The three-year-old has already won two races and brought a tidy return of around £30k in winnings.

King Charles (Image: Getty)

King Charles looks set to miss out on a potential £400,000 Royal Ascot win, with one of his most promising horses held back by its trainers from an iconic race. The monarch and Queen Camilla are proud owners of unbeaten colt Portcullis, which was bred by Charles and sired by legendary stallion Frankel.

The three-year-old has already won two races and brought a tidy return of around £30k in winnings. That included a breakout win at Newmarket on his debut, prompting talk of Portcullis becoming a name to be reckoned with in the Sport of Kings. The highly-rated colt was set to race in the prestigious St James’s Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot in June, but his trainers, father and son team John and Thady Gosden, have opted to withdraw the horse with an eye on his long-term future.

The race takes place over a mile, is exclusively for three-year-olds, and is worth £700,000 in total across the top finishers. Winners get just under £400k.

It was won by Frankel back in 2011, but his son now looks set to miss out on matching the achievement after his name wasn’t included in the list taking part, The Sun reported. However, he may still feature at the Royal meeting.

Gosden Snr has previously signalled that the talented prospect will be handled with care as they look to mature him for the big races.

After the horse’s most recent win last month, he said Portcullis “has still got his L plates up”.

He added that jockey William Buick said Portcullis “didn’t get the idea of racing until inside the last half-furlong and feels there’s a lot of improvement to come”.

“It won’t be big steps. You won’t see him launched into the deep end yet. We’ll let him come to it as it’s only May. We’ll find the right race for him.”

Royal Ascot will begin on June 16 and conclude on June 20.

SOURCE: https://www.express.co.uk/news/royal/2210202/king-charles-royal-ascot-latest