King's Crown

Michael Dods trains him out of Piercebridge in County Durham, and the yard is in fine form right now — 43 winners already this season, which is a serious number. Dods picked King's Crown up from trainer Adrian Nicholls, and his thinking at the time was clear: this was a horse who had been aimed at much better races early in his career, perhaps before he was ready, and had slipped down the ratings as a result. Starting the season on a mark of 72 and dropping to 62 gave him a chance to compete at a level that actually suited him. Dods was direct about it — he called him his "dark horse" and said he couldn't believe the wins wouldn't come. He was right. King's Crown won at Newcastle on New Year's Day 2026.

Most of his racing comes at Class 5 level — which is the bread and butter of the sport, the everyday races where horses like this make their living. He's won 3 of his 24 races at that level, around 1 in 8, which is a perfectly solid return. But the number that really stands out is at Thirsk, where he's won 2 of just 6 races — that's 1 in 3, and in racing, that kind of course record isn't coincidence. Some horses simply suit a particular track's shape or ground, and Thirsk seems to bring out the best in King's Crown. His very first career win came there in May 2022, and he's kept going back and kept finding the line.

His most regular partner in the saddle is Sean Kirrane, who has ridden him 13 times and won on 3 of those occasions — a win rate of 23%, or nearly 1 in 4. That's notably better than his overall record, and suggests the pairing works. His recent form shows five consecutive mid-pack finishes before that New Year's Day win, so there's a question of whether he can build on it — but with Dods in good form and a horse that clearly loves Thirsk, the next trip there will be worth watching.