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York preview: Astro King returns to scene of big wins
By Racing TV
Last Updated: Thu 11 Jun 2026
Astro King will run in the £70,000 feature race of Friday at York, the Sky Bet The World’s Gone Football Handicap, ahead of a potential return to the Knavesmire for the 67th John Smith’s Cup on Saturday 11 July.
The nine-year-old is a proven course specialist, having finished second in the John Smith’s Cup in 2023 before winning a heritage handicap at the Sky Bet Ebor Festival that same season.
Astro King, who also has a Cambridgeshire Handicap triumph on his CV, came mid-division when contesting the 2024 John Smith’s Cup. That proved to be the Daniel and Claire Kubler-trained gelding’s last run before a 658-day lay-off.
Astro King finally returned to action at Newmarket last month when he took a strong grip early on and dropped back in the closing stages.
Flashback: William Buick on a York victory for Astro King
Connections are hoping for an improved performance this week at York where he will line up in Class 2 company for a contest over an extended mile and a quarter – helpfully, being the John Smith’s Cup distance.
Daniel Kubler said: “Obviously he had a long time off – he missed last season – so he ran well enough at Newmarket at the Guineas meeting.
“We sort of picked this race out as his next target with a long-term view. He ran very well in the John Smith’s Cup three years ago, so that’s kind of been what we’re working towards.
“I don’t say he’s 100 percent back to where he was, but he’s come forward for that first run at Newmarket, which was really just to get him out on the track and see if he still held the enthusiasm for it.
“He had plenty of zest in the early part of the race and then understandably got tired and wasn’t given a hard time late on.
“Hopefully he’ll be a bit sharper, but there’s still a little bit to come forward again, I think, after this run.”
And Kubler has plenty of faith that Astro King still retains a high level of ability, he added: “I think it’s there. It’s just you’re coming in at a very high level and when you’ve missed the amount of time he’s missed, it sort of takes a while to get them back up to fitness.
“I think the engine’s still there and the enthusiasm is still there; it’s just really building that big base of fitness because he was out for quite a while in the end.”
York’s latest two-day meeting starts on Friday ahead of Saturday’s 55th Macmillan Charity Raceday.
Friday’s seven-race card gets underway at 1.50pm with the Andy Thornton Hospitality Furniture Apprentice Handicap.
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