Stott could have at Spurs but instead has shot at Ascot glory

Kevin Stott could have been starring for Tottenham but the Dane instead has a shot at big-race Ascot glory riding King of Steel

• The Danish rider had trials at Tottenham before he later switched to racing 
• He went on a two-week trial at Tottenham which ultimately didn’t work out
• However, he has a shot at glory in another sport on Saturday at Ascot 

If the path fate chose for Kevin Stott had been different, the 29-year-old jockey might have been dreaming about Premier League titles and FA Cups.

Instead, the Danish-born rider has a glittering edition of Saturday’s King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Qipco Stakes at Ascot in his sights.

Stott partners Derby runner-up King Of Steel, whose rematch with Auguste Rodin, the horse that beat him at Epsom, is only one of a fascinating clutch of threads in a contest the jockey understandably describes as ‘the Flat race of the season’.

But there was a time when Stott, whose father Ken was an apprentice jockey in Newmarket before moving to Scandinavia where he rode and trained, was more interested in goalposts than furlong poles.

The rider said: ‘I had Under 14 trials at Tottenham. It feels like a lifetime ago now. I don’t think about it anymore but I played a lot of football when I was young.

Kevin Stott seeks glory at Ascot on Saturday, but he could have ended up in a different sport

He could have played for Tottenham alongside Harry Kane (pictured) after having a two-week trial for the Premier League side’s Under 14s squad when he was a youngster

‘Playing in Denmark at a high level, we went around the world on tours. I was lucky enough to get scouted while I was playing in a tournament in Holland.

‘I went on a two-week trial at Spurs but unfortunately it didn’t work out. When I came back I had a year left in school and wasn’t sure what I wanted to do.

‘School wasn’t very exciting for me. When I said to Dad that I was thinking of riding horses because it was an easy way of not having to spend time in school, he immediately sent me over to Britain.’

Stott was based with Yorkshire trainer Kevin Ryan, a successful partnership that produced victories such as the 2020 Group One Diamond Jubilee Stakes with Hello Youmzain. But on the back of a career-best 116 wins last year, Stott decided the time was right to take his chance on the southern circuit.

He moved to Lambourn with partner Megan Nicholls, the daughter of the 14-time champion jumps trainer Paul Nicholls, who also became his agent.

Stott has been running hot ever since. He already has 72 wins and more than £1.7million in British prizemoney thanks largely to being the retained jockey for King Of Steel’s owners Amo Racing, the operation of high-profile football agent Kia Joorabchian.

Stott said: ‘It was obviously a big thing for me having started in the north and done well. I had had a stint with Luca Cumani in Newmarket that didn’t turn out the way I had hoped, so I went back up north, got going again and rode some really nice horses.

‘To then decide to move to Lambourn and change agents was a big deal. But I thought it was the right time for me and I was ready to try something a bit different. I am glad now that I did.

‘I’ll always look back and realise how lucky I was in the north and be grateful to the trainers and owner who got me going. They started my career. Kevin was my boss for a long time and I rode my first Group One winner for him. We remain very good friends.’

Stott’s victories this summer have included the Group Two King Edward VII Stakes at Royal Ascot on King Of Steel plus last week’s Group Two Duchess of Cambridgeshire Stakes at Newmarket on Persian Dreamer.

Stott partners Derby runner-up King of Steel whose rematch with Auguste Rodin, the horse that beat him at Epsom, helps makes it the ‘Flat race of the season’

Stott has one jockey brother Marc who is still riding in Scandinavia and a second, Nicholaj, working for Newmarket trainer William Haggas after he rode and trained in his homeland. Now as he approaches his 30s, Stott added: ‘To be noticed more regularly, you have to be riding in the better races. They are the races that people watch.

‘I have had rides in the past in big races but it is more regular this year. It has boosted my career and moved it a step forward.

‘I made the decision to come south as a freelance and then within a couple of months I got the Amo job. It was not something I expected. Looking back, it is quite surreal how a little change can lead to such a big change.’

Virtually the only thing Stott would change in the last six months is his half-length defeat in the Derby.

King Of Steel’s loss was a bitter pill to swallow, especially after the colt had grabbed a lead of more than two lengths with less than a quarter-mile to race. The third-placed horse White Birch was almost five lengths behind.

Stott was the definition of crestfallen after the Classic and the inevitable speculation was about whether King Of Steel having to race at Epsom on his seasonal debut — he refused to go into the starting stalls for his prep-race in the Dante Stakes at York — had played a part.

Stott said: ‘Everyone wants to win the Derby. It is the biggest race of the year. I’ve watched the replay a good few times and still do, but I wouldn’t have changed anything I did.

‘We just got run down by the better horse on the day. Between the three and two furlong pole I was in front by two-and-a-bit lengths, next thing I was screaming for the finish line.

‘People say if King Of Steel had run in the Dante, what would have happened? We’ll never know but at least we get a second chance to see if we can turn it around. But it is by no means a two-horse race. There are so many high-quality horses in there.’

Avenging that Epsom defeat is Stott’s aim and he is encouraged that King Of Steel backed up his Derby run with a three-and-a-half-length Royal Ascot victory the jockey reckons would have been even more impressive if the early stages of the contest hadn’t been run at a snail’s pace.

But he is also right to say this season’s King George is no match race. Also in the line-up is last year’s Derby winner Desert Crown, the 2022 King George winner Pyledriver, Eclipse Stakes runner-up Emily Upjohn and 2022 Coronation Cup winner Hukum.

Stott said: ‘It’s probably the Flat race of the season so far. We have all the best horses in there, proven and up-and-coming ones, but I have lots of faith in my horse.’

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