In a disrupted week where meetings were lost due to Storm Goretti, The Lost King entered the reckoning for the Mile final with victory in a class two handicap at Kempton Park.
Lining up after a gelding operation, Nicola Currie’s mount needed every yard of the seven-furlong distance as he stormed home to collar Popmaster and Heathcliff in the final strides, with the handicapper responding with a 1lb rise to 91.
A Newmarket novice winner as a juvenile, The Lost King made two appearances in 2025, finishing third in the Esher Cup at Sandown Park and 12th in the Britannia Stakes at Royal Ascot.
His trainer Andrew Balding has a strong recent record in the Mile final, having landed the spoils with Berkshire Shadow in 2023 and Storm Star last year.
Currie said: “This was The Lost King’s first run since being gelded and I think that has probably been the making of him. Today the plan was to settle him, so he could see it out, knowing that he will get further. It worked out perfectly.
“He is a lovely type of animal and was very straightforward today. They have gone a nice even pace and, although it took me a while to get him into top gear, he has done it nicely in the end.
“You would think he will come on for the run, given the holiday he has had. I think connections can look forward to a good season with him, especially over a mile as I think that will prove to be his optimum trip, although a stiff seven would be OK as well.”
Elsewhere, Dartrey burst onto the 3YO scene with three handicap victories in the space of six days for Ralph Beckett. A €750,000 purchase as a yearling, the son of Lope De Vega has a revised rating of 77 and could take in Newcastle’s AWC Trials Day fixture later this week.
The Thames Boatman made a successful return from wind surgery in a class three sprint at Lingfield Park, defeating the in-form Accrual by a short-head. Richard Hughes’ runner is a seven-time winner on the all-weather and will race off 83 next time out.
Gogo Yubari racked up three wins in less than a week as he won five-furlong handicaps at Lingfield Park and Chelmsford. This run of form has helped Tony Carroll open daylight as he chases back-to-back all-weather champion trainer titles, with the Worcestershire handler now 10 clear of Ian Williams.
Billy Loughnane has raced to 50 winners for the season as he continues to dominate the all-weather champion jockey standings. The 19-year-old is well clear of two former winners of the title in Rossa Ryan and Luke Morris, who are on 28 and 27 wins respectively.
