King Of War

The ground matters enormously to this horse. On fast, dry conditions he transforms: 4 wins from 18 races at a rate of roughly 1 in every 4 and a half. That is more than double his overall win rate, and it tells you something straightforward — when the sun has been out and the track is quick underfoot, King Of War is a different proposition entirely. Trainers and punters who follow him closely will have learned to pay close attention to the weather forecast.

Chepstow is his home away from home. Two wins from 7 races there makes it his most productive track, and it is where his career began — he broke his duck at the Welsh course back in June 2022. Horses do sometimes develop a genuine affinity for a particular track, whether it is the shape of the bends, the undulations, or simply accumulated confidence from past success. Whatever the reason, Chepstow brings out something in King Of War that not every track manages.

He races most often at Class 6, the entry level of British flat racing, which gives honest context to what he is. This is a horse doing a working job in competitive everyday races, not a big-occasion animal. But within that world, Michael Wigham's Newmarket yard has clearly kept him fit and motivated — his most recent win came at Brighton just three weeks ago, and with a race under his belt as recently as yesterday, he is bang in form and clearly being aimed at opportunities while conditions suit. Wigham's yard has sent out 12 winners already this season, a healthy return that suggests a team with their horses in decent nick.

Jockey Kieran Shoemark has ridden him 7 times for 1 win together, a partnership that has not fully clicked yet. But with recent form reading 1-3-5-3 across his last few runs, King Of War is doing more right than wrong at the moment.