King Charles and Queen Camilla recorded their first jump winner of the season in the British Isles as their thoroughbred, Reaching High, won the John J Galvin Maiden Hurdle at Listowel racecourse in County Kerry, Ireland.
The King and Queen took on the late Queen’s stable of horses and have become enthusiastic and passionate racehorse owners. They enjoyed their first Royal Ascot win in 2023 when their thoroughbred Desert Hero won the King George V Stakes.
Royal racing legacy
Racehorses owned by the late Queen won four out of the five flat racing classics – the 1,000 Guineas and 2,000 Guineas, the Oaks twice and the St Leger – with only the Derby eluding her.
Reaching High is a twice-beaten favourite at Royal Ascot, but the Willie Mullins-trained horse has found winning ways after switching from flat racing to jumps.
Trainer’s comments
Mr Mullins said: “Unfortunately, the King and Queen aren’t present but would love to be here, as one of their stated aims is to visit every county in Ireland. They only have a few left and hopefully will come to ‘the Kingdom’ (as Listowel is known) someday.
“The horse got a fright at the last, but he jumps well enough. He likes a flat track, but it can be a bit sharp here and he is a huge, big, long-striding horse so was inclined to get unbalanced around the bends. Other than that, he did it well.”
Mullins added: “The ultimate plan is to go for the Turners Novices’ Hurdle at Cheltenham next March and I think he is more of a good-ground horse, so running in Leopardstown at Christmas would be fantastic. We’ll take it baby steps first.”
Amid Spencer book fallout
It comes as the royals have been dealing with the aftermath of Charles Spencer’s book publication. Swan Song: Diana, My Sister features a series of bombshell claims about the King.
In it, Charles Spencer claims that the King, then the Prince of Wales, said about Diana, “we’ll forget her soon enough” during an argument over whether the then Princes William and Harry should walk behind their mother’s coffin in her funeral procession. The memoir also alleges the King “sounded giddily elated – like a lottery winner” when he spoke to the earl after Diana’s death.
