HORSE IN FOCUS
Alcarath
4yo Bay Gelding (Acclamation x Pellucid)
ALCARATH
By the smart sprinter-miler sire Acclamation, out of the Excelebration mare Pellucid, Alcarath is one of our older horses in training, trained by Alan King.
Acclamation is the sire of the recently retired, joint Horse Of The Year, Romantic Warrior (who shares the Hong Kong title with Ka Ying Rising) and has earned over £25 million from 31 starts.
Acclamation is also the sire of Dark Angel, Equiano, and Expert Eye. While he is better known for producing speed horses such as Makarova (Prix de l’Abbaye Gr 1) and Marsha (Nunthorpe Gr 1 and Prix de l’Abbaye Gr 1), Alcarath stay further than the mile, and he holds an entry for the Cambridgeshire at the end of the month, worth £200,000!
Getting a pat from his groom after the race
Alcarath after placing 2nd at Sandown
Alan King took out his licence in December 1999, based at Jackdaws Castle, saddling 31 winners in his first six months, including Anzum's Grade 1 success in the Long Walk Hurdle at Ascot and Relkeel's Grade 2 win at Cheltenham. In June 2000 he relocated to Barbury Castle, an estate he has continued to develop and expand in pursuit of more winners.
His first flat winner arrived in 2002, and the dual-purpose operation has gone from strength to strength. He has trained 16 Cheltenham Festival winners, 16 Aintree Grand National Festival winners, and achieved flat success at Royal Ascot, Glorious Goodwood and in Heritage Handicaps up and down the country. The brilliant Trueshan flew the flag for the yard for eight seasons, banking seven Group races and over £2,000,000 in prize money along the way. Alan has shown he is just as adept with black-type juveniles as he is with staying jumpers, such as Edwardstone, who racked up 12 individual wins over obstacles. It's a stable on a serious roll heading into the back end of the 2026 season, with Daiquiri Bay's York Ebor win being the latest highlight!
We hope that Alcarath will add to Alan’s impressive record. After a couple of promising introductory runs at Kempton and Salisbury, the penny dropped for him in spectacular fashion at Epsom, where Alcarath cruised through, making virtually all the running and pulled clear for an eight and a half length victory.
It's at Sandown Park where Alcarath has really shown his hand. He arrived there in late August already carrying strong course and distance form, having been narrowly beaten last time out at the track. Sent off the 3/1 favourite for the Class 2 Zyn Frontrunner Finish Handicap on August 29th, Alcarath again showed just how tough and genuine he is. Ridden with confidence by Oisin Murphy, he took a keen hold, sat in touch with the pace, and quickened into the lead approaching the final furlong. He was headed only in the last few strides, going down by the barest of margins to Kokbastau.
He is a tough, genuine and willing sort who takes a keen hold and races with his heart on his sleeve. His back to back narrow defeats at Sandown in highly competitive handicaps show that this is the profile of a horse who keeps knocking on the door and is waiting for his time in the limelight. He is at a yard in red-hot form, with Alan King and his team riding the crest of a wave after Daiquiri Bay's Ebor win.
There are a couple of shares are still available in Alcarath, and now is a fantastic time to get involved with this exciting horse as he heads to the Cambridgeshire at the end of the month!