Leicester City Chairman Eyes Further Glory In Elite British Sport: King Power Racing Hope To Stamp There Big Ambitions With Their First Royal Ascot Winner

Leicester City Chairman Eyes Further Glory In Elite British Sport: King Power Racing Hope To Stamp There Big Ambitions With Their First Royal Ascot Winner
13:35, 21 Jun 2018

It’s generally believed when you win once, all you want to do is continue winning – and thus is the case for Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha.

For many his somewhat unique name is recognised as owning shock Premier League champions Leicester City, who stunned the footballing world when lifting the title though shrewd purchases and an unbelievably motivated squad and staff.

From the King Power Stadium to King Power racing, Thursday afternoon sees the iconic blue and white colours carried by the tigers, worn by David Allan aboard leading Norfolk Stakes fancy Vintage Brut.

Srivaddhanaprabha’s King Power Racing only began running horses last season, winning eight races in total including with multiple pattern winner Beat The Bank – this year they have twelve to their name and many more to come.

It’s been made clear the Thai billionaire is highly ambitious and wants winners at the highest level, he has plenty of exciting young juvenile talent in training with Andrew Balding and Richard Hannon. You can be sure to know he’s named them himself, when the likes of Fox Vardy, Fox Morgan and Come On Leicester in ode to the title winning squad. Vintage Brut, however, was bought only on Monday night.

He paid an extortionate sum of £280,000 for the unbeaten two-year-old trained in Yorkshire by Tim Easterby in a big London sales on Monday, and with him being a third favourite for Royal Ascot the following week it shows his keen hunger for a winner in one of the biggest festivals in world horse racing. That night he also purchased Royal Ascot entrants Shine So Bright and Main Street, and almost paid a quarter of a million for the dam of today’s King Edward VII favourite Mildenberger, who also currently is in foal.

Of course plenty of comments have been made at the idea of a rich powerhouse throwing money at the game in order for success. Some consider it bad for the sport, however Vintage Brut wasn’t just taken to the sales for a look, his owners had a special horse and realised although owning an Ascot winner would be special – the financial boost would be lifechanging.

Likewise a price tag is never a guarantee of a class horse. Expensive horses are rarely the best, in 2006 Coolmore paid $16 million for The Green Monkey, he never won in three starts. Meanwhile it’s somewhat ironic to think such of King Power, considering how little Leicester beat footballing powerhouses Manchester United, Manchester City and Chelsea to the league two years ago.

The fact of the matter is, more money is also more competition and more competition is better for racing. Although Ballydoyle hasn’t dominated this season as it has in previous years, they remain a key force in the racing industry. Godolphin are back in high spirits after their Derby glory, and the Qatari’s must be somewhat envious to see the blue colours take Britain’s inaugural classic before them. Keep in mind the likes of Juddmonte, Hamdan Al Maktoum and all the other leading figures in racing.

Whether or not King Power are going to become another leading force in the racing world, it is a huge boost to our industry. Racing needs strong competition like any sport, l am personally delighted that Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha is investing both big interest and money into the racing industry. Yet I doubt many of his horses will go off 5000-1 anytime soon.

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