The ground matters enormously to this horse. On fast, dry conditions he has won 3 times from 16 attempts — roughly 1 in every 5 races — which is a significantly better rate than his overall record suggests. That tells you Michael Wigham's team at Newmarket almost certainly keep an eye on the weather forecast before deciding when to run him. Pick the right day and you get a different horse entirely.
Chepstow is where King Of War first announced himself, winning there on 20 June 2022, and he has never quite lost his affection for the Welsh track. Two wins from 7 races there make it his most productive venue — that's winning roughly 1 in every 3 or 4 visits, which for a horse at this level is genuinely impressive. Some horses just take to a particular track, and Chepstow seems to suit everything about how he runs.
His recent form has been the most encouraging stretch of his career. Two wins from his last 6 races, including a victory at Brighton as recently as 16 October 2025, suggests he hit a purple patch heading into the autumn. He now returns after roughly four months off, which will have given the yard — sorry, the team — time to target the right opportunity. Michael Wigham's yard has been in decent nick this season, sending out 12 winners, so there's no reason to think King Of War comes back in anything other than good order.
Jockey Kieran Shoemark has ridden him 7 times and won once together, a win rate of about 1 in 7, which is a workmanlike partnership rather than a spectacular one. King Of War competes mostly at Class 6, the entry level of British racing, and has won 3 of 18 races at that level. He is not a horse heading for the big occasions, but in the right conditions, on the right track, he is a horse that wins races. And that, ultimately, is the point.
| Course | Races | Results | Last visited | Win rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brighton Undulating |
14 | 3 wins, 3 seconds, 1 third, 7 other | 16 Oct | 21.4% |
| Chepstow Galloping |
7 | 2 wins, 1 second, 2 thirds, 2 other | 3 Sep | 28.6% |
| Lingfield Park Sharp |
6 | 1 second, 5 other | 4 Nov | 0% |
| Wolverhampton Galloping |
5 | 2 thirds, 3 other | 22 Sep | 0% |
| Southwell Galloping |
3 | 3 other | 10 Dec | 0% |
| Great Yarmouth Galloping |
3 | 1 second, 2 other | 3 Jul | 0% |
| Newmarket Galloping |
1 | 1 other | 19 Jul | 0% |
| Ascot Galloping |
1 | 1 other | 2 Sep | 0% |
| Bath Undulating |
1 | 1 second | 11 Jun | 0% |
| Windsor Sharp |
1 | 1 other | 17 Jul | 0% |
| chelmsford | 1 | 1 other | 17 Oct | 0% |
| Haydock Park Galloping |
1 | 1 other | 5 Jul | 0% |
| Kempton Park Galloping |
1 | 1 other | 8 Mar | 0% |