Ahead of the biggest horse racing flat meeting in the UK, many fans will be wondering if King Charles III has any Royal Ascot runners in 2026?
As King Charles will be looking to add to his sole Royal Ascot winner, which came in 2023.
But the King is still some way off the impressive haul of 24 winner his mum Queen Elizabeth II racked-up during her love of the sport of kings.
King Charles Royal Ascot Runners 2026
The final declarations are still to be confirmed ahead of the five-day 2026 Royal Ascot meeting, which will run from Tuesday 16th to Saturday 20th June.
However, the early entries are showcasing several possible Royal Ascot runners for King Charles II.
Tuesday 16th June 2026
- Ascot Stakes: REACHING HIGH
- Wolferton Stakes: WARRANT HOLDER
- Copper Horse Stakes: REACHING HIGH
Wednesday 17th June 2026
- Queen’s Vase: POINT OF LAW
- Windsor Castle Stakes: KING’S PRIZE
Willie Mullins is more famed for having winners at the Cheltenham Festival, but is actually no stranger to the odd success at Royal Ascot.
With the Closutton handler having fired in 11 Royal Ascot winners over the years – his most recent Breeders’ Cup hero Ethical Diamond, who won the Duke Of Edinburgh Stakes in 2025.
Mullins could add to that tally in 2026 too as he trains REACHING HIGH for King Charles III.
This gelded son of former Derby winner Sea The Stars is entered in both the Ascot Stakes and Copper Horse Stakes on day one (Tuesday).
Reaching High was last seen running 9th as a beaten favourite in the Ascot Stakes 12 months ago – and this ex-Sir Michael Stoute horse is still hunting his first success on the turf from eight runs.
Has King Charles III Had Any Royal Ascot Winners Yet?
Yes, King Charles III has enjoyed one Royal Ascot winner since becoming monarch.
That memorable success came on Thursday, 22 June 2023, when Desert Hero, a three-year-old colt bred by the late Queen Elizabeth II, stormed to victory in the King George V Stakes at odds of 18/1.
With the race named after King Charles III’s great grandad King George V.
Trained by William Haggas and ridden by Tom Marquand, Desert Hero provided a landmark moment for the King and Queen Camilla in front of a packed Ascot crowd and shown live on the ITV Racing schedule.
The victory carried extra significance given the horse’s royal lineage.
Desert Hero had been bred by Queen Elizabeth II and inherited by King Charles following her death, making the success an emotional continuation of the late Queen’s extraordinary racing legacy, which included 24 Royal Ascot winners during her lifetime.
Since then, a second Royal Ascot victory has proved elusive. In 2024, the King and Queen fielded several runners but were unable to add to their tally during the week.
The same was true in 2025, when a number of fancied contenders were sent into battle, including Ascot Stakes favourite Reaching High, but the royal colours were again denied a return to the winners’ enclosure.
WATCH: Desert Hero Winning The King George V Stakes at Royal Ascot
Queen Elizabeth II’s Royal Ascot Winners
Few owners in racing history enjoyed a closer association with Royal Ascot than Queen Elizabeth II.
Across her 70-year reign, Her Majesty celebrated 24 winners at the Royal Meeting, a remarkable achievement that reflected her lifelong passion for breeding and racing thoroughbreds.
Her first Royal Ascot winner arrived just weeks after her coronation in 1953 when Choir Boy landed the Royal Hunt Cup, beginning a royal success story that would span seven decades.
The Queen’s final Royal Ascot winner came in 2020 when Tactical captured the Windsor Castle Stakes, two years before her death in September 2022.
Among her most famous victories was Estimate’s historic Gold Cup triumph in 2013, which made Queen Elizabeth II the first reigning monarch to win Royal Ascot’s most prestigious race (watch below).
It remains one of the defining moments in the meeting’s modern history and one of the most memorable scenes ever witnessed in the winner’s enclosure.
Queen Elizabeth II’s Royal Ascot Winners
- Choir Boy (1953) – Royal Hunt Cup
- Landau (1953) – Rous Memorial Stakes
- Aureole (1954) – Hardwicke Stakes
- Choir Boy (1954) – Royal Hunt Cup
- Darius (1954) – Coventry Stakes
- Pall Mall (1957) – New Stakes (now Norfolk Stakes)
- Aiming High (1961) – Coronation Stakes
- Hopeful Venture (1968) – Hardwicke Stakes
- Magna Carta (1970) – Ascot Stakes
- Expansive (1979) – Ribblesdale Stakes
- Buttress (1979) – Queen’s Vase
- Colour Sergeant (1992) – Royal Hunt Cup
- Phantom Gold (1995) – Ribblesdale Stakes
- Blueprint (1999) – Duke of Edinburgh Stakes
- Free Agent (2008) – Chesham Stakes
- Forgotten Voice (2009) – Wolferton Handicap
- Memory (2010) – Albany Stakes
- Estimate (2012) – Queen’s Vase
- Dartmouth (2016) – Hardwicke Stakes
- Persuasive (2017) – Duke of Cambridge Stakes
- Call To Mind (2018) – Ascot Stakes
- First Receiver (2018) – Buckingham Palace Handicap
- Magnetic Charm (2019) – Sandringham Stakes
- Tactical (2020) – Windsor Castle Stakes
NEXT UP:Oisin Murphy reveals his best Royal Ascot ride in 2026. Saying “He’s improved so much in the last 12 months”
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