The Dragon King

Cox trains out of Lambourn in Berkshire and has had a productive season — 48 winners sent out this term alone, which is the kind of volume that marks a yard operating at genuine pace. He clearly had high hopes for The Dragon King from early on. The horse broke his duck at Doncaster in May 2024 and, according to Cox, put together three wins across that first season, capping it with the Newmarket victory from the prestigious Somerville Tattersalls Sale race. That combination of precocity and a big-occasion win is exactly the profile trainers dream about.

At his best, The Dragon King thrives on fast, dry ground — 2 wins from just 5 races in those conditions works out to a remarkable 40% win rate. That's a horse that genuinely changes character when the ground suits. He has spent most of his career competing at Class 4 level, one step below the top tier, and has done it well: 3 wins from 8 races at that grade, or 38%. His most recent win came at Wolverhampton in November 2025, though he has finished fifth in each of his last three outings since, suggesting he may be searching for his best form again.

Still only four, he raced just yesterday and remains firmly in training. Cox floated the idea of a Group 2 entry after Newmarket — one step below the very best races in the country — which says everything about how much potential this horse carries. Whether he gets back to that level depends on whether he can recapture the explosive finishing kick that made Newmarket so memorable. When it clicks, it really clicks.