Alan King

A G1 Al Shaqab Goodwood Cup without Stradivarius (Ire) (Sea the Stars {Ire}) meant that for the first time in five years it was heading elsewhere and Trueshan (Fr) (Planteur {Ire}) stepped forward to claim the title in the heavy conditions he relishes on Tuesday. As he proved when winning Ascot's G2 Qipco British Champions Long Distance Cup in October, the ground cannot be slow enough for the Alan King-trained 5-year-old and with the reigning champion taken out he traded as the 6-5 favourite. Always prominent under Hollie Doyle, the...

There was very little that was normal about last year. A late start to the Flat season, no spectators at the races and the breeze-up sales held after Royal Ascot, which was one of the few early meetings to be held in its traditional slot. An extra twist to the Royal meeting was that one of the dominant trainers of the week was a man better known in jumping circles: Alan King. It is always worth taking note, however, when the master of Barbury Castle sends out a Flat runner,...

Ascot's rain-affected British Champions Day opened with the £300,000 Qipco British Champions Long Distance Cup over the best part of two miles and it was Hollie Doyle, fresh from setting a record number of winners earlier in the week, who celebrated success with a wide-margin tally aboard Barbary Lions 5's 4-year-old gelding Trueshan (Fr) (Planteur {Ire}). The Alan King trainee's previous best came in July's Listed Tapster S. at Haydock and he earned his place in this line-up coming back off an eighth--behind the reopposing Fujaira Prince (Ire) (Pivotal {GB})--in...

A sea of blue dominated winner's enclosures in Britain and France this week, largely owing to the successful season currently being enjoyed by Sheikh Mohammed's Godolphin operation and Sheikh Hamdan's Shadwell team. The brothers occupy the top two slots in the owners' table in Britain, and Godolphin is also currently the leading owner in France. While Sheikh Mohammed has a significant number of horses in Chantilly with Andre Fabre, who oversaw the successful return of France's champion 2-year-old of last year, Earthlight (Ire) (Shamardal), in the Listed Prix Kistena, it...

NEWMARKET, UK—Alan King may be best known for his exploits with top-class jumpers such as Voy Por Ustedes (Fr) and My Way De Solzen (Fr) but he has been making an increasingly notable impact on the Flat scene in recent years. His 2020 Royal Ascot treble is undoubtedly the highlight of his diversification to date and, with the assistance of his regular agent Anthony Bromley, he added another four Flat-bred horses to his string on Wednesday, including the day's top lot, a colt by Excelebration (Ire). "He was our favourite...

Back in April, when major sporting events across the world were being cancelled left, right and centre, the management team at the Queen's racecourse took the decision that, if racing had resumed in time, Royal Ascot would go ahead behind closed doors. The announcement was met with incredulity in some quarters, particularly by those keen to blame the spread of coronavirus on the Cheltenham Festival, but thank goodness Ascot stuck to its resolve to go ahead, even in extraordinary circumstances. Of course the meeting lost some of its lustre, just...