{"id":295146,"date":"2023-11-02T01:25:22","date_gmt":"2023-11-02T01:25:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportslifetale.com\/?p=295146"},"modified":"2023-11-02T01:25:22","modified_gmt":"2023-11-02T01:25:22","slug":"roger-varian-reveals-why-king-of-steel-will-contest-breeders-cup-turf","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportslifetale.com\/horse-racing\/roger-varian-reveals-why-king-of-steel-will-contest-breeders-cup-turf\/","title":{"rendered":"Roger Varian reveals why King of Steel will contest Breeders&apos; Cup Turf"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1>&#8216;Why wouldn&#8217;t we bring the King to California!&#8217;: Trainer Roger Varian reveals why Champion Stakes hero King of Steel will contest Saturday&#8217;s Breeders&#8217; Cup Turf\u00a0<\/h1>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Frankie Dettori conjured a scarcely believable triumph in Champion Stakes\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>King of Steel will lock horns again with rivals Auguste Rodin and Mostahdaf<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>The three-year-old will be ridden by Dettori in the\u00a0$4m race on Saturday<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The easy thing, Roger Varian pointed out, would have been to stay at home. How could Ascot and the fairytale that still leaves him shaking his head 11 days later be topped?<\/p>\n<p>It was a question Varian carefully considered, as he stood outside the quarantine barn in Santa Anita.<\/p>\n<p>He hadn\u2019t anticipated being here two weeks ago, standing in the Californian sunshine, and had been trying to find a reason why he and King Of Steel should stay in Newmarket.<\/p>\n<p>Why go to the Breeders\u2019 Cup when the domestic season had finished in such a blaze of glory? Frankie Dettori conjured a scarcely believable triumph in the QIPCO Champion Stakes, lifting King Of Steel over the line in the nick of time. Surely that effort, on that rain-sodden terrain, had taken a toll?<\/p>\n<p>Varian smiled as he weighed it all up \u2014 and there was a reason for that smile. Moments before we spoke, King Of Steel had cruised around the course on which he will contest Saturday\u2019s Breeders\u2019 Cup Turf, skipping off the surface like a stone skimming across a lake.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/11\/02\/00\/77298649-0-image-a-68_1698885672852.jpg\" height=\"426\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>King of Steel will lock horns again with Auguste Rodin and Mostahdaf on Saturday<\/p>\n<p>King Of Steel would be the heavyweight boxer floating around in a pair of ballet shoes. He\u2019s 570kg with a knockout punch but dainty on his feet and \u2014 crucially \u2014 he is thriving, showing the same enthusiasm for this assignment as his owner Kia Joorabchian.<\/p>\n<p>It is why taking things easy was not an option for Varian.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018Kia wants to be here, yes,\u2019 said Varian. \u2018There is no hiding that fact. But, equally, he was saying that unless I was 100 per cent happy with the horse, then we shouldn\u2019t come. In a conservative way, I suppose I was looking for a reason not to come. Was he flat? Was there any reason? We could have finished on a high, waited for next year.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018But the horse has ticked every box since Ascot. He never left an oat after that race, he hasn\u2019t left an oat since he\u2019s been out here. Kia said to me, \u201cIf he is giving you all the signs that he has come out of the race well, let\u2019s do it\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018We could have waited for next year but this is horseracing \u2014 next year doesn\u2019t always come. They can stand on a stone, they can get hurt in their stable, they might not be in good form. But he looked like he could run again. That\u2019s why we are here. It\u2019s a long winter to stay at home.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>And why wouldn\u2019t you want to be here? This is what top-class Flat racing is all about and, with the exception of the retired Prix de l\u2019Arc de Triomphe winner Ace Impact and Equinox, who is in Japan, it is as fine a field as you could wish to see.<\/p>\n<p>King Of Steel, who will be ridden by Dettori, locks horns again with Aidan O\u2019Brien\u2019s dual-Derby winner Auguste Rodin and John Gosden\u2019s outstanding Mostahdaf, who will have his final outing at Santa Anita before heading to the covering sheds. \u2018It\u2019s a $4million race, so it should be a strong contest,\u2019 Varian said. \u2018These are the races we want to be involved in.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018He\u2019s never run a bad race and he\u2019s looked a Group One horse all year. It\u2019s fair to say he\u2019s still improving and a return to a mile-and-a-half will suit him.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018You know, I have found Kia very easy to work with. Yes, he wanted to be at Royal Ascot; yes, he wanted to be at the Breeders\u2019 Cup. But through it all, we only ever went to these races if we were sure the horse was 100 per cent and he wouldn\u2019t put any pressure on me to run.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018We have a good relationship and he is good for racing. He has put a huge amount of money, support, investment or whatever you want to call it into this sport. And he is enthusiastic \u2014 which is great.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>The progress of Joorabchian\u2019s horses, easily distinguishable in purple silks with a white cap, have added a welcome new narrative to the campaign, but he has certainly benefited from having a trainer on his roster like Varian, whose attention to detail is masterful. During that frenzy at Ascot, when cameras were clicking and people were screaming for Dettori, Varian had the quick wits to ask those in the paddock to be calm, so as not to spook King Of Steel.<\/p>\n<p>Such precise intervention made the difference between the colt using up too much nervous energy and having enough in reserve to sustain his glorious winning run.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018I hadn\u2019t prepared myself for what it would be like on the day, maybe nobody had,\u2019 Varian reflected.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/11\/02\/00\/77298663-0-image-a-70_1698885728283.jpg\" height=\"452\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>The three-year-old will be ridden by jockey Frankie Dettori in the Breeders&#8217; Cup Turf<\/p>\n<p>\u2018Who knew it would build into that final crescendo? I was caught out in the paddock. I didn\u2019t speak to Frankie, I was 10 deep behind everyone else. I was worried the noise would set the horse off.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018There were camera guys running up alongside him, I was trying to keep people quiet. Everything I did was on instinct because it could have unravelled. But the horse kept himself under control and the jockey kept himself under control, just about!<\/p>\n<p>\u2018Thankfully it all ended well and the aftermath was something I will never forget.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018Nobody will.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/sport\/racing\/article-12700323\/Why-wouldnt-bring-King-California-Trainer-Roger-Varian-reveals-Champion-Stakes-hero-King-Steel-contest-Saturdays-Breeders-Cup-Turf.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read Full Article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8216;Why wouldn&#8217;t we bring the King to California!&#8217;: Trainer Roger Varian reveals why Champion Stakes hero King of Steel will contest Saturday&#8217;s Breeders&#8217; Cup Turf\u00a0 Frankie Dettori conjured a scarcely believable triumph in Champion Stakes\u00a0 King of Steel will lock horns again with rivals Auguste Rodin and Mostahdaf The three-year-old will be ridden by Dettori [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":295145,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Roger Varian reveals why King of Steel will contest Breeders&amp;apos; 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