All the King's horses: monarch visits Newmarket to inspect his team

Just days after being crowned at Westminster Abbey, King Charles paid a visit to Newmarket on Tuesday afternoon when he inspected the horses he has in training in joint-ownership with Queen Camilla.

The King conducted a private visit of the four Newmarket stables he supports – John and Thady Gosden, Sir Michael Stoute, William Haggas and Sir Mark Prescott – and would have seen plenty of the runners he hopes will don his colours at Royal Ascot.

The visit to Newmarket also continues a tradition of his mother, who died last September, who had an annual visit each May in company with royal racing manager John Warren.

On the day of his visit, the King had performed his first royal duty since the coronation at the nearby Science Park in Cambridge and passed through Newmarket on his way to the royal residence at Sandringham in Norfolk.

Among the team of seven the King was shown at the Clarehaven base of the Gosdens was Saga, who went very close to registering a royal winner on coronation day when beaten a head in the Suffolk Stakes at Newmarket.

King Of Conquest (left) holds off the King and Queen's Saga on Coronation dayCredit: Edward Whitaker (racingpost.com/photos)

The grey will no doubt be bound for Royal Ascot, as will his unbeaten three-year-old stablemate Slipofthepen.

The King also called in on Sir Michael Stoute's Freemason Lodge, where he would have got a close-up view of Saturday's Lingfield Derby Trial contender Circle Of Fire. Freemason Lodge is steeped in royal history as former tenant Cecil Boyd-Rochfort trained for King George VI and Queen Elizabeth II from the premises.

After also visiting William Haggas at Somerville Lodge, the King made his way to Sir Mark Prescott's yard on the Moulton Road, a journey which involved driving past The Shoes pub, which has been relabelled Charlie’s Bar in recent weeks, complete with signage and masses of bunting.

Prescott, who has trained for Charles and Camilla in the past but is new to having runners in the royal colours, has been sent a pair of two-year-old fillies by Almanzor and Shalaa to train for the King and Queen.

Charlie's Bar in Newmarket

Of the visit, Prescott said: "It was marvellous for the King to come just a few days after the coronation. He inspected the two fillies and I gave him a tour of Heath House and Osborne Stables, which he enjoyed. The last time anyone trained for the monarch on these premises was Tregonwell Frampton, who trained out of Osborne for Charles II in the late-1600s, and after that for William III, Queen Anne and then George I and II."

The two Prescott juveniles will not be ready for Royal Ascot, however, with the trainer adding: "They need a bit more time. I would think they may well be out in September."

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