The 2012 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes was a horse race held at Ascot Racecourse on Saturday 21 July 2012. It was the 62nd King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes.
The winner was Gestut Burg Eberstein & Teruya Yoshida's Danedream, a four-year-old bay filly trained in Germany by Peter Schiergen and ridden by Andrasch Starke. Danedream's victory was the first for his jockey, trainer and owner and the first by a German-trained horse. Danedream was the first female to win the race since Time Charter in 1983.
Danedream was the European Champion Three-year-old Filly of 2011 when her win included the Oaks d'Italia, Grosser Preis von Berlin, Grosser Preis von Baden and Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe. After winning on her debut as a four-year-old she had failed to show her best form when finishing fourth in the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud in June. In the 2012 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes, Danedream started the 9/1 fifth choice in the betting behind Sea Moon, Nathaniel (the previous year's winner), St Nicholas Abbey and the Melbourne Cup winner Dunaden. Danedream produced a sustained run in the straight to catch Nathaniel 75 yards from the finish and won by a nose, with St Nicholas Abbey one and a half lengths back in third.
This was the last running of the race (until at least 2017) to be shown on the BBC, who had televised every running since the race's inception in 1951.
Race details Sponsor: Betfair Purse: £983,700; First prize: £567,100 Surface: Turf Going: Good to Soft Distance: 12 furlongs Number of runners: 10 Winner's time: 2:31.62
Full result Pos. Marg. Horse (bred) Age Jockey Trainer (Country) Odds 1 Danedream (GER) 4 Andrasch Starke Peter Schiergen (GER) 9/1 2 nse Nathaniel (IRE) 4 William Buick John Gosden (GB) 5/2 3 1½ St Nicholas Abbey (IRE) 5 Joseph O'Brien Aidan O'Brien (IRE) 5/1 4 hd Reliable Man (GB) 4 Olivier Peslier Alain de Royer-Dupré (FR) 20/1 5 ½ Sea Moon (GB) 4 Ryan Moore Michael Stoute (GB) 2/1 fav 6 1¼ Dunaden (FR) 6 Craig Williams Mikel Delzangles (FR) 8/1 7 ½ Brown Panther (GB) 4 Kieren Fallon Tom Dascombe (GB) 20/1 8 10 Deep Brillante (JPN) 3 Yasunari Iwata Yoshito Yahagi (JPN) 20/1 9 ½ Masked Marvel (GB) 4 Frankie Dettori John Gosden (GB) 25/1 10 40 Robin Hood (IRE) 4 Seamie Heffernan Aidan O'Brien (IRE) 100/1 Abbreviations: nse = nose; nk = neck; shd = head; hd = head
Winner's details Further details of the winner, Danedream Sex: Filly Foaled: 7 May 2008 Country: Germany Sire: Lomitas; Dam: Danedrop (Danehill) Owner: Gestut Burg Eberstein & Teruya Yoshida Breeder: Gestut Brummerhof
Subsequent breeding careers Leading progeny of participants in the 2012 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes.
Sires of Classic winners Nathaniel (2nd) Enable – 1st Epsom Oaks (2017), 1st Irish Oaks (2017), Horse of the Year (2017, 2019) Channel – 1st Prix de Diane (2019) God Given – 1st Premio Lydia Tesio (2018) Concertista – 1st Dawn Run Mares' Novices' Hurdle (2020)
Sires of Group/Grade One winners Reliable Man (4th) Sentimental Miss – 1st New Zealand Oaks (2019) Miami Bound – 1st Kennedy Oaks (2019) Naida – 2nd Preis der Diana (2019)
Other Stallions Deep Brillante (8th) – Mozu Bello (1st Nikkei Shinshun Hai 2020)Dunaden (6th) – Minor flat and jumps winnersMasked Marvel (9th) – Minor jumps winnersSea Moon (5th) – Minor flat runner
Broodmare Danedream (1st) – Faylaq (4th Cumberland Lodge Stakes 2019)
References