We have been looking for the right horse to syndicate in the UK for some time and were delighted to purchase King’s Cruiser at the Tattersalls Guineas Sale on 30th April 2026.
Already a winner on the flat, there are a long list of reasons to think only the surface of his ability has been scratched so far and he is a hugely exciting prospect to go jumping, while there are undoubtedly more races to be won on the flat.
King’s Cruiser won on his penultimate start at Chelmsford and went on to finish a close third on his most recent run, running to his highest Racing Post Rating to date.
He was only broken in last year and there is huge scope for improvement. A big, strong individual whose stride data reads very well indeed, it is eyecatching to note that Telescope’s progeny have just a 2% strike-rate on the AW, compared to 12% on flat turf, which he is yet to try.
The pedigree offers considerable promise for the future. Half-brother Bailarico won his first race at the age of 5, going from a mark of 48 and winning five successive handicaps on the flat before going on to make up into a smart dual-purpose performer, with a hurdles rating of 135.
The other half-brother, Paso Doble, was another late developer, winning impressively in two flat handicaps and developing into a useful sort in that sphere, before going on to gain black type during a very successful hurdling career.
Dam Baila Me was a Group 1 winner in her native Germany and is by Samum, who is a high-class damsire to go jumping, while Telescope is a proven National Hunt stallion whose progeny include Grade 1 Supreme Novice Hurdle winner Slade Steel. The pedigree got a further boost last week as Keyreine Du Seuil, who is under the second dam, won the French Grand National!
THE PLAN
King’s Cruiser has been on the go over the winter, so now is a good time to get him gelded and out in the paddocks.
Chris and Claire Bonner, who pre-train for Andrew Balding and have also done such a brilliant job with the likes of this year’s Triumph Hurdle winner Apollon de Charnie, will do the pre-training and we’ll look to have him back in ridden exercise in June, with a view to returning to the racecourse in late summer.
All being well, he can go and win a couple on the flat and I can see him developing into a nice staying handicapper in due course, but we’ll soon be switching our attentions to hurdling! Given his physique, pedigree, stride data and proven ability on the flat, we are very hopeful that he can develop into a classy novice next term and take us to some of the big meetings in 2026/27.
