King and Queen's Horse Reaching High Wins at Listowel as Earl Spencer Publishes Memoir
King Charles III and Queen Camilla have a winner in Ireland. Their horse Reaching High took the John J. Galvin Maiden Hurdle at Listowel Racecourse in County Kerry on Friday, as reported by Hello!.
The race was a maiden hurdle, a jumps race for horses still chasing a first win over obstacles. Reaching High is trained in Ireland by Willie Mullins. The King and Queen were not at Listowel to see it in person.
It was a change of fortune. Reaching High had twice been beaten when sent off as favourite at Ascot. In June, the horse finished last in the Ascot Stakes, a long-distance flat race run on a level track without obstacles.
After that run, the decision was made to switch codes. Reaching High moved from flat racing to jumps, where horses clear hurdles or fences. The Listowel victory was the payoff.
What makes this stand out is the timing. Flat horses do not always take to hurdles. This one did, and quickly. They were not there to see it.
The win arrived in the same week as a new book from the other side of the family story. Earl Charles Spencer has published Swan Song: Diana, My Sister. The memoir tells the connected lives of Spencer and his sister Diana, according to The New York Times.
The book was published on 22 September 2026. Spencer was 62 at the time of publication. For readers picking it up, it is a brother’s account, not an official history.
For fans, this means two very different royal stories sharing the headlines. One is a straightforward sporting result in Kerry. The other is a personal memoir with a familiar name in the title.
