WILLIE MULLINS says it was a ‘big surprise’ to be given a historic Royal horse to train – and he wants to repay King Charles with Ascot glory.
Reaching High, who was bred by the late Queen Elizabeth II, is the first horse to be trained in Ireland by a reigning monarch.
Jumps legend Mullins is making more and more of a splash in Flat racing these days.
And he could break all sorts of new ground should Reaching High really give the King something to smile about on day one of racing’s biggest Flat festival.
Formerly trained by Sir Michael Stoute, Reaching High was denied a debut win under Mullins at Leopardstown earlier this month.
The four-year-old gelding went down in a head-bobber having finished like a train.
Mullins has since told the Racing Post that the Ascot Stakes looks like being his next race.
The 2m5½f contest is worth just shy of £60,000 to the winner.
Mullins knows what it takes to land it having been victorious with Brighton boss Tony Bloom’s Stratum in 2021 and 2022.
And Ireland have a stranglehold on the race, with Joseph O’Brien claiming it the past two years with Dawn Rising and Uxmal.
Mullins, who will look to keep his country’s grip on the Class 2 handicap going, said: “It’s an honour and a big surprise to be asked (to train a Royal horse).
It’s nice to have a horse in that position and it’s very exciting.
“I’m probably looking at the two-and-a-half-mile race (Ascot Stakes) but we’ll look at both staying races on the first day.
“When you look at his pedigree, it’s all stamina. He seems to stay very well.”
King Charles actually rode at Cheltenham Festival, where Mullins dominates, but the Royal runners have tended to focus on the Flat.
Of them, Gold Cup hero Estimate was by far the best but the King and Queen did have big success in 2023 with Desert Hero.
Alsy by Sea The Stars and bred by the late Queen, he was a thrilling 18-1 Royal Ascot winner, reducing the King to tears.
He then won the Group 3 Gordon Stakes at Glorious Goodwood before finishing third in the St Leger – the final Classic of the season – at Doncaster.
There had been fears King Charles would drastically cut back the multi-million pound Royal racing operation after he inherited it.
But Queen Camilla remains a huge supporter of the sport and the couple still have a lot of horses in training with the likes of Nicky Henderson over jumps and William Haggas, Ralph Beckett and John and Thady Gosden on the Flat.
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