TUESDAY 3.40pm
G1 King Charles III Stakes
5f
NIGHT RAIDER
10th
What the jockeys said
Race report
International speedsters of the highest class – en masse. A field of 26 meant that the draw was sure to play a part, and Night Raider, as feared, ended up on the wrong side, marooned among the low numbers, all of whom he comfortably defeated. His finishing position of tenth does not flatter him, for all that he didn’t seem to sparkle or enjoy his race as much as his two recent victories. Coolmore’s Mission Central was a rare three-year-old winner of this equivalent race. Like the Coventry victor, he is a son of No Nay Never.
FULL RACE REPLAY
Preview
A race created in a storm. In 1860, bad weather made it unwise to run the Royal Stand Plate over its usual two miles... so they cut it short and called the winner after they’d run just five-eighths of a mile.
Well, thankfully the idea caught on, as there’s no way Wathnan’s elite sprinter Night Raider could possibly run two miles. Renamed for the reigning monarch, the race attracts speedsters from around the globe and in recent years has been won by horses from the US, Hong Kong, Australia, France and Ireland.
Night Raider, trained in a ravishing spot on the Yorkshire moors, hasn’t had to journey anything like so far – but has still come a long way since starting his career over 7f on the all-weather. The emphatic winner of both his starts in 2026, he comes here bang in form and at a new peak of his powers.
“He’s always been gorgeous and he’s always been quick. But now he’s relaxing. He’s become the horse we always thought he would.”
Trainer Karl Burke
