More Success For King Power
The EFL Championship season has just finished and Leicester City were crowned champions, regaining their spot in the Premier League for 2025. King Power have enjoyed success on the football pitch and were on the mark again on the race track. Having sponsored the feature 6f King Power Handicap it was the obvious race for Sergeant Wilko who duly obliged his owners by winning in the blue and white colours.
Having made a winning return to action, Wilko was unlucky last time out, finding trouble from the start. When the race at Leicester was mentioned it was pretty clear that the 3yo would be heading there. Stepping back up to 6f was likely to be beneficial and Rossa Ryan was booked for the ride.
Sergeant Wilko bounced out of the gates and was quickly into the lead. Racing a little bit away from his rivals, the colt charged down the centre of the track. He took a little bit of a tug through the early stages but Wilko was never over-racing. With the rest of the field filtering in behind him they raced down the middle in a compact group.
The pace was strong throughout the contest and with Sergeant Wilko enjoying himself out in front, a couple of the back markers came under pressure passing halfway. All the market leaders were to the fore and Wilko gave them a nice toe into the race, meaning the business end was going to be a tough task.
Rossa had given his mount plenty of rein throughout the race and he just began to wind things up moving towards the 2f pole. The increase in the tempo caught his rivals on the hop and one by one they came under a drive. Only his closest rival was going as well as Wilko but was a length down.
Coming under a drive passing the 2f, Wilko was looking to stretch and was doing so, without Rossa going for everything. The final furlong is an uphill finish and, with the soft ground, would really test the stamina reserves. Sergeant Wilko was finding for pressure and maintained his advantage as they entered the final furlong. With most of his rivals unable to close the gap, it appeared as though Sergeant Wilko was left with one last challenge. Finishing from the rear of the field, Wilko’s final challenger was eating into the ground. Thankfully he had plenty left in the tank and as his rival closed in on him, Sergeant Wilko continued to find more. Having made all, Sergeant Wilko secured a 1/2 length win, taking the owner’s own race.
Sergeant Wilko always had the size and substance to progress as a 3yo and he certainly looks to be doing so. He has won twice this year and looks open to more improvement throughout the season. Winning off a mark of 84, Sergeant Wilko will certainly be given a rise in the handicap which will likely see him contest some of the top 3yo handicaps. With races over 5f and 6f there will be plenty of opportunities and he looks the type that could capitalise with a step up in grade.