Gordon Stakes

The Gordon Stakes is a Group 3 race for three-year-olds over a mile and a half at the Glorious Goodwood Festival meeting.

The Gordon Stakes takes place on the 1st of August 2024.

It often attracts horses that have been beaten in the Epsom Derby and is regarded as a St Leger trial. Millenary (2000), Sixties Icon (2006) and Conduit (2008) all won both races.

The Gordon Stakes is often won by subsequent Group 1 winners including Harbinger (2009), Noble Mission (2012), Highland Reel (2015), Ulysses (2016) and Crystal Ocean (2017).

Find out more about the Gordon Stakes:

Race Overview – The Gordon Stakes

The Gordon Stakes is a flat horse race for three-year-olds held in the United Kingdom. It is run at Goodwood every year in late July or early August over a distance of 1 mile 3 furlongs and 218 yards.

The Gordon Stakes was created in 1902, and in 1903 it was restricted to three-year-olds only.

Currently, the Gordon Stakes is held on the 3rd day of the Glorious Goodwood meeting.

Check out our guides to all the other Group 3 horse races.

Gordon Stakes Odds 2025

Here are the latest odds for the Gordon Stakes in 2025:

These odds have not yet been released.

Goodwood racing odds can be found when using our link.

Gordon Stakes Tips 2025

Here are some tips for Gordon Stakes in 2025:

• 2 points to win for TBC
• 1 point each way for TBC

Check out more tips in our Day 3 Glorious Goodwood Tips guide.

Some of the horses in the Gordon Stakes will run in other events later in the year. Stay updated on the horses and place ante-post bets if you want to wager on them.

Please take a look at our unique horse racing tips page for Goodwood Racecourse.

Our outstanding tipsters for horse racing provide the very best tips for the events at Goodwood races!

Gordon Stakes Previous Winners

Check out the previous winners of this race:

Gordon Stakes Previous Result

Check out this result from the Goodwood Racecourse:

Famous Gordon Stakes Winners

The Gordon Stakes is named after the Duke of Gordon, a dukedom held by Goodwood racecourse owner the Duke of Richmond.

It was first run in 1902 and restricted to three-year-olds the following year.

The first horse to win the Gordon Stakes and go on to win the St Leger was Prince Palatine in 1911.

Eight more horses have won this race before taking the Doncaster Classic.

Millenary (2000) was trained by John Dunlop and went on to become a leading stayer. His career wins include the Yorkshire Cup (2004), Doncaster Cup (2004, 2005) and Lonsdale Cup (2005).

Sixties Icon (2006) won the St Leger in the year it was transferred to York while Doncaster was being redeveloped. He was ridden in both races by Frankie Dettori who also rode 2008 Gordon Stakes winner Conduit to St Leger success. The colt had been ridden by Ryan Moore at Goodwood and would provide a long-awaited first St Leger victory for Sir Michael Stoute.

Stoute also won the Gordon Stakes with Harbinger in 2009. The highly-rated colt is best remembered for a stunning 11 lengths victory in the 2010 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot. His victory made him the highest-rated racehorse in the world. Unfortunately, he suffered a fracture on the gallops soon after and was retired from racing.

2012 winner Noble Mission was a full brother to Frankel and emerged from his sibling’s shadow to become a Group 1 performer. His most notable success came in the 2014 Champion Stakes at Ascot when trained by Lady Cecil.

2015 winner Highland Reel became an International superstar for Aidan O’Brien. He won a staggering £7.5 million in prize money during a glittering career. His 10 career wins included the King George (2016), Breeders’ Cup Turf (2016), Hong Kong Vase (2015, 2017) and Coronation Cup (2017).

Key Gordon Stakes Trials

The most informative trial for the Gordon Stakes in recent years has been the King Edward VII Stakes at Royal Ascot. Three of the last twelve winners ran in that race, none of them winning but two being placed.

Horses that ran in the Epsom Derby don’t have a good record with this race tending to go the way of later developing three-year-olds.

Seven of the last twelve Gordon Stakes winners ran in the Great Voltigeur Stakes at York next time. Surprisingly all seven were beaten including Noble Mission (2012), Cross Counter (2018) and Mogul (2020).

2017 winner Crystal Ocean finished runner-up in the St Leger on his next start while Highland Reel (2015) won the Secretariat Stakes at Arlington.

Gordon Stakes Betting Trends

There have been three winning favourites in the Gordon Stakes in the past twelve seasons; Highland Reel (2015), Crystal Ocean (2017) and New London (2022). Highland Reel returned at 7-4 with Crystal Ocean and New London both winning as 6-4 favourites.

Ottoman Emperor at 11-1 in 2021 was the longest-priced winner of the Gordon Stakes in the past 12 years. The race is usually dominated by the market leaders with all but two of the last twelve winners being in the first three in the Goodwood betting.

An official rating of 104 or higher is normally required to win this race.

Ulysses (2016) won off a mark of 98 but proved to be a good deal better than that.

The highest officially rated winner was Crystal Ocean on 112.

Gordon Stakes – Top Trainers and Jockeys

Sir Michael Stoute is far and away the most successful trainer in the history of the race with a remarkable ten winners; Electric (1982), Kazaroun (1985), Warrshan (1989), Alexius (2001), Maraahel (2004), Conduit (2008), Harbinger (2009), Snow Sky (2014), Ulysses (2016) and Crystal Ocean (2017).

Mark Johnston has won it three times, most recently with Nayef Road in 2019. This victory established Mark Johnston as the most successful trainer in the history of Glorious Goodwood with 81 winners.

The all-time record of six Gordon Stakes victories for a jockey is currently shared by Sir Gordon Richards (1933-1952) and Willie Carson (1974-1988). Carson’s last victory was aboard subsequent St Leger winner Minster Son.

Ryan Moore now has five victories to his credit; Conduit (2008), Harbinger (2009), Rebel Soldier (2010), Crystal Ocean (2017) and Mogul (2020).

Betting on the Gordon Stakes

The Gordon Stakes often has an impact on the St Leger betting, although the last horse to win both races was Conduit in 2008.

The race continues to produce top-class middle-distance performers including Cross Counter who went on to win the Melbourne Cup in 2018. The form is definitely worth following in the months ahead.

Summary of Gordon Stakes

The Gordon Stakes is run on the same day as other popular races at Goodwood such as the Richmond Stakes.

For some more information on the Gordon Stakes, check out the Gordon Stakes Wikipedia page.

We hope you have enjoyed our guide to the Gordon Stakes.

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