King George Odds: Westover favourite following Desert Crown injury scare

News that Cazoo Derby hero Desert Crown has suffered a slight injury setback has seen recent Irish Derby hero Westover launch to outright favouritism for next weekend's King George, which is set to be a stunning showpiece event at Ascot...

Sir Michael Stoute's Desert Crown produced one of the performances of the season at Epsom Downs a few weeks ago, as the Freemason Lodge raider stormed to an emphatic Derby victory, and in the aftermath of that Classic success he was instantly installed as a hot favourite for the King George. However, it broke yesterday that Stoute's three-year-old has suffered a setback as the legendary handler told the PA News Agency, "He won’t be working tomorrow morning. We just have a little niggle that we are checking out on his foot.”

Having been around a 4/5 shot prior to that announcement from Stoute, the son of Nathaniel is now trading around a 7/4 chance, and it's Ralph Beckett's Westover that has taken up the favourite's spot, and that raider is now the 5/4 market leader. Having suffered significant trouble in running in the Derby, Westover could only finish third behind Desert Crown, but he showed his class when romping away to glory in the Irish Derby at the Curragh a few weeks ago, and the top class colt will now aim to etch his name alongside some of the premier horses in history, who have bagged victory in the King George.

The three-year-old pair dominate the betting, and the odds are sure to take a shake-up further once more emerges from the Stoute camp about Desert Crown's wellbeing, but if both do line up then it's set fair for an epic clash again.

Mishriff chased home Adayar in last season's renewal and the John & Thady Gosden-trained raider is currently trading as the 7/2 third favourite, while the shock Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe winner Torquator Tasso could make the trip over for this event, and he's a fascinating contender priced up at 7/1.

There's a stellar list of entries for this event with the likes of Pyledriver, Emily Upjohn, Alenquer and Broome all featuring in the betting, but all eyes will be on whether Desert Crown heads to the Berkshire racecourse next weekend to contest one of the biggest races of the season, and the Stoute team will be hoping that he can recover from his minor setback.