Category: Races

The 1000 Guineas Stakes is a group one flat race inaugurated on 28th April 1814. It takes place in late April or early May of each year at Rowley Mile, Newmarket and is a race suited to three year old fillies (whereas the 2000 Guineas is a race for both colts and fillies). The race is run over a mile long course and is one of the five British Classic races with the others being the 2000 Guineas, Epsom Oaks, Epsom Derby and St Leger Stakes.

The Classics were grouped together due to their combined history and reputation, and combined represent an opportunity to enter the history books. Minding has won two Classics, Nijinksky three. We have to go back to 1901 for a horse with four Classics wins, and that accolade goes to Sceptre. Sceptre won the 2000 Guineas in record time, then the 1000 Guineas two days later, soon after came a win at the Oaks and St Leger. Only a bruised foot stopped the Epsom Derby being added to the list. Nowadays, the 1000 Guinease takes place on the Sunday after the 2000 Guineas.

As well as having the honour of being part of such a prestigeous group of races, it’s also part of the Fillie’s Triple Crown (which consists of this race, the Oaks and the St Leger. The purse for the 1000 Guineas is also fairly considerable, with a £500,000 purse for the race with over half of that going to the winner.

The impact of the 1000 Guineas is felt beyond our borders, with European variations springing up in Germany, France, Ireland and Italy. Even Japan holds an event called Oka Sho, which is based on the 1000 Guineas format.

Leading jockey in the race is George Fordham with seven wins, leading trainer Robert Robson with eight and leading owner, the 4th Duke of Grafton with eight wins. All of these records came in the 1800’s. In looking for a recent record, we can find one very recent one though. In 2018 the Richard Hannon jnr trained Billesdon Brook won the 1000 Guineas at odds of 66/1 with bookmakers, the biggest price in the history of the race.

“I was so happy at halfway and was counting down the horses I had left to pass at the two-furlong marker. I just hoped she would keep running, but she sailed all the way to the line” said Hannon.

Taking place at Ascot racecourse in July of each year, the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes, sometimes referred to as the King George, is a group one event open to horses aged three years old and more and is run over a distance of 1 mile 3 furlongs and 211 yards . The race first took place in 1951.

The name of the event comes from the fact that is was conceived via the coming together of two separate races in the 1940s (the King George VI and the Queen Elizabeth). The intention was to create a race that would have massive national and international appeal; it’s certainly succeeded in that aim.

The event is a flat race of quite some acclaim and has hosted some of the most memorable match ups in our time. Many an article has been written for instance about the rivalry between Grundy and Bustino, in the 1975 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes. Bustino and Joe Mercer had been four lengths clear on the final straight, but Grundy grinding out and edging the win after the two gave everything they had was a sight to behold. Although the race isn’t part of Royal Ascot it is viewed by many to be the courses most prestigious race.

As part of the Breeder’s Cup Challenge, the winner of the The King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes gains automatic entry into the 1 1/2 miles Breeder’s Cup Turf race held in the United States or Canada as part of the Breeder’s Cup World Championships.

Sponsored in recent years by Betfair, the betting exchange company topped up an already impressive purse to the £1,250,000 mark, with over £700,000 going to the winner. It’s second only to the Epsom Derby which has a £1.5m prize pot.

As you’d imagine, a race this desirable attracts the very best, and that is certainly the story told by those achieving success here over the years. The leading jockey in the King George is Lester Piggott with seven wins, one of which was the famous Nijinsky. Leading trainer is Michael Stoute with six wins, the first of which was Shergar in 1981, and leading owner is Michael Tabor with six wins also. It’s a who’s who of racing’s high achievers.

Run at Doncaster racecourse over a distance of 1m 6f 115y, the St Leger Stakes has a reputation that precedes it. The race is open to three year old fillies and colts and takes place in September of each year. To say that the St Leger is steeped in tradition is something of an understatement, the inaugural run took place in 1776. The race is the oldest of the five ‘British Classics’.

The British Classics are a group of five flat races that date back to the aforementioned period and it consists of the 1,000 Guineas, 2,000 Guineas,  Epsom Derby, The Oaks and the St Leger . These races represent the height of achievement in racing and attract the very best three year old horses year on year. Winning one Classic highlights a horse’s superior ability and two marks it out as something special. The last horses to win two Classics in recent years are Camelot and Minding. Nijinksy won three in the 1970s – the 2000 Guineas, Derby and St Leger – also known as the Triple Crown, and the record is four by Formosa (1868) and Sceptre (1902).

The St Leger event itself is the brainchild of Anthony St Leger, an army officer who lived near the Doncaster area.  The race began to draw more attention as early as 1800 when talented thoroughbred Champion became the first horse to win both the Derby and St Leger. Since that time the race has gone from strength to strength. In war time periods the race has been held in various locations such as Newmarket, Thirsk, Manchester and York.

Partly due to the history of this event, most of the records go back  a century or more  and so it’ll take a really special individual to make an impact now. Leading jockey is Bill Scott who rode 9 winners between 1821 and 1846, leading trainer John Scott, the brother of Bill, with 16 wins between 1827 and 1862. Some big names have won the St Leger over the years including Nijinsky and Oh So Sharp. The 2018 winner was Kew Gardens ridden by Ryan Moore.

Known to many as the World Hurdle, the Stayers’ Hurdle, which has been sponsored by all and sundry in recent years (Ladbrokes, Ryan Air, and the now defunct SunBets) is a National Hunt race for four year olds and up. It’s held over a distance of three miles at the Cheltenham racecourse in Cheltenham , England. There are a total of twelve hurdles to jump during the race.

The Stayer’s Hurdle takes place during the Cheltenham Festival in March of each year and has a serious reputation for attracting racing talent, and an equally serious prize to match: £150,000+ for the winner and a total prize pot of over a quarter of a million pounds. It’s seen by many to be one of the season’s leading long distance hurdle events.

First taking place in 1912 with humble beginnings and a £100 prize to the winner, the race has come and gone over the years. Even in recent times day wise the race, sponsored at one point by Lloyds Bank, has chopped and changed from Tuesday, to Wednesday, then Thursday.

Jockey Ruby Walsh has impressed in the Stayer’s Hurdle over the years amassing five wins including a very impressive four wins on Big Buck’s from 2009 to 2012 and on Nichols Canyon in 2017. Paul Nicholls is leading trainer, also on account of his association with Big Buck’s.

Last year’s winner was Penhill at 12-1. Historically short prices horses do well in the race and we have to go all the way back to 1999 with Anzum at 40-1 to find an outsider taking the crown.