Huxley Stakes

The Huxley Stakes is a Group 2 race over ten furlongs for four-year-olds and upwards.

It takes place on the third and final day of the Chester May meeting.

The Huxley Stakes takes place on the 12th of May 2024.

First run in 1999, the race has been dominated by trainer Sir Michael Stoute and jockey Ryan Moore who have seven wins apiece. Stoute’s Maraahel recorded a hat-trick of wins in the Huxley Stakes from 2005 to 2007.

Find out more about the Huxley Stakes:

Race Overview

The Huxley Stakes is a Group 2 flat horse race for horses aged four and up.

It is run over a distance of 1 mile, 2 furlongs, and 70 yards at Chester annually in May.

The Huxley Stakes takes part on Day 3 of the Boodles May Festival which is also known as Chester Cup Day.

Huxley Stakes 2024 Odds

Here are the latest odds for the Huxley Stakes in May 2024:

These odds have not yet been released.

Huxley Stakes 2024 Tips

Here are some tips for Huxley Stakes in May 2024:

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

Some of the horses participating in the Huxley Stakes will be spotted in other races throughout the year. Make sure to keep an eye on the horses to see how they perform or place your bets on ante-post betting.

Check out this full list of betting tips for the Chester Races from shrewd punters who analyse essential information like the Chester draw bias.

Our brilliant group horse race tipsters provide free daily horse betting tips for all of today’s horse racing events.

Huxley Stakes Previous Winners

Famous Huxley Stakes Winners

The Huxley Stakes is named after a village east of Chester and was first run as a listed race in 1999. Victory went to the high-class Chester House, trained by Henry Cecil and owned by Khalid Abdullah’s Juddmonte Farms. He gained the biggest success of his career in the 2000 Arlington Million after being transferred to Trainer Bobby Frankel in the United States.

Sir Michael Stoute won it for the first time with the Aga Khan’s Adilabad in 2001. In 2005 the race was promoted to Group 3 status and this coincided with the first of three successive victories for Stoute’s Maraahel. He was owned by Hamdan Al Maktoum and ridden to all three victories by Richard Hills.

The horse attempted a fourth success in 2008 but he was caught close home by Championship Point and beaten a neck. Maraahel also won the Group 2 Hardwicke Stakes at Royal Ascot in 2006 and 2007 and was only beaten a short-head in the Group 1 International Stakes at York. He retired with eight victories from 33 career starts.

2010 winner Debussy became the second Huxley Stakes winner to go on and win the Arlington Million. He was trained by John Gosden at Newmarket and had also won the Blue Riband Trial Stakes at Epsom as a three-year-old. In 2014 the race was won by Noble Mission, a full-brother to the legendary Frankel and no mean performer himself.

Lady Cecil took over the training licence from the late Sir Henry and Noble Mission famously won the Champion Stakes in 2014. His other notable successes include the Tattersalls Gold Cup (2014) and Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud (2014). He was named Cartier Champion Older Horse for that season.

The Huxley Stakes was upgraded to Group 2 status in 2018 and was won for two consecutive seasons by Richard Fahey’s Forest Ranger.

Key Huxley Stakes Trials

Huxley Stakes winners have come from a wide variety of races although it may be worth noting that five of the last eleven had won last time out.

Class is a key factor with all but two of those horses having already won a Group race.

Although Chester is a unique racecourse, only one of the eleven was a previous course winner.

Victory in the Huxley Stakes can open up a host of opportunities later in the season. Await The Dawn (2011) won the Hardwicke Stakes at Royal Ascot next time while Noble Mission (2014) landed the Tattersalls Gold Cup at the Curragh.

Deauville was also placed in that race after winning here for Aidan O’Brien in 2017.

Huxley Stakes Betting Trends

The Huxley Stakes attracts a small but select field, the largest in the last eleven renewals being 7 runners in 2012, 2013 and 2016.

With a field of typically six or less, it is no surprise to see that all eleven winners are featured in the first three in the betting.

Five of those started clear favourite; Await The Dawn (2011), Danadana (2013), Noble Mission (2014), Deauville (2017) and Armory (2021). The longest priced winner during the same period was Marco Botti’s Marcret at 13-2 in 2012.

Four and five-year-olds tend to dominate this race, although Solid Stone did win as a six-year-old to buck the trend in 2022.

That equalled the winning age record set by Maraahel for his third victory.

Nine of the last eleven winners had an official rating of 112 or higher.

Await The Dawn and Armory were the highest rated on a mark of 120.

Huxley Stakes – Top Trainers and Jockeys

The leading trainer in the history of the Huxley Stakes is Sir Michael Stoute with seven victories. Three of those were courtesy of course favourite Maraahel (2005, 2006 and 2007). His other winners were Adilabad (2001), Doctor Fremantle (2009), Cannock Chase (2016) and Solid Stone (2022).

Aidan O’Brien has now won it three times with Await The Dawn, Deauville and Armory, all well-backed favourites.

Ryan Moore has an impressive record in this race with seven victories. He was aboard Doctor Fremantle (2009), Await The Dawn (2011), Marcret (2012), Cannock Chase (2016), Deauville (2017), Armory (2021) and Solid Stone (2022).

Richard Hills won it four times in a row, his three wins on Maraahel being preceded by success on Mark Johnston’s Bandari in 2004.

Betting on the Huxley Stakes

The Huxley Stakes is not the most competitive event of the Chester May meeting but usually has a touch of quality. The form stands up to close inspection and the winner can sometimes go on to greater things.

An interesting appetiser for the featured Chester Cup on the final day of the meeting.

Summary of Huxley Stakes

The Huxley Stakes takes place on the same day as many other Chester Races, the big one being the Chester Cup

We have looked at betting, stats, tips and more, so you have all the info you need whether enjoying the race or placing a bet.

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

Cheshire May Festival Information Articles