King Alexander

His best partnership has been with jockey Nico de Boinville, and the numbers there are striking: four wins from eight races together, meaning they have won exactly half their races as a team. That kind of record between horse and rider suggests a real understanding — de Boinville seems to get the best out of him. Trainer W P Mullins, who operates one of the most powerful yards in Ireland from Muine Bheag in County Carlow, has sent out 230 winners this season alone, so King Alexander is one piece of a very large and very successful operation. Mullins has spoken warmly about him over the years, noting early on that King Alexander was growing up physically and mentally, and that he felt the horse could go jumping fences when the time was right.

That time came, and jockey Paul Townend summed it up well after a win at Gowran Park, saying King Alexander enjoys jumping fences and is simply a nice, fun horse to ride — the kind of straightforward, enthusiastic competitor that makes racing enjoyable for everyone involved. His last win came at Fairyhouse in January 2025, which is now 16 months ago, and his recent form — a blank, then finishes of fourth, third, second, third, and fifteenth — tells a story of a horse running consistently without quite getting his nose in front.

The second place and two thirds in that recent run suggest King Alexander is not suddenly out of form — he is still competing, still placing, still there or thereabouts. He typically races at Class 4 level, which sits in the middle of the British racing pyramid, and has won two of his five races at that level, a 40% win rate that is genuinely impressive. He is not chasing the big prizes, but at his level he is a horse who earns his keep, finishes close, and clearly loves what he does. Sometimes that is more than enough.