Causeway (right) wins the Group 2 King Edward VII Stakes

Causeway's progress | Race-by-race analysis of the King Edward VII winner

Horse Racing

Thu June 25, 2026 · 4w ago

Nic Doggett looks at the race-by-race progression from King Edward VII Stakes victor Causeway - and asks 'what next?' for the Royal Ascot winner.

"I appreciate a slow-burn romance. In most movies, everyone is just tearing their clothes off in the first scene."

Don’t worry, we haven’t added a new features section covering film reviews, nor will there be a new weekly column with dating advice for the modern horse racing fan.

Instead, the words of actress Emily Blunt set us up nicely for looking at the rise of Causeway, the latest Ballydoyle mile and a half leading light whose progress has been steadily incremental; more Baby Cow Productions sitcom than Hollywood blockbuster, but who is to tell us which is a more enjoyable watch?

Certainly, the rise of last week’s King Edward VII Stakes victor has been a tale in itself, the son of Wootton Bassett not making his debut until late-September where he was very much the stable second string in fourth behind subsequent Derby winner Christmas Day.

In contrast to his debut, he was then very strong in the betting when dropped back to seven furlongs and winning at the Curragh a fortnight later, but unlike most of his more vaunted stable companions, he didn’t contest any late-season pattern races.

Instead, with another winter under his belt, he defied a slow start to make a winning handicap debut – off 94 – in the Madrid Handicap at Naas in March, a mile contest previously won by the stable’s Paddington who went on to win four Group 1s.

Causeway then followed once more in his footsteps, winning the listed Tetrarch Stakes at the Curragh – in first-time cheekpieces – before following up (without the headgear, but over two furlongs further) in the Group 3 Gallinule Stakes back there later in May.

Paddington returns in triumph after the Coral-Eclipse

Then it was on to the King Edward VII, where he once again emulated Paddington with a Royal Ascot win - albeit one over half a mile further than the latter’s St James Palace success - with a neck defeat of Ancient Egypt, after which Timeform said:

[He] continued his rise through the ranks in what is becoming trademark fashion upped in trip, 3 of his 4 wins this year having been by a neck or less, Causeway of a similar ilk to the same connection's Scandinavia, as tough as teak (cheekpieces reapplied here) and doing just enough once in front, his sole defeat coming when fourth to his Derby-winning stablemate on debut; in touch, pushed along over 3f out, challenged 2f out, given second of just 2 smacks and battled well to edge ahead final 1f; versatile regards ground, he's earned a shot at a Group 1 and remains one to follow, his demeanour and pedigree (out of a Galileo mare from an exceptional family) meaning that he'll be suited by further still, the St Leger and maybe even something like the Melbourne Cup possibly on his long-term radar.

Interestingly, connections had nominated the 10-furlong Group 3 Hampton Court Stakes as a possible target following his Gallinule win, but with Endorsement and Italy in that race there appeared no need to saddle Causeway with a penalty.

“He's very lazy, it's hard to know what's in there. Ryan [Moore] said that he was toying with him and when he gets there, he's lazy,” said Aidan O’Brien after his King Edward VII win.

His Timeform performance ratings suggest as much; 74+, 84, 103+, 108, 113+, 113 provide a clear picture of his six-race progression, with his recent figures giving a good indication of that ‘not doing much in front’ attitude once getting his head in front.

In that aspect, he’s more Scandinavia than Giant’s Causeway, the 'Iron Horse' who appeared to go looking for the fight rather than bumbling into it. He’s followed in Paddington’s wake - I’m not sure he’s as electric - but there’s certainly a robustness and toughness there.

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So what lies next for Causeway? What is his ceiling?

With the caveat that his defeat of Ancient Egypt is not top-level form, nor in truth anywhere near it given the non-performance of Water To Wine, he deserves to be tested in Group 1s next.

As with most at the yard, he has multiple entries over the next few months, including Sunday’s Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby. You’d assume that the ‘A-team’ of Benvenuto Cellini and Christmas Day can get the job done there (with the help of a pacemaker or two), though it’s a dangerous thing to assume when it comes to Ballydoyle battle plans, especially as O’Brien added that ‘he didn’t have too tough a race’ last week.

I’ve already made the case for the Coral-Eclipse suiting Gstaad, but you’d be hard pressed to say that Causeway wouldn’t enjoy a protracted battle up the hill at Sandown, for all the ante-post betting suggests that remains unlikely.

The King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Stakes would look a good fit in terms of course and distance, but it would be a real acid test at the top level against older models, and ideally you’d like to have seen him beat his own age group first. Which he might have done by then.

He could step back into the footprints of Paddington, who was third in the 2023 Juddmonte International, though the more obvious 10-furlong challenge would be the Irish Champion Stakes – for which he already has an entry – a month later in September.

Magical wins the Irish Champion

For what it’s worth, his dam Heaven Of Heavens’ sister Magical went from Royal Ascot to the Eclipse, unlucky to bump into Enable both there and in the Yorkshire Oaks three weeks later, before going on to win Champion Stakes at both Leopardstown and Ascot. Their other sibling Rhododendron was only seventh in the Irish Champion but went on to sire Auguste Rodin who followed Derby wins at Epsom and the Curragh with success in the Irish Champion before following up in the Breeders’ Cup Turf.

Causeway is a long way off that as things stand – Auguste Rodin had a Timeform rating of 125+ compared to Causeway’s 113p at the same stage of his three-year-old campaign - but you’d be a brave person to bet against Aidan O’Brien and team coaxing out further improvement over the coming months.

However, that has to be done with a degree of caution. “Maybe I pulled the elastic band too long,” said O’Brien after Paddington’s defeat in the Juddmonte International at York, his fourth Group 1 outing in the space of 64 days.

If O’Brien and team can get the decision-making spot on, it should ensure that Causeway warrants his spot in whichever Group 1 contest he bowls up in next. “He's a hardy boy and he'll only ever do what he has to do,” after all.

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