KING OF LIGHT SET TAKES AIM AT A SECOND GROUP 2 WIN

By Graham Potter | Wednesday, November 4, 2026

The Daniel Morton trained King Of Light will be bidding for three-in-a-row at Ascot on Saturday where he will look to add the $300 000 Group 2 Lee Steere Stakes to his already hugely impressive honour roll.

King Of Light, who has won seven of his eight starts, won at the corresponding meeting last year where he took out the Listed Fairetha Stakes over 1400m before going on the claim the Group 2 WA Guineas over 1600m in his next start … his highest rated win to date.

His only defeat came at the end of that preparation where the Group 1 Northerly, with its sharp rise in class and a testing step up in distance to 1800m, proved to be a bridge too far for the Morton trained runners at that time.

King Of Light was given a break from race action for a full seven-and-a-half months after that, and he has resumed as a four-year-old as strong as ever winning his first two runs back … in the Listed Idyllic Prince (over 1300m) and the Group 3 Eurythmic (over 1400m) in a manner which underlined his class.

His current price for the Lee Steere is $1.90.

The question is whether the best of the older brigade are still able to flex their muscles enough to give the ‘youngster’ something to think about.

The Group 1 Railway Stakes winner Watch Me Rock, a six-year-old, finished fourth, only 0.41 lengths behind King Of Light last time in a run that was first-up after a seven month break. He will strip fitter for that run and is now 1kg better off at the weights with King Of Light.

The nine-year-old Westen Empire who, even at the veteran stage, can seldom be counted out of proceedings.

He finished in sixth place in the Eurythmic, 2.35 lengths behind King Of Light. That was after a four month break after rounding off his previous preparation with a eye-catching hat trick of wins in the Belmont Sprint, the Hyperion Stakes and the Strickland … all Group 3 races in a clean-sweep at Belmont.

If anywhere near that level of form, he will be right it this.

Western Empire (the $4.40 second favourite) and Watch Me Rock (the $4.60 third favourite) will both be saddled by Grant and Alana Williams with the training partnership having resumed training after being granted a stay of proceedings against a 12-month disqualification.

Team Williams has a third runner engaged in the Lee Steere … the five-year-old mare London’s Image who is the next in line in the betting as a $7 chance.

The eight-year-old Let’s Galahvant finished third to King Of Light last time out, coming home just 0.33 lengths behind the winner. He should ideally prefer more ground than he gets on Saturday, but a warning has been posted.

Let’s Galahvant is trained by Daniel and Ben Pearce who won the Group 3 Prince Of Wales Stakes with Talkanco at Ascot last Saturday.

The line-up is completed by Too Dardy ($13 – who has won three of his last four starts), Sentimental Hero ($61 – who finished third in the Group 1 Railway Stakes) and Bustler ($71 - a second runner for Neville Parnham),