The King has suffered a significant Royal Ascot setback after one of the most exciting horses in the royal colours was withdrawn from a flagship race at next month’s meeting.
Portcullis, the unbeaten colt bred by the King and Queen Camilla, will not contest the St James’s Palace Stakes after trainers John and Thady Gosden opted against rushing the three-year-old into elite company.
The Group One contest, run over a mile and worth £700,000, had been viewed as a potential stage for the colt to announce himself among the leading Classic generation. Instead, connections have chosen a more patient route, believing the son of Frankel remains an unfinished project despite an unbeaten start to his career.
The decision represents a blow to hopes of a major Royal Ascot triumph for the monarch, who could otherwise have been represented by one of the meeting’s most talked-about runners.
Portcullis has generated considerable excitement in racing circles since making a striking debut at Newmarket earlier this spring. Despite a slow and awkward start in the Wood Ditton Maiden, the colt recovered impressively, travelling smoothly through the field before surging clear to win by five and a half lengths under Ryan Moore.
The performance immediately marked him out as a colt of significant promise. Bred by the King from Castle Lady, winner of the French 1,000 Guineas, and sired by the outstanding Frankel, Portcullis possesses one of the most distinguished pedigrees in training.
He followed up with a second victory last month, although John Gosden stressed afterwards that the colt was still learning his craft.
“He has still got his L plates up,” Gosden said after the win, noting that Portcullis had become unbalanced around the bend and appeared confused in the closing stages before eventually understanding what was required of him.
The trainer added that jockey William Buick believed there was “a lot of improvement to come” once the colt gained further experience.
Connections appear determined not to force his development too quickly. Gosden indicated after his latest success that Portcullis would not be “launched into the deep end” and suggested the horse would instead be allowed to progress gradually through the ranks.
That cautious approach has now ruled him out of the St James’s Palace Stakes, the same race won by Frankel in devastating fashion in 2011.
Although Portcullis will miss that particular target, he could still appear at Royal Ascot in a less demanding contest later in the week. Any participation would nevertheless attract enormous interest given both his royal ownership and the promise he has already shown.
The colt also carries particular emotional significance for the King. He is understood to be among the final horses bred from mating plans discussed with Queen Elizabeth II before her death in 2022, adding further poignancy to his emergence as a potential top-class performer.
Royal Ascot runs from 16 to 20 June, with the royal meeting once again expected to feature strong representation from the King and Queen’s racing operation.
