King Charles's secret new passion revealed - and the late-Queen would be thrilled
EXCLUSIVE: King Charles is getting pulled deeper into a sport tied to his mother, but the intensity behind it makes it feel like more than tradition.
King Charles is following in the footsteps of his mother Queen Elizabeth II - by being enthralled by the sport of horseracing, the Express can reveal. Queen Elizabeth II was well known for her love of horseracing, owning and breeding thoroughbreds for Flat and Jump racing and winning more than 1,600 races as an owner, including four of the five Classics.
After her death the racehorses registered in her name were transferred to the ownership of ‘HM The King & HM The Queen’. Now King Charles and Queen Camilla's horseracing manager has revealed how much enjoyment the new King is getting from being involved in the sport.
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Speaking after one of the King and Queen’s most talented colts, Portcullis, won at Newmarket’s historic Craven Meeting last Thursday, April 16, their racing manager, John Warren, said even he was surprised at how much enjoyment Their Majesties are getting from horse racing.
He said: "I'm so thrilled for the King and Queen because they're getting so much pleasure out of their horses.
"I never thought they would get as much pleasure as they are. I always thought The Queen might, but I didn't know The King was going to be, as he is so caught up with so many other things.
"But they get so much pleasure out of their horses which is so nice because they give so much. And to get a few little pleasures, it is really nice to see it happen. It's exciting going forward."
Three-year-old Portcullis, who is trained in Newmarket by father and son team John and Thady Gosden, won the Class 2 Wood Ditton Maiden Stakes on his debut last week by an impressive five and a half lengths.
Insiders believe the horse could well now go on to make a name for himself in some of the sport’s biggest races.
Warren said of the colt, whose sire is the legendary Frankel: "He is really exciting and looks like he has got some nice aspirations ahead.
"John (Gosden, the trainer) liked him last year as a two-year-old, and then he had a little bit of a setback in November. The King and Queen have two 'Frankels' in the yard.
"The other Frankel (called Point of Law) ran last week and finished second and showed some nice progress as well, so it's nice to see them coming out now and showing that they've got the talent that John thought they had last year.
"If I'm being really honest, I'm excited. To be frank, he's got to run next time for us to understand what we really have.
"He's not just quite furnished yet, so what makes it exciting is to think we're only on the first rung and I think it's an exciting ladder."
Queen Camilla has had an interest in racing for many years and had previously already owned a number of racehorses with friends, as well as becoming patron of The National Stud in November 2018.
In May 2024 the King and Queen were made the first ever Joint Patrons of The Jockey Club, the largest commercial organisation in British racing, which is governed by Royal Charter to reinvest every penny of its profits back into the sport.
As an amateur jockey, King Charles III – then the Prince of Wales – even rode in the Kim Muir Challenge Cup at the 1981 Cheltenham Festival and has been around horses all his life.
