Tackling the trifecta in the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth

Irish trainer Aidan O’Brien has won Ascot’s King George VI and Queen Elizabeth (G1) on four occasions, but, though he’ll saddle three of the four starters in Saturday’s renewal of the prestigious 1 1/2-mile event, victory is far from guaranteed.

The 1 1/2-mile King George serves as a “Win and You’re In” qualifier for the Breeders’ Cup Turf (G1), a race O’Brien has won on six occasions, and his three-pronged attack on Ascot would be formidable most years.

#2 Japan rattled off victories in the Grand Prix de Paris (G1) and Juddmonte International (G1) last summer. Anthony Van Dyck has been withdrawn, leaving just three horses to run. #3 Sovereign trounced Anthony Van Dyck by six lengths in the 2019 Irish Derby (G1).

But the O’Brien trio will almost certainly be overshadowed Saturday by the superstar mare #4 Enable, the winner of this race in 2017 and 2019. So extraordinary is the race record of this 10-time Group 1 winner that triumphs in this race have been dwarfed by her other accomplishments — her back-to-back wins in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe (G1), her tenacious victory in the 2018 Breeders’ Cup Turf (G1), and her runaway romps in the 2017 Epsom Oaks (G1) and Irish Oaks (G1).

Enable suffered a defeat in her first start of 2020, when she finished second in the Eclipse (G1) at Sandown three weeks ago. But she wasn’t fully cranked off a nine-month layoff, and the 1 1/4-mile distance was short of her best. She finished just 2 1/4 lengths behind the talented Ghaiyyath and rallied to edge Japan by a head for the runner-up spot.

With acclaimed jockey Frankie Dettori again in the saddle for trainer John Gosden, Enable looks tough — perhaps impossible — to defeat. No horse has ever won this race three times, but if Enable brings her "A" game for her second run of the season, she can complete the hat trick with speed to spare.

So how do we make a profit betting the race? Because of the small field (and the short odds on Enable) we’ll play a straight trifecta to secure a meaningful return on investment.

$30 trifecta: 4 with 2 with 3

Good luck!