KING OF LIGHT MAKES IT EIGHT WINS FROM NINE STARTS

By Graham Potter | Sunday, November 8, 2026

The Daniel Morton trained King Of Light came home under an inch perfect ride by Lucy Fiore in the Group 2 Lee Steere to claim his eighth victory from only his ninth career start and push his career earnings to a fabulous $920 180 for a horse possibly still moving towards his prime.

The striking, chestnut son of Earthlight is unbeaten in three starts since resuming as a four-year-old, and every one of those wins … in the Listed Idyllic Prince over 1300m first-up on August 22 … in the Group 3 Eurythmic and now in the Group Lee Steere (both over 1400m) … marks the four-year-old as a horse going places.

Fiore had King Of Light (the $2.20 favourite) in last place, some five lengths off the leader, the Grant and Alana Williams trained London’s Image ($11) in the early part.

One of London’s Image’s stable companions Watch Me Rock ($3.60) sat in second place while, at that stage, Western Empire, the $3.30 second favourite and another Grant and Alana Williams trained runner and the horse that was going to give King Of Light the most to do, sat in midfield, with Fiore keeping a close watch on that rival.

Approaching the home turn, still four lengths off the speed and giving Western Empire a two length start, Fiore switching King Of Light out four wide and started to wind up the Morton trained runner. At the same time, Clint Johnston-Porter aboard Western Empire, who had saved ground along the inside, gave his mount the green light to go.

Both King Of Light and Western Empire responded on cue, and their superior acceleration swept them into the lead with just 50m left to run where they matched strides momentarily before King Of Lights’s greater momentum allowed him to gain the upper hand late to score by a narrow 0.05 length margin.

It was a great effort by both the first and second placed runners.

King Of Light was as professional and clinical as ever while the nine-year-old … yes, nine-year-old … Western Empire just does not know how to run a bad race.

The summer feature race season beckons him as much as it dies anyone else, but this was King Of Light’s day, as has been the case so many times before.