King Charles earns over £1million selling 14 of Queen’s beloved horses as Royal racing operation undergoes big shake-up
KING Charles earned more than £1million selling 14 of the late Queen's beloved racehorses.
The sales ranged from £300,000 for Just Fine - the horse that gave Charles his first winner in the Royal Silks - to £4,000 for three-year-old colt Tack.
King Charles inherited the horses from his late mother, who passed away aged 96 at Balmoral last month.
The horses' owner was previously listed as The Queen but this changed to The King after Charles assumed control of her cherished runners.
He has had some success on the track already, with three wins from 19 runners at the time of writing.
The best of those was Perfect Alibi, who landed Charles a £28,000 windfall with victory in a Listed contest at Yarmouth earlier this month.
Despite the earnings, it looks like the King won't take quite as strong an interest in racing as his mother did.
Saying that, it was not uncommon for her late Majesty to sell horses at the Tattersalls October sales in Newmarket either, just as Charles did this week.
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He sold 14 in all, with two-year-old colt Theme Park going for £200,000 and three-year-old gelding Naval College being snapped up for £185,000.
Four of the Queen's former horses sold for six-figure sums, including 2020 Royal Ascot winner Tactical, who fetched £150,000.
The 14 horses sold for £1,075,500 in all, with the average price being £76,821.
More than £36million was paid for horses over the course of the record-breaking four-day sales, with the average price of a horse being £35,949.
The 14 Royal horses sold
Persian Gold £5,000
Juryman £45,000
Duty Bound £55,000
Tack £4,000
Constitution £18,000
Spring Is Sprung £14,000
Theme Park £200,000
Just Fine £300,000
Kiteflyer £52,000
Naval College £185,000
General Idea £4,500
Quiet Life £5,000
Love Affairs £38,000
Tactical £150,000
Total: £1,075,500
With the flat season officially ending at Ascot on Champions Day earlier this month, punters won't be seeing so many of the King's horses on the track.
Not least until the Classics kick back into action next May with the 1000 and 2000 Guineas - which just so happens to be set for May 6, the same day as Charles' coronation.
The British Horseracing Authority are thought to be looking at the implications of the fixture clash with an eye to possibly changing the Newmarket showpiece.
The following month will see the Queen's favourite race run at her favourite track - the Epsom Derby.
She famously never won it - and how the Royal racing set-up will look by then is anyone's guess.
Sun Racing told you that John Warren, the Queen's longtime racing adviser and trusted friend, is rumoured to be leaving his role with the family after more than 13 years.
Warren spoke horses with the Queen just days before her death and was said to be one of only two people with a direct line to her.
Queen Consort Camilla loves racing and would be a natural fit as the figurehead of the Royal stable.
However, some Royal fans would like to see Zara Tindall, Princess Anne's equestrian star daughter, given a prominent role.
One report claimed the Royal Stud could sadly become 'a museum' in a few years if further cuts are made.
Spread across 300 acres of the Sandringham estate in Norfolk, the first-class facility is home to 38 broodmares, female horses who are used for breeding, and some 30 foals.
The late Queen was heavily invested in the breeding of her horses.
So much so that she had stud boss David Somers install CCTV throughout the stables so she could watch her foals being born 'on her iPad'.
Read More on The Sun
A Royal insider told the : "The connection between the family and the horse racing industry will continue.
"The desire is to continue with the traditions and connections with Royal Ascot but not on the same scale as Her Majesty because she had a passion."
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