Willie Mullins hopes to put on a show fit for the King as Reaching High aims to emulate his father Estimate by providing a Royal winner at Ascot
One image from Royal Ascot this century stands above everything else. In 2013, the late Queen was sitting on the edge of a seat in her box, fists clenched excitedly and smiling euphorically.
Nothing sets the ultimate Flat meeting ablaze like the Monarch having a winner, and the impact of Estimate's victory in the Gold Cup 12 years ago was felt far and wide; so profound was that success, it can still be felt.
King Charles, will watch from the same vantage point when Estimate's son, Reaching High, will contest the Ascot Stakes (5pm), a handicap run over the same punishing two-and-a-half-mile trip as the Gold Cup on Thursday. Those who believe in happy endings may feel the stars are aligning.
On an afternoon when quality bursts out of every race, from an exceptional renewal of the Queen Anne Stakes (2.30pm) to a clash of the Classic winners in the St James's Palace Stakes (4.20pm), the event that will attract public attention is the one in which Reaching High will be sent off favourite.
This will be a historic moment. Reaching High, following the retirement of Sir Michael Stoute, was sent to the Carlow yard of champion jumps trainer Willie Mullins by Queen Camilla in March and it made the gelding the first Royal horse to be based in Ireland.
Reaching High sustained an injury on his final run for Stoute last August and showed signs of rustiness in the early stages of his comeback run at Leopardstown last month but the penny quickly dropped and he finished with a flourish, just losing out in a photo finish.
Mullins was humbled to be asked to train Reaching High, the thought coming into the Queen's mind after the trainer and his wife, Jackie, had been part of last year's Royal procession. She, like everyone who follows racing, knows there is no better man to prepare a horse for a specific target. 'We are in new territory concerning the trip,' said John Warren, the Royal Family's long-term racing adviser, who was next to the late Queen the day Estimate thundered home to pip, ironically, a Mullins runner called Simenon.
'But he is certainly bred for this. He handles top of the ground so, with Ryan Moore riding, we are hopeful he'll run well. He's a very big horse, who is just coming of age, so the King and Queen are intrigued to see how he gets on and what the future holds.'
Moore, the ultimate big-race pilot, is another link between past and present. He had those distinct silks on when Estimate delivered and he will wear them again this afternoon as he tries to give Mullins his 11th Royal Ascot triumph.
'I know the family well — I rode Estimate to win at the Royal meeting twice for Sir Michael and they were great days; the Gold Cup was particularly special,' said Moore, who fondly remembers being invited to Windsor Castle after that success.
'I've had a good connection with Willie, too. I was on Simenon, who was his first Royal Ascot winner, and then I got the better of Simenon in the Gold Cup, so there are plenty of strands to the story. I'm sure it will be exciting for everyone watching and it will be interesting to see how he goes.'
The promise Reaching High showed at Leopardstown for Jody Townend, sister of Gold Cup winning jockey Paul, was obvious and his regal breeding — his father is the 2009 Derby winner Sea The Stars — means the public have latched on to him. Mullins, for sure, knows what is at stake.
'If he could run a similar type of race at Ascot I'd be very pleased,' said Mullins. 'It would be great to have a winner for Their Majesties. It's great of them to send me a pedigree like this to train. We're hoping for the best.'
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