Hardwicke Stakes

The Hardwicke Stakes is a Group 2 race over a mile and a half on the final day of Royal Ascot.

Sir Michael Stoute has trained a remarkable eleven winners of the Hardwicke Stakes.

Harbinger was a very impressive winner in 2010 and he saddled Her Majesty The Queen’s Dartmouth to win in 2016. His most recent victory came with Crystal Ocean in 2018.

Other famous winners of the Hardwicke Stakes include St Paddy (1961), Park Top (1969), Rheingold (1973) and Stanerra (1983).

Find out more about the Hardwicke Stakes:

Race Overview

The Hardwicke Stakes is a Group 2 flat horse race for horses aged four and higher held in the United Kingdom. It takes place at Ascot in June over a distance of 1 mile 3 furlongs and 211 yards.

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

Hardwicke Stakes 2024 Odds

Here are the latest odds for the Hardwicke Stakes in June 2024:

These odds have not yet been released.

Hardwicke Stakes Tips

Here are some tips for Hardwicke Stakes in June 2024:

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

Some of the horses in the Hardwicke 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.

Check out our guide for additional tips on races at Ascot Racecourse.

Our top racing analysts provide free racing predictions for all Ascot racing events!

Hardwicke Stakes Previous Winners

Check out the previous winners below:

Hardwicke Stakes Previous Result

Check out this result from the Ascot Racecourse:

Famous Hardwicke Stakes Winners

The Hardwicke Stakes was first run in 1879 and quickly became established as a key trial for the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes. Her Majesty The Queen’s Aureole became the first horse to win both races in the same season in 1954. Aureole was the sire of 1960 Derby and St Leger winner St Paddy who would also win the Hardwicke Stakes in 1961.

Park Top was another top class Hardwicke Stakes winner in 1969. She went on to win the King George and finished runner-up to 52-1 outsider Levmoss in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe. Rheingold (1973) had been beaten a short-head by Roberto in the Epsom Derby the previous season and went on to win the Arc.

Tristan (1882 – 1884) is the only horse to win the race three times. There have been several two-time winners include Assatis (1989-1990), Rock Hopper (1991-1992), Fruits Of Love (1999-2000) and Maraahel (2007-2008).

Harbinger (2010) had always promised to be a top class performer and he followed up by defeating Derby winner and stable companion Workforce in the King George. He beat the track record set by Grundy in 1975 when storming 11 lengths clear. Unfortunately he suffered a career-ending injury when being trained for the International Stakes at York.

Stoute continued his dominance of the race with the likes of Sea Moon (2012) and Telescope (2014). Aidan O’Brien’s Idaho won in 2017, placed in the Derby the previous season and beaten at odds-on in the St Leger at Doncaster where he stumbled and unseated his rider. Stoute’s record eleventh Hardwicke Stakes victory came courtesy of Crystal Ocean in 2018. He next ran in the King George where he lost out narrowly to stable companion Poet’s Word.

Key Hardwicke Stakes Trials

Significant prep races for the Hardwicke include the Gordon Richards Stakes at Sandown in April and the Aston Park Stakes at Newbury in May. The Ormonde Stakes and Huxley Stakes at the Chester May meeting are also useful guides for your Hardwicke Stakes tips.

The Hardwicke Stakes is a recognised trial for the Group 1 King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Stakes. Harbinger in 2010 was the only horse to win both races in recent seasons, although several have been placed. Telescope (2014) and Crystal Ocean (2018) were both runner-up while Maraahel (2007), Dartmouth (2016) and Idaho (2017) all finished third.

Hardwicke Stakes Betting Trends

Four-year-olds have the best record in this race, winning thirteen out of fourteen renewals from 2008 to 2021. Posidonas (1996), Bandari (2005) and Maraahel (2007) did win the race at the age of six but only Defoe, successful as a five-year-old in 2019, has interrupted the run of winning four-year-olds.

Favourites have a good record in this race and shock results are rare. Six of the last twelve renewals were won by the market leader including the odds-on Harbinger (2010), Await The Dawn (2011) and Crystal Ocean (2018). Four of the twelve came from outside of the first three in the Hardwicke Stakes odds; Thomas Chippendale (2013) returned at 8-1, Snow Sky (2015) was a 12-1 chance and Dartmouth (2016) won at 10-1. The most recent was John Gosden’s Fanny Logan at 17-2 in 2020.

The last twelve Hardwicke Stakes winners all had at least one previous victory at Group race level. Many had won or been placed in their previous race, often within two months of Royal Ascot. Previous winning form at a mile and a half is another key factor. Only two of the last twelve winners had yet to win at a mile and a half.

An official rating of 114 or higher is usually required to win this race. Only Thomas Chippendale (111) fell below this mark in the last twelve years. The highest rated winner was Crystal Ocean (2018) on 122, 1lb higher than Sea Moon (2012) and 2lbs higher than Harbinger (2010) and Await The Dawn (2011).

Hardwicke Stakes – Top Trainers and Jockeys

Sir Michael Stoute recorded the first of his eleven Hardwicke Stakes wins with Dihistan in 1986. He also trained dual winners Rock Hopper (1991 and 1992) and Maraahel (2006 and 2007). His other winners were Harbinger (2010), Sea Moon (2012), Telescope (2014), Snow Sky (2015), Dartmouth (2016) and Crystal Ocean (2018).

Irish-trained runners to enjoy success here include the brilliant mare Stanerra (1983), trained by Frank Dunne. Oscar Schindler won for Kevin Prendergast in 1996 while Aidan O’Brien won the Hardwicke for the first time in 2008 with Macarthur. He has since been successful with Await The Dawn (2011) and Idaho (2017).

The leading jockeys in the history of the Hardwicke Stakes are Lester Piggott and Pat Eddery with seven winners apiece. Piggott’s first winner was Elopement in 1955 while his last was thirty years’ later aboard Jupiter Island. Ryan Moore won the race for three successive seasons from 2010 to 2012 and added a fourth in 2014 on Telescope. He took his tally to five when riding Crystal Ocean in 2018.

Betting on the Hardwicke Stakes

The Hardwicke Stakes often provides an excellent guide to the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes as well as other top middle-distance races. The record of Sir Michael Stoute speaks for itself and anything he saddles here is clearly worth a second look. Always a top quality contest and one of the highlights of Royal Ascot.

Summary of Hardwicke Stakes

Thank you for reading our Hardwicke Stakes guide. We hope you enjoyed it.

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