King George Stakes

The King George Stakes is a Group 2 race over five furlongs at the Glorious Goodwood Festival in late July/early August. Battaash rewrote the history books with four consecutive victories in this race from 2017 to 2020.

Seven sprinters have won this race on two occasions, with Take Cover the last to do so in 2014 and 2016.

Other notable winners include Soba (1983), Lochsong (1993 and 1994), Kingsgate Native (2009) and Borderlescott (2010).

Find out more about the King George Stakes:

Race Overview – The King George Stakes

The King George Stakes is a Group 2 flat horse race for horses aged three and up and takes place at Goodwood every year in late July or early August over a distance of 5 furlongs.

Currently, the fourth day of the five-day Glorious Goodwood meeting is when the King George Stakes is run.

The top competitors frequently go on to participate in the Nunthorpe Stakes, and Battaash won both events in 2019.

Check out our guides to all the other Group 2 horse races.

King George Stakes Previous Winners

Check out the previous winners of this race:

Year	Winner	Age	Jockey	Trainer
2013	Moviesta	3	Paul Mulrennan	Bryan Smart
2014	Take Cover	7	Andrea Atzeni	David Griffiths
2015	Muthmir	5	Paul Hanagan	William Haggas
2016	Take Cover	9	David Allan	David Griffiths
2017	Battaash	3	Jim Crowley	Charles Hills
2018	Battaash	4	Jim Crowley	Charles Hills
2019	Battaash	5	Jim Crowley	Charles Hills
2020	Battaash	6	Jim Crowley	Charles Hills
2021	Suesa	3	William Buick	Francois Rohaut
2022	Khaadem	6	Ryan Moore	Charles Hills
2023	Highfield Princess	6	Jason Hart	John Quinn
2024	Big Evs	3	Tom Marquand	Michael Appleby
2025	Jm Jungle	5	Jason Hart	John & Sean Quinn

Famous King George Stakes Winners

The King George Stakes was first run in 1911 to commemorate the Coronation of King George V. It was classed at Group 3 level from 1971 until being elevated to Group 2 status in 2010. The race regularly attracts runners from the King’s Stand Stakes at Royal Ascot and is often a springboard for the Group 1 Nunthorpe Stakes at York.

Lochsong was one of the most popular horses in training in the early nineties, winning this race twice for Ian Balding and Frankie Dettori in 1993 and 1994. Her other career victories include the Stewards’ Cup (1992), Ayr Gold Cup (1992), Nunthorpe Stakes (1993) and Prix de l’Abbaye (1993 and 1994). She retired to the paddocks after winning 15 of her 27 races and earning £600,000 in prize money.

Kingsgate Native (2009) had previously been retired to stud but proved infertile. He had won the Nunthorpe Stakes as a juvenile and the Golden Jubilee Stakes in 2008. He won the Temple Stakes in 2010 and 2013 and the Achilles Stakes in 2015. He was eventually retired in 2016 to help train young jockeys at the British Racing School in Newmarket.

Borderlescott was another much-loved sprinter who campaigned over several seasons. He won this race in 2010 at the age of eight and won 14 of his 85 career starts and almost £800,000 in prize money. His biggest victories came in the Nunthorpe Stakes at York in 2008 and 2009. Take Cover became the oldest winner of the race as a nine-year-old in 2016, having already won it two years earlier.

The race will forever be associated with the Charles Hills-trained Battaash, who was unbeatable here between 2017 and 2020. Besides his four King George Stakes victories, he also won the Prix de l’Abbaye (2017), Nunthorpe Stakes (2019, 2020) and King’s Stand Stakes (2020). He was named Cartier Champion Sprinter in 2020, and his career earnings exceeded £1.7 million.

Key King George Stakes Trials

The key trial for the King George Stakes is the King’s Stand Stakes at Royal Ascot. Four of the last twelve winners ran in that race, with one winning and two placed.

Another useful form guide is the City Walls Stakes at York, which has provided three winners during the same period. It is also worth noting that five of the last twelve winners had previously won at least once at Goodwood.

A win in this race is virtually a free pass to the Nunthorpe Stakes at York. The last twelve winners all headed for the Knavesmire next time. Ortensia won both races in 2012, and Battaash completed the sprint double in 2019 and 2020.

King George Stakes Betting Trends

There is no age bias for winners of the King George, with every age from three to nine having won at least once since 2010.

Only three three-year-olds have won since 2003: Moviesta (2013), Battaash (2017) and Suesa (2021).

There have been five winning favourites in the past twelve seasons; Borderlescott (2010) started 9-2 favourite and Muthmir (2015) returned 3-1, market leader. Battaash was 9-2 third favourite in 2017 but returned clear favourite at 8-11, 1-4 and 2-7 for the following three seasons.

Shock results are very rare in the King George with Take Cover (2016) and Khaadem (2022) at 8-1 being the longest-priced winners in the past twelve seasons.

The official rating of the winner has ranged from 104 to 126 over the same period. Moviesta won off the lowest figure, while Battaash was rated 126 in 2020. He was clearly an exceptional sprinter and Ortensia (115) was the next highest-rated winner.

King George Stakes – Top Trainers and Jockeys

The four victories of Battaash were consolidated by Khaadem’s 2022 victory to leave Charles Hills on top of the leading trainer stats for the King George Stakes.

William Haggas won it with Enticing (2008) and Muthmir (2015).

The last Irish-trained winner was Dietrich for Aidan O’Brien in 2001.

The late Lester Piggott won this race a record nine times between 1958 and 1984.

Ryan Moore has three victories in the race: Moorhouse Lad (2007), Kingsgate Native (2009) and Khaadem (2022).

Jim Crowley’s four race wins have all been aboard Battaash (2017-2020).

Betting on the King George Stakes

The King George Stakes is one of the highlights of Glorious Goodwood, with some of Europe’s top horses sprinting down one of Britain’s fastest tracks.

Battaash made the race his own, but it has become a more open affair in his absence.

Shock results are rare in this race, which can provide clues for the Nunthorpe Stakes at York.

Summary of King George Stakes

We hope you have enjoyed our guide to the King George Stakes.

It is one of the best flat racing sprints of the year and has been won by many of the greats over the years.

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