frankie Dettori at Ascot (John Walton/PA)

“To be honest Roger has said the same thing every day, he can’t fault him and he’s in great shape. He’s come out of the race really well.

“Roger would always err on the side of caution, but he’s very happy with him so he’s going to travel today to Santa Anita so fingers crossed he should be running in, I’d say, most probably the Turf, but we haven’t completely ruled anything out yet.

“The reality is, Roger and his team probably feel much more comfortable on the turf, as a three-year-old I think we would edge towards the Turf. He’s never run on dirt and the only factor is if he gets out of the gates a little bit slower he’d get a lot of dirt in his face. That is edging us more towards the Turf.

“The jockey (Frankie Dettori) arrived there yesterday, he sent me a video of himself working out.”