Ascot Stakes

The Ascot Stakes is a handicap open to horses aged four years and upwards and takes place over two and a half miles. It is currently held on the opening day of Royal Ascot.

The Ascot Stakes takes place on the 18th June 2024.

The race has been successfully farmed by National Hunt trainers in recent seasons with Willie Mullins winning it four times in seven seasons between 2012 and 2021. Notable recent winners include San Sebastian (1998), Junior (2010), Simenon (2012) and Thomas Hobson (2017).

Find out more about the Ascot Stakes:

Race Overview – The Ascot Stakes

The Ascot Stakes is a flat handicap horse event held in the UK for horses aged four or above. It is contested at Ascot annually June on the first day of the Royal Ascot meeting and is run over a distance of 2 miles 3 furlongs and 210 yards.

Check out our guides to all the other UK Premier Handicap horse races.

Ascot Stakes 2023 Odds

Here are the latest odds for the Ascot Stakes in June 2023:

These odds have not yet been released.

Ascot Stakes Tips

Here are some tips for Ascot Stakes in June 2023:

• 2 points to win for TBC at odds of TBC
• 1 point each way for TBC at odds of TBC

For all Ascot racing events, our top racing tipsters offer racing tips!

For more racing tips on races at Ascot Course, look at our guide.

Ascot Stakes Previous Winners

Take a look at the previous winners from the Ascot Stakes:

Ascot Stakes Previous Result

Famous Ascot Stakes Winners

The legendary Brown Jack won the Ascot Stakes in 1928, the first of his seven successive victories at the Royal meeting. He went on to win the Queen Alexandra Stakes six times in a row from 1929 to 1934. The Ascot Stakes is one of the most competitive staying handicaps of the season and has been won by some high-class stayers.

San Sebastian won this race for Michael Grassick in 1998 and returned the following season to win the Queen Alexandra Stakes. He was transferred to John Dunlop’s stable at the end of the season and gained the biggest win of his career in the Group 1 Prix du Cadran at Longchamp in 2000. He was also placed in the Goodwood Cup and showed his versatility by winning three steeplechases in New Zealand and finishing third in the New Zealand Grand National.

Cover Up won the Ascot Stakes for Sir Michael Stoute and Kieren Fallon in 2001, defying 9st 10lbs. He went on to win the Queen Alexandra Stakes for the following two seasons.

The Ascot Stakes is now very much a summer target for National Hunt trainers. Although there have been numerous winning hurdlers claiming this prize, it is unusual for a horse to register victories at Royal Ascot and later over fences at the Cheltenham Festival. David Pipe’s Junior achieved exactly that, winning here by five lengths in 2010 and the Kim Muir Challenge Cup at Cheltenham by 24 lengths in 2011! He fell at the second fence in the Aintree Grand National in 2012 and gained his final victory in a point-to-point in 2015.

Willie Mullins recorded his first victory with Simenon who also carried 9st 10lbs to victory in 2012. He came out and won the Queen Alexandra Stakes over two furlongs further later in the week. Simenon came within a neck of catching Her Majesty The Queen’s Estimate in the Ascot Gold Cup in 2013. He was in the form of his life that season, losing out by a head in the Lonsdale Cup and finishing fourth in the Melbourne Cup.

Thomas Hobson was not far behind Simenon in his achievements for the same stable. The 2017 winner was denied a quick follow-up in the Queen Alexandra Stakes by Oriental Fox. He finished second in the 2017 Doncaster Cup but won the race the following season when getting the better of stable companion Max Dynamite by half a length. He then chased home Stradivarius in the British Champions Long Distance Cup.

Key Ascot Stakes Trials

Ten of the last twelve winners were trained in National Hunt yards and had been racing under NH rules that year. This illustrates how much of a target the Ascot Stakes has become for the leading jumping yards and consequently it is impossible to highlight any particular trials.

Only two horses in the last twelve years have attempted to follow up in the Queen Alexandra Stakes, both trained by Mullins. Simenon comfortably landed the double in 2012 and Thomas Hobson finished second in the 2017 Queen Alexandra.

Two Ascot Stakes winners ran next in the Northumberland Plate at Newcastle but both were well beaten. The only other horse to win next time out was Clondaw Warrior (2015) who won the Guinness Handicap at Galway.

Ascot Stakes Betting Trends

Clondaw Warrior at 5-1 (2015) and Thomas Hobson at 4-1 (2017) were the only winning favourites in the last twelve renewals. There were four others in the top three in the betting, including the well-backed Jennies Jewel at 6-1 in 2016.

The longest priced winner in recent times was 66-1 chance Reshoun in 2021, trained by Ian Williams and ridden by William Buick.

Coeur De Lion (2020) was a 16-1 winner for Alan King and Thore Hammer Hansen in 2020.

An official rating of 88 or higher is usually required to win this race. Only Junior (rated 85) has fallen just below that mark in the last twelve seasons.

The highest winning rating was 100, shared by Thomas Hobson (2017) and The Grand Visir (2020). Both defied 9st 10lbs and only Coeur De Lion (8st 10lbs) has won with less than 9st during that period.

Ascot Stakes – Top Trainers and Jockeys

Champion National Hunt trainer Martin Pipe won this race with dual-purpose performers Balasani (1993), Sweet Glow (1994), Riyadh (2002) and Sindapour (2003). He was among the first of the jumps trainers to target this race, his son David emulating him with Junior in 2010.

Willie Mullins has been by far the most successful trainer in the Ascot Stakes in recent seasons and his horses inevitably attract plenty of market support. He won it for the first time with Simenon (2012) and then again in 2015 with Clondaw Warrior (2015). He struck again with Thomas Hobson (2017) and Lagostovegas (2018).

Ian Williams has won two of the last three renewals with The Grand Visir (2019) and Reshoun (2021).

Ryan Moore has been the most successful jockey in recent times with three winners, all trained by Mullins; Simenon (2012), Clondaw Warrior (2015) and Thomas Hobson (2017).

Betting on the Ascot Stakes

The Ascot Stakes is one of the most interesting betting heats of the Royal meeting. There have been many National Hunt horses “laid out” for this race so the market is often a better guide than the recent flat form.

Despite Reshoun’s 66-1 shock victory in 2021, most of the recent winners have been supported at longer odds in the betting market.

Summary of Ascot Stakes

The Ascot Stakes is a tough race where extreme stamina is needed to win. For this reason, it is often targeted by National Hunt trainers, with many finding success over the years.

We love the Ascot Stakes, it’s often a mid-summer chance to see some winter favourites and is one of the most intriguing of all the Royal Ascot clashes.

The Ascot Stakes is held on the same day as the following races listed below:

• St James’s Palace Stakes
• Queen Anne Stakes
• Coventry Stakes
• King’s Stand Stakes
• Wolferton Stakes

2023 Royal Ascot Festival Posts

Here are all the related articles to the Royal Ascot Festival 2023:

If you do choose to bet, please bet responsibly.

Resources

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ascot_Stakes