King Charles’s horse Chalk Stream has raced in the Adelaide Cup as large crowds watched on

A horse owned by King Charles has finished second last at the Adelaide Cup, as a Victorian-based gelding secured top spot in front of a large, post-COVID crowd at Morphettville.

Rebel Racer won this year’s Adelaide Cup after leading all the way.

Ridden by jockey Craig Newitt from barrier nine, the gelding held off a late charge down the final straight to finish ahead of Aurora Symphony in second and Amade in third.

The royal horse, Chalk Stream, finished 15th.

Adelaide Cup race caller Terry McAuliffe said while there had been royal horses at the Adelaide Cup before, this year’s number five, Chalk Stream, was a little unusual. 

“The Queen bred the horse, and the horse was obviously previously raced by the Queen until unfortunately she passed away and the horse has been transferred now into the ownership of her son, His Majesty The King,” Mr McAuliffe told ABC Radio Adelaide’s Nikolai Beilharz.

“I heard [the trainer] actually talking on radio earlier this week, and he said it was pretty special for him when the package turned up from overseas, the Royal Mail … wrapped up inside was the colours that the horse wears, they are the royal colours, purple with the gold braid and the scarlet sleeves and a black velvet cap with a gold fringe.

“From time to time, the Queen has had a few horses run in Australia, but not many.”

While Chalk Stream has been trained by renowned trainer Chris Waller, Mr McAuliffe said he was not one of the favourites.

“If he could run up to his old form when he was formally trained overseas where he won four of his first 10 starts he would certainly run well, but he’s got a difficult barrier, so I think he’s probably going around as a chance today, but certainly not as one of the favourites,” he said.

Large crowds expected

Morphettville Racecourse is anticipating its biggest Adelaide Cup since the beginning of COVID, with more than 7,000 people expected to attend.

South Australian Jockey Club chief operations officer Jason Bird said more tickets had already been sold than the total number of attendees last year, with many walk-ins also expected.

“Adelaide Cup is back in a big way this year,” he said.

“All our hospitality packages sold out quite early and the general admission interest is huge.”

Crowd numbers have been on the decline in recent years, exacerbated by the pandemic and moving the Adelaide Cup from May to March.

Activists are in attendance, with Animal Liberation South Australia hosting a “Say Nup to the Cup” protest.

“This will be a silent vigil in honour out of respect for the horses who have lost their lives at Morphettville,” the group posted on Facebook.

“Whilst it has been fantastic to see South Australia outlaw jumps racing, the cruel industry of horse racing remains.

“In just over one year, 11 horses, that we know of, have lost their lives on South Australian tracks due to injuries sustained whilst being used to race.

“Four of those horses were killed at the home of the Adelaide Cup, Morphettville.”

At the Morphettville Racecourse, Padma Ciel from Animal Liberation South Australia said there were a number of animal welfare issues the event organisers needed to address.

“We would like to see two-year-olds off the track, we would like to see the end of whips being used in horse racing, the end of tongue ties,” she said.

“There is quite a number of animal welfare issues around the racing of horses.”