A humble horse trainer from Ballarat has experienced a brush with British royalty after winning one of Europe’s most esteemed races.
Victorian mare Asfoora ($6) stormed to victory in the $1.2 million King Charles III Stakes at Royal Ascot on Tuesday night.
Her trainer Henry Dwyer made the trip to London for the iconic event and was joined by “40 or 50 of our nearest and dearest” at the track.
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He got the chance to meet the King pre-race, and then again afterwards to celebrate the victory.
Asfoora ridden by Oisin Murphy on their way to winning the King Charles III Stakes. PA Images via Getty Images
Dwyer spoke to Nine’s Today on Wednesday morning at what was 11pm in London.
“I spoke to (King Charles) before the race, we had a good chat and he was terrific actually,” Dwyer said.
“I’m not a Monarchist by any stretch of the imagination, we had a chat and then after the race we compared notes. I think he had a bet on it.
“I said to him before the race, ‘it’s nice to meet you before the race Your Majesty, but I’d much rather be talking to you after the race’, and he took that in the right way.
Connections of Asfoora – including trainer Henry Dwyer (far left) – after winning The King Charles III Stakes at Royal Ascot. Getty Images for Ascot Racecours
“He’s gone and had a fiver on it or whatever, and everyone is happy.”
Today host Karl Stefanovic quipped the King put a “fiver with his face on it” on Asfoora to win the race.
Asfoora, ridden by Oisin Murphy, had never won a Group 1 race prior to Tuesday night’s victory.
She’s won eight of 19 starts and collected more than $1.3 million in prizemoney for connections.
“We’re currently in a taxi on the way into London,” the trainer told Today.
“It might be like a Logies late night… something like that.”
King Charles III addresses winning connections of Asfoora. PA Images via Getty Images
Asfoora was the only Aussie horse to travel to England for the five-day Royal Ascot carnival.
She is the sixth Australian to win the iconic race.
Choisir (2003), Takeover Target (2006), Miss Andretti (2007), Scenic Blast (2009) and Nature Strip (2022) all won what was formerly the King’s Stand Stakes.
