King Charles' amusing five-word reaction as he feeds champion horse on Newmarket visit

Champion racehorse Stradivarius was on his best behaviour when he was fed treats by King Charles. The reigning monarch was on a royal visit to Newmarket with Queen Camilla on Tuesday where they went to the National Stud.

A winner of the Ascot Gold Cup at the royal meeting on three occasions, Stradivarius was retired for stallion duties at the Jockey Club-owned facility.

After the earner of more than £3.4million paraded, the royal couple stroked the star horse and gave him some mints. "At least he didn't bite!" was the reaction of Charles, 76, as the animal crunched on them loudly. His consort said "keep away from their teeth", adding: "Now he's looking for more polos."

Stradivarius rounded off a 35-race career in 2022 with 20 wins, a record which included four Goodwood Cups and three of the Yorkshire and Lonsdale Cups.

The horse's owner Bjorn Nielsen said via the Racing Posts: "I just hoped he wouldn't take his fingers off! Strad can have a go at you, but everything was fine."

The regular mount of Frankie Dettori, Stradivarius stands for a fee of £10,000 and he covered more than 220 mares in his first two seasons at stud.

He was one of four stallions shown to King Charles and Queen Camilla, a month after they attended all five days of Royal Ascot.

After travelling to Newmarket by helicopter, they were welcomed by more than 1,000 people and spoke to many of the horse racing industry profesisonals.

The King was widely believed not to share his mother Queen Elizabeth II's passion for racing when he inherited the royal thoroughbred string after her death in 2022.

And though there was a reduction of the number of horses in training, he was at the track to see Desert Hero score at the royal meeting in 2023 and become their first runner in the 2023 St Leger.

As the royal party went on to the Jockey Club Rooms, King Charles said he hoped to have a horse good enough to contest one of the sport's other Classic races.

Brian Finch, chairman of Epsom Downs Racecourse, said after speaking to the King: "We were talking about him getting a Derby runner and he said 'we're working on it'.

"Everybody is hoping the royal family will have a Derby winner soon."