View source for 1993 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes

{{Infobox horse race
|name            = 43rd King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes
|horse race      = [[King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes]]
|image           = Racing silks of Sheikh Mohammed.svg
|caption         =
|location        = [[Ascot Racecourse]]
|date            = 24 July 1993
|winning horse   = '''[[Opera House (horse)|Opera House]]''' (GB)
|starting price  =
|winning jockey  = [[Michael Roberts (jockey)|Michael Roberts]]
|winning trainer = [[Michael Stoute]] (GB)
|winning owner   = Sheikh Mohammed
|conditions      =
|previous        = [[1992 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes|1992]]
|next            = [[1994 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes|1994]]
}}
The '''1993 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes''' was a [[horse racing|horse race]] held at [[Ascot Racecourse]] on Saturday 24 July 1993. It was the 43rd running of the [[King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes]].
The winner was [[Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum|Sheikh Mohammed]]'s [[Opera House (horse)|Opera House]], a five-year-old [[bay (horse)|bay]] horse trained at [[Newmarket, Suffolk]] by [[Michael Stoute]] and ridden by [[Michael Roberts (jockey)|Michael Roberts]]. Roberts had previously won the race on [[Mtoto]] in 1988, whilst Sheikh Mohammed had won with [[Belmez (horse)|Belmez]] in 1990. Michael Stoute was also recording his second win in the race after [[Shergar]] (1981).
==The race==
The race attracted a field of ten runners: eight from the United Kingdom, one from Ireland and one from Germany. The favourite for the race was the undefeated three-year-old colt [[Commander in Chief (horse)|Commander in Chief]] who had won both the [[Epsom Derby]] and the [[Irish Derby]]. The Irish contender was Desert Team, a three-year-old colt who had won the [[Princess of Wales's Stakes]], whilst Germany was represented by Platini, whose wins included the [[Grosser Preis von Berlin]] and the [[Gran Premio di Milano]]. The other leading contenders included the four-year-old [[filly]] [[User Friendly]] who had been named [[Cartier Horse of the Year|European Horse of the Year]] for 1992, Tenby, the beaten favourite for the Epsom Derby, [[White Muzzle]], winner of his last five races including the [[Derby Italiano]] and Opera House, the five-year-old winner of the [[Coronation Cup]] and the [[Eclipse Stakes]] and the [[Hardwicke Stakes]] winner [[Jeune]] (later to win the [[Melbourne Cup]]). Commander in Chief headed the betting at odds of [[Fractional odds|7/4]] ahead of User Friendly (11/4), with Opera House and Tenby on 8/1 and White Muzzle at 9/1.
User Friendly took the early lead from Tenby, Desert Team, Commander in Chief, Drum Taps and Tenby. User Friendly maintained her advantage into the straight, where she led from Drum Taps and Commander in Chief, with Opera House moving up to challenge on the outside. Commander in Chief briefly took the advantage but was overtaken by Opera House with two furlongs left to run as White Muzzle came with a strong run on the outside. Opera House maintained his advantage to win by one and a half lengths with White Muzzle getting the better of Commander in Chief by a short head for second place. There was a gap of ten lengths back to User Friendly who finished fourth ahead of Drum Taps, Environment Friend, Desert Team and Tenby, with Jeune and Platini bringing up the rear.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.racingpost.com/results/2/ascot/1993-07-24/115695 |title=King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Diamond Stakes result |publisher=Racing Post |date=24 July 1993 |accessdate=2014-04-14}}</ref>
==Race details==
* '''Sponsor:''' [[De Beers]]
* '''Purse:''' £438,882; '''First prize:''' £270,259
* '''Surface:''' Turf
* '''Going:''' Good
* '''Distance:''' 12 furlongs
* '''Number of runners:''' 10
* '''Winner's time:''' 2:33.94
==Full result==
{| class = "sortable" | border="1" cellpadding="0" style="border-collapse: collapse;"
|-  style="background:#7d7; text-align:center;"
! style="width:35px;"| '''Pos.'''
! style="width:45px;"| '''Marg.'''
! style="width:160px;"| '''Horse (bred)'''
! style="width:30px;"| '''Age'''
! style="width:160px;"| '''Jockey'''
! style="width:210px;"| '''Trainer (Country)'''
! style="width:50px;"| '''Odds'''
|-
| '''1'''
|
| [[Opera House (horse)|Opera House]] (GB)
| 5
| [[Michael Roberts (jockey)|Michael Roberts]]
| [[Michael Stoute]] (GB)
| 8/1
|-
| '''2'''
| ''1½''
| [[White Muzzle]] (GB)
| 3
| [[John Reid (jockey)|John Reid]]
| [[Peter Chapple-Hyam]] (GB)
| 9/1
|-
| '''3'''
| ''shd''
| [[Commander in Chief (horse)|Commander in Chief]] (GB)
| 3
| [[Pat Eddery]]
| [[Henry Cecil]] (GB)
| 7/4 fav
|-
| '''4'''
| ''10''
| [[User Friendly (horse)|User Friendly]] (GB)
| 4
| [[George Duffield]]
| [[Clive Brittain]] (GB)
| 11/4
|-
| '''5'''
| ''nk''
| [[Drum Taps (horse)|Drum Taps]] (USA)
| 7
| [[Frankie Dettori]]
| [[William Hastings-Bass, 17th Earl of Huntingdon|Lord Huntingdon]] (GB)
| 20/1
|-
| '''6'''
| ''1½''
| [[Environment Friend]] (GB)
| 5
| [[Paul Eddery]]
| N. Wright (GB)
| 40/1
|-
| '''7'''
| ''2½''
| Desert Team (USA)
| 3
| [[Christy Roche]]
| [[Jim Bolger (racehorse trainer)|Jim Bolger]] (IRE)
| 66/1
|-
| '''8'''
| ''½''
| [[Tenby (horse)|Tenby]] (GB)
| 3
| [[Willie Carson]]
| [[Henry Cecil]] (GB)
| 8/1
|-
| '''9'''
| ''2½''
| [[Jeune]] (GB)
| 4
| [[Ray Cochrane]]
| [[Geoff Wragg]] (GB)
| 50/1
|-
| '''10'''
| ''4''
| [[Platini (horse)|Platini]] (GER)
| 4
| Mark Rimmer
| [[Bruno Schütz]] (GER)
| 14/1
|}
<div style="font-size:85%">
* Abbreviations: '''nse''' = nose; '''nk''' = neck; '''shd''' = head; '''hd''' = head; '''dist''' = distance; '''UR''' = unseated rider
</div>
==Winner's details==
Further details of the winner, Opera House
* '''Sex:''' Stallion
* '''Foaled:''' 24 February 1988
* '''Country:''' United Kingdom
* '''Sire:''' [[Sadler's Wells (horse)|Sadler's Wells]]; '''Dam:''' Colorpin ([[High Top]])
* '''Owner:''' Sheikh Mohammed
* '''Breeder:'''  [[Meon Valley Stud]]
==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes}}
[[Category:1993 in horse racing|King George]]
[[Category:King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes| 1993]]
[[Category:1993 in British sport|King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes]]
[[Category:July 1993 sports events in the United Kingdom|King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes]]
[[Category:20th century in Berkshire]]