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The £400,000 Group One Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Cup (Sponsored By Investec) has 15 horses going forward, headed by Postponed (Roger Varian).
Postponed is the 4/5 favourite with Coral for the mile and a half contest, having won last season's Group One King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot when trained by Luca Cumani. The five-year-old, now with Roger Varian, has been in top form this year, taking the Group One Dubai Sheema Classic at Meydan on March 26 in great style from two Japanese horses.
The strongest challenge to Postponed could come from the four-year-old fillies Found (Aidan O'Brien) and Simple Verse (Ralph Beckett).
Found, who got the better of Golden Horn in the 2015 Breeders' Cup Turf in America, confirmed her well-being with a Group Three success at the Curragh earlier this month.
Simple Verse, winner of the final Classic, the St Leger, and QIPCO British Champions Fillies' & Mares' Stakes in 2015, was an encouraging second on her reappearance in the Group Two Jockey Club Stakes at Newmarket on April 30.
In addition to Found, Ireland's champion Flat trainer Aidan O'Brien could be represented by Highland Reel, a Group One winner in Hong Kong and the USA last season and fourth in the 2016 Dubai Sheema Classic, and recent Group Three scorer Bondi Beach, who was the head runner-up in the St Leger.
There are two French entries going forward, headed by the Aga Khan's Vazirabad (Alain de Royer Dupre), successful on his last six starts, including the 2015 Prix Royal-Oak. The other remaining French contender is Siljan's Saga (Jean-Pierre Gauvin), runner-up to Vazirabad in the Group One Prix Royal-Oak.
Other notable contenders still engaged include Arabian Queen (David Elsworth), shock winner of last season's Group One Juddmonte International at York, and German Group One winner Second Step (Luca Cumani).
The Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Cup (Sponsored By Investec) takes place at 3.10pm on Saturday, June 4, Investec Derby Day and is part of the Middle Distance division of the QIPCO British Champions Series. There is a £25,000 supplementary entry stage on Monday, May 30, when there the five-day confirmation stage also takes place.
Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Cup (Sponsored By Investec), Coral bet: 4/5 Postponed, 11/4 Found, 5/1 Simple Verse, 6/1 Highland Reel, 7/1 Vazirabad, 10/1 Bondi Beach, 14/1 Arabian Queen, 20/1 The Corsican, 25/1 Bar
