King Charles teams up with Willie Mullins for Leopardstown runner
King Charles and the Queen are teaming up with the king of horse racing as Willie Mullins will saddle his first runner for His Majesty this week.
Reaching High has been moved to Mullins' stables in Co Carlow and runs in a lady riders handicap at Leopardstown on Friday.
The four-year-old son of Queen Elizabeth II's Gold Cup winner Estimate will be ridden by Jody Townend, sister of Mullins's stable jockey Paul, who rode her first Cheltenham Festival winner in March.
Mullins, the two-time British and 18-time Irish champion trainer, was invited to Windsor Castle for lunch and joined the Royal Procession at Royal Ascot last year.
While the royal racing manager, John Warren, described it 'a bit of fun' the serious purpose behind Friday evening's race is to find out if the gelding has the potential to go to Royal Ascot, scene of his dam's greatest victory, in June for a long-distance handicap before embarking on a jumping career.
Reaching High did not break any records in any of his eight runs for Sir Michael Stoute, who retired at the end of last year, winning once, at Wolverhampton, from eight starts.
'I think the King and Queen are looking forward to having a horse run in Ireland for the first time and this horse might just be a nice prospect that could develop into a National Hunt horse,' Warren told the Nick Luck Daily Podcast.
'He's out of Estimate, a Gold Cup winner, so stamina might be his game. He was trained very well by Sir Michael Stoute last year and when Sir Michael packed up we thought it would be worthwhile looking at who could do a dual-purpose job for him and the Queen.
'The Queen met William on a number of occasions at Cheltenham and thought he was charming and wonderful and keeps having more and more winners the whole time, so the King and Queen were keen to send him to be trained in Ireland.'
Meanwhile, Mullins's flat counterpart, Aidan O'Brien, took the latest step to total annexation of all the major Derby/Oaks trials since the Guineas when Whirl took apart the Tattersalls Musidora Stakes by five-and-a-half lengths at York.
Part-owner Michael Tabor said he thought she was a mile-and-a-quarter filly, and that the Prix de Diane might be more her cup of tea than the Oaks over an extra quarter of a mile.
Jockey Ryan Moore, however, was very complimentary and hinted she could yet be in the mix for Epsom.
'She was very comfortable stepping up to that trip and was impressive,' he said. 'She is very straightforward and wasn't doing a whole lot in front. She's very professional. By Wootton Bassett she could probably do most things.'
On Thursday, O'Brien can complete a unique trials set by winning the Al Basti Equiworld Dubai Dante Stakes with The Lion In Winter, the over-winter Derby favourite and the colt touted as Ballydoyle's best Derby hope.
Tabor said he would not be backing him on Thursday because he had been a bit behind in his work, although he was going well at home now. That, he added, would not stop him backing him in the Derby nearer the time.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
7 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Mexican national soccer team changes hotels in Los Angeles because of safety concerns
Mexico's José Raúl Rangel (12) dives to stop the ball during an international friendly soccer match against Switzerland, Saturday, June 7, 2025, in Salt Lake City, Utah. (AP Photo/Tyler Tate) MEXICO CITY (AP) — The Mexican national soccer team will change hotels in Los Angeles ahead of their Gold Cup match on Saturday because of safety concerns amid the protests against immigration raids in the city, a team spokesman said Tuesday. Mexico will play its opening match in the regional tournament against the Dominican Republic at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood. Advertisement The team had a hotel reserved in downtown Los Angeles but governing body CONCACAF has allowed for a change to an undetermined hotel, Mexican team spokesman Fernando Schwartz told The Associated Press. CONCACAF, which runs soccer in North America, Central America and the Caribbean, has not made an official announcement. The protests began Friday in downtown Los Angeles after federal immigration authorities arrested more than 40 people across the city. On Sunday, crowds blocked a major freeway and set self-driving cars on fire as police responded with tear gas, rubber bullets and flash-bang grenades. On Monday, President Donald Trump ordered another 2,000 National Guard troops along with 700 Marines to be sent to Los Angeles. Advertisement Mexico coach Javier Aguirre was reluctant to talk about the protests at a news conference on Monday in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, where the team is scheduled to play in a friendly match against Turkey on Tuesday. 'I'm not going to talk about Los Angeles, I told you no, we are talking about sports here.' Aguirre said. 'I can't express myself right now. We have a match against Turkey, and I don't have any information. I know what we see on television. We're thousands of miles away, and I can't express myself.' After the match against the Dominican Republic, Mexico will fly to Arlington, Texas, to play Suriname and then close out the first round of the tournament against Costa Rica in Las Vegas. ___ AP soccer:


Fox Sports
12 minutes ago
- Fox Sports
Man City signs France playmaker Cherki to usher in start of post-De Bruyne era
Associated Press Manchester City kickstarted the post-Kevin De Bruyne era by signing maverick France playmaker Rayan Cherki from Lyon for 36 million euros ($41 million) on Tuesday, in time to play in the Club World Cup. The 21-year-old Cherki, regarded as one of the most exciting young talents in French soccer, scored a brilliant volley and starred as a substitute on his international debut for France against Spain in the Nations League semifinals last week. A product of Lyon's renowned academy like Karim Benzema, Cherki has been on the radar of Europe's biggest clubs for a while. He came close to signing for Paris Saint-Germain in the last offseason but the move fell through. Now he is headed for City and is set to fill the role vacated by De Bruyne, the team's long-time star who has been released after 10 years' service. With Netherlands midfielder Tijjani Reijnders also reported by British media to be joining City, the club appears to be re-energizing a midfield that was filled last season with players in their 30s like Ilkay Gundogan, Mateo Kovacic and Bernardo Silva. Kovacic has undergone Achilles surgery and is unavailable for the new-look, 32-team Club World Cup, which starts on Saturday. City in the same group as Juventus, Al Ain and Wydad Casablanca and its first match is on June 18. Cherki's background Cherki, the youngest-ever goal scorer for Lyon in a competitive match, quickly impressed in youth competitions. He made his Ligue 1 debut at just 16 years old in October 2019 and scored his first senior goal a few weeks later in a French Cup match. The attacking midfielder scored eight goals and provided 11 assists — the most in Ligue 1 — this season and can play either on the wing or as a playmaker. According to L'Equipe newspaper, Lyon will retain 15% of the rights to any capital gain from a future transfer and can expect a further 2 million euros ($2.3 million) in bonuses between now and 2030. The transfer of Cherki comes a day after Algeria left back Rayan Ait-Nouri joined City from Wolverhampton for $42 million. Bettinelli signs as backup Also Tuesday, City signed Marcus Bettinelli from Chelsea as a backup goalkeeper. City made the move after announcing the departure of long-term No. 3 goalie Scott Carson on Monday with his contract due to expire. Bettinelli has joined on a one-year deal and in time to be involved in the Club World Cup in the United States starting on Saturday. 'His experience and mentality will hopefully complement our other senior goalkeepers while ensuring he's always ready to perform when called upon himself," City director of football Hugo Viana said. ___ AP soccer:

Associated Press
13 minutes ago
- Associated Press
Mexican national soccer team changes hotels in Los Angeles because of safety concerns
MEXICO CITY (AP) — The Mexican national soccer team will change hotels in Los Angeles ahead of their Gold Cup match on Saturday because of safety concerns amid the protests against immigration raids in the city, a team spokesman said Tuesday. Mexico will play its opening match in the regional tournament against the Dominican Republic at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood. The team had a hotel reserved in downtown Los Angeles but governing body CONCACAF has allowed for a change to an undetermined hotel, Mexican team spokesman Fernando Schwartz told The Associated Press. CONCACAF, which runs soccer in North America, Central America and the Caribbean, has not made an official announcement. The protests began Friday in downtown Los Angeles after federal immigration authorities arrested more than 40 people across the city. On Sunday, crowds blocked a major freeway and set self-driving cars on fire as police responded with tear gas, rubber bullets and flash-bang grenades. On Monday, President Donald Trump ordered another 2,000 National Guard troops along with 700 Marines to be sent to Los Angeles. Mexico coach Javier Aguirre was reluctant to talk about the protests at a news conference on Monday in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, where the team is scheduled to play in a friendly match against Turkey on Tuesday. 'I'm not going to talk about Los Angeles, I told you no, we are talking about sports here.' Aguirre said. 'I can't express myself right now. We have a match against Turkey, and I don't have any information. I know what we see on television. We're thousands of miles away, and I can't express myself.' After the match against the Dominican Republic, Mexico will fly to Arlington, Texas, to play Suriname and then close out the first round of the tournament against Costa Rica in Las Vegas. ___ AP soccer: