Overpass Poised for Royal Ascot Glory in King Charles III Stakes
Due to the timing of the race there is pre and post race articles below.
Billy Perry, Deborah Schultz and Craig McTavish made the trip England to watch Overpass.
As the curtains rise on Royal Ascot 2026 today in England, all eyes turn to the lightning-fast 5-furlong King Charles III Stakes (Group 1), where Australian sprint star Overpass, with local connections, spearheads a formidable international challenge in one of the world’s premier sprint contests.
The seven-year-old gelding by Vancouver out of Walkway, trained by Bjorn Baker and ridden by Joshua Parr, arrives at Ascot as one of the most intriguing raiders. Overpass boasts a glittering record back home, including multiple Group 1 victories such as the Winterbottom Stakes.
The Coota Times spoke with local Co-owner Craig ‘Moose’ McTavish before the big race.
“I am over in the UK at the moment to watch Overpass, he will be racing at about 12.40pm Australian time, tonight.
“I came over with a couple of friends and will be happy to see him go around.
“He seemed to handle the travel very well. He’s a bit of a seasoned professional as he’s been to Perth six times, he is fit and raring to go.
“He has drawn barrier 19 and I think there’s 26 in the field. The trainer is happy with that, they were hoping to draw wider, and historically, a lot of the winners and that have come down the outside as it is a straight track.
Overpass has been in strong form and of late lightly raced; he is sitting at $3.10 favourite at the time of writing.
He produced a bold effort when fourth in the prestigious TJ Smith Stakes at Randwick in April and has impressed in trials and preparations for this assignment. Connections have noted his ability to race prominently, a trait that should suit Ascot’s demanding straight course perfectly as he drops back to the minimum trip.
The King Charles III Stakes, renamed in 2023 and run on the opening day of Royal Ascot, carries a substantial prize and immense prestige. Run over 5 furlongs on turf, it traditionally attracts speed merchants from across the globe.
Craig commented before the race, “I think the horse [Overpass] is as good as he can be, but I don’t know much about the rest of the field. He will do what he does. He will jump out and probably lead, but if he’s good enough to hang on or not, we will see.
“This race is 1000m. His best distance is probably 1200, but they say that this is a pretty testing 1000m as it is a slightly uphill slope, so more like a 1200m race.
“As far as I am aware, it will be a firm track, and it is overcast at the moment, but I don’t think they’re expecting too much rain before our race.
Whether Overpass can negotiate the journey, adapt to the unique Ascot straight, and deliver a historic win remains to be seen — but few would bet against this warrior producing another memorable performance on the biggest stage.
Australian sprinters have a strong and proud record in the King’s Stand Stakes (now the King Charles III Stakes).
Notable Australian-trained winners have been:
• Choisir (2003): Trained by Paul Perry, this was a breakthrough victory for Australian horses at Royal Ascot. Choisir won the King’s Stand Stakes and also took out the Golden Jubilee Stakes that week, becoming the first Australian-trained horse to win at the meeting in this era.
• Takeover Target (2006): The rags-to-riches gelding, trained by Joe Janiak, delivered an emotional win in the King’s Stand Stakes. His story captured the hearts of racing fans.
• Miss Andretti (2007): Trained by Lee Freedman, she won in record time, marking the third Australian success in the race in five years.
• Nature Strip (2022): Trained by Chris Waller and ridden by James McDonald, the superstar sprinter dominated the King’s Stand Stakes (still under that name), winning emphatically by over four lengths and cementing his status as one of the world’s top sprinters.
• Asfoora (2024): Trained by Henry Dwyer, the mare produced a superb performance to win the renamed King Charles III Stakes, continuing the Australian sprinting tradition at Ascot.
These victories highlight the success of Australian speedsters on Ascot’s straight course, often against strong international fields. Other Australian horses have placed highly or competed creditably, but these five stand out as winners of this historic sprint.
Royal Ascot’s magic awaits.
Overpass Leads To The End,
Denied by Mission Central – To Claim 3rd Place.
Brave Australian star Overpass was denied a famous Royal Ascot victory as a potential The Everest candidate emerged in Tuesday’s Group 1 King Charles III Stakes (1006m).
The Bjorn Baker-trained Overpass ($4 favourite) showed his fighting quality with a tough effort on speed and hit the front inside the final 200m with fellow Australian sprinter Asfoora battling it out closer to his inside.
But the swoopers arrived late to spoil the Australian party as Aidan O’Brien’s three-year-old Mission Central sailed home to the outside to score from Rayevka.
Overpass did enough to hold on for third.
“I think we did very well,” Baker said.
“He went great. It is very hard to win when you are up against some of the best horses in the world and best trainers but it’s absolutely fantastic to be here.
“He has been a superstar horse for us and it’s a pretty special place.
“He did us proud.”
Jockey Josh Parr felt Overpass did well to finish where he did after the son of Vancouver wasn’t able to get the cleanest getaway.
Overpass jumped only fairly and Parr had him travelling in a prominent position on the near side of the track.
“He showed a really good bit of spirit to go through those two leaders and looked the winner there at one point,” Parr said.
“He didn’t get the best breakaway, he usually flies out of the barrier and we were just dictated to by the leader and it could very well have been the difference but I was very happy with his performance.”
The result completed a perfect set of Royal Ascot Group 1s for O’Brien and jockey Ryan Moore.
Mission Central is raced by breeding and racing powerhouse Coolmore, who have a slot for the $20m The Everest later this year.
Coolmore Australia’s Tom Magnier said the richest race on turf will be considered as an option after the son of No Nay Never’s impressive win.
“It’s very exciting,” Coolmore Australia’s Tom Magnier said.
“Obviously I was watching the TV and was thinking it was going to happen for Bjorn and in fairness, if we weren’t going to do it, I would have loved to have seen Bjorn do it.
“But he is a very good horse and I was laughing with Ryan (Moore), I said ‘what about The Everest?’ and he said it’s definitely something to think about.
“Aidan would definitely consider it as well, and Dad, and everybody would consider The Everest.
“Obviously you have Ka Ying Rising, he would be very hard to beat but our guy was good today and we have a slot in The Everest and he’s definitely a horse that we will have a look at.”
Meanwhile, Baker said he will let the dust settle before deciding if Overpass backs up on Saturday against Joliestar in the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes.
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