Solow ready for Queen Elizabeth II Stakes at Ascot

Freddy Head is admant everything is falling into place for Solow's bid to land the QIPCO Queen Elizabeth II Stakes at Ascot, one of the highlights of QIPCO British Champions Day.

The five-year-old is unbeaten in his last eight starts and has already made two successful cross-Channel forays this term, winning the Queen Anne at Royal Ascot and the Sussex Stakes at Goodwood.

Both of those victories came on good ground, but speaking to a party of British media on Monday morning, Head believed that a soft surface could produce an even better performance.

He said: "He is working well and I find him in his best form, I think, so there we are. He knows the course, I hope we get a little rain and that's all. Are we going to win? We don't know yet.

"When he won at Goodwood it was quite firm, Dubai too, but it's a plus, let's say, if he gets his ground. We haven't run him on the soft this year, but I know it's a bit of a plus."

Solow has not run since that Goodwood triumph at the end of July but Head reports him to have sparkled in a recent racecourse spin.

He said: "I took him to the racecourse last Monday at Maisons-Laffitte and he worked over a mile. That was his first bit of good work since Goodwood and it went well."

Solow kicked off his run of four straight Group One wins in the Dubai Turf at Meydan back in March and a return trip could be in the offing, although the grey gelding will not be tackling the Breeders' Cup meeting later this month at Keeneland.

Head explained: "It (Ascot) will be his last start for the year. After the race he will go to the Wertheimers' stud for a few weeks before we think about Dubai again.

"I do not think (Keeneland) will suit him but next year (at Santa Anita), we will think about it.

"Last year he did great things. He was impressive in Dubai but still I think the opposition wasn't as good as that he met later, so what impressed me was when he won at Ascot.

"He was very impressive that day, beating Esoterique but everybody said 'Oh, you beat nothing'!

"Then at Longchamp he was very impressive again. He's a real champion.

"A very versatile horse, he can turn, he can go anywhere. He's a very, very easy horse, a lovely horse, beautiful, a good mover, he's got everything. He's had a few problems in the past but they're all finished now. He's had joint problems but nothing serious. That's why we cut him.

"I always thought he was going to be a good horse and he let us down a bit at the beginning of his three-year-old career, but I was running him [over] too far. I thought he could stay and it appeared that he's a real miler, which is strange with his pedigree, but there we are.

"I think in the Queen Elizabeth we'll get a bit of soft ground and he will be hard to beat."

"He is very, very well. He's fresh too. In Dubai you have to start the season very early, then after that we went to Longchamp, then Ascot, so Goodwood maybe was the end of that run and he needed a rest then. I'm very happy, very happy."

Bookmakers Sky Bet are joint-top industry price of even money about Solow who is generally odds-on for the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes.