King Charles hasn't faced the easiest of weeks following the explosive allegations in Earl Charles Spencer's book about how he reacted to the death of his ex-wife, Princess Diana.
However, the monarch and his wife, Queen Camilla, had some good news to celebrate on Friday when their horse, Reaching High won the John J. Galvin Maiden Hurdle at Listowel Racecourse in County Kerry, Ireland.
It marked a return to form for the horse, which was recently twice beaten while the favourite at Ascot, and back in June, the prize horse ended up finishing in last place when it competed at the Ascot Stakes. This prompted a change from Reaching High competing in flat racing to jumps.
Despite the victory, the royal couple weren't there to witness the triumph in person. Willie Mullins, the horse's trainer, said: "Unfortunately the King and Queen aren’t present but would love to be here, as one of their stated aims is to visit every county in Ireland. They only have a few left and hopefully will come to 'the Kingdom' (as Listowel is known) some day.
"The horse got a fright at the last but he jumps well enough. He likes a flat track, but it can be a bit sharp here and he is a huge, big, long-striding h...