King’s Stand Stakes

The Group 1 King’s Stand Stakes is one of the top sprint races in the World and currently takes place on the opening day of Royal Ascot.

There have been twelve dual winners of the race, the most recent being Sole Power (2013, 2014) and Blue Point (2018, 2019).

The International nature of the race is illustrated in recent times by winners from Hong Kong, France, the United States, and Australia.

Find out more about The King’s Stand today:

King’s Stand – The Race Overview

The King’s Stand Stakes is over five furlongs and is the second of three Group 1 races on the first day of Royal Ascot in June.

They go flat out from the starting gates for this one, so a slow start can be very costly.

The race usually features battle-hardened sprinters, and there are rarely excuses for beaten horses.

Famous King’s Stand Stakes Winners & History

The race emerged almost by accident when heavy ground in 1860 meant a five-furlong sprint replaced the two-mile Royal Stand Plate. This then became the Queen’s Stand Plate and finally the King’s Stand Stakes in 1901 following the death of Queen Victoria and the accession of King Edward VII.

The race was awarded Group 1 status in 1973, demoted to Group 2 in 1988 and reinstated at the highest level in 2008.

The first dual winner was Woolsthorpe (1895, 1897), a feat matched on eleven subsequent occasions. These include Sole Power, who was a hugely popular sprinter trained in Ireland by Ed Lynam.

Sole Power burst onto the scene when winning the 2010 Nunthorpe Stakes at York at odds of 100-1. He finished eighth in this race in 2011 and third in 2012 before claiming back-to-back victories in 2013 and 2014. He started as favourite for a record third victory in 2015 but had to settle for third behind Goldream.

Godolphin’s Blue Point was the most recent dual winner in 2018 and 2019, defeating Battaash on both occasions. The runner-up finally had the stage to himself in 2020, when he won impressively for Charles Hills and Jim Crowley. He was the favourite to add his name to the list of two-time winners in 202,1 but faded to finish fourth behind Oxted.

Other popular King’s Stand Stakes winners include Solinus (1978), Marwell (1981), Habibti (1984), Never So Bold (1985), Dayjur (1990) and Lochsong (1994).

Key King’s Stand Stakes Trials

The most influential trial for the King’s Stand Stakes in recent seasons has been the Temple Stakes at Haydock.

Four of the last twelve winners ran at Haydock before winning here, although only Profitable (2016) won both races.

Oxted (2021) ran in the Duke of York Stakes over six furlongs before dropping back in distance to win here.

King’s Stand Stakes Betting Trends

Surprisingly, Battaash (2020) was the only winning favourite in the past 12 seasons, although most winners were well-fancied. He returned at 5-6 favourite, and there have been five successful second-favourites during the same period.

Sole Power (2014), Profitable (2016), Lady Aurelia (2017), Blue Point (2019) and Oxted (2021) were all second-best in the market.

Goldream (2015) was the only real surprise in recent seasons, returning at 20-1.

Little Bridge (2012) was a 12-1 chance, and Sole Power was 8-1 when recording his first victory here in 2013.

Earlier previous upsets were provided by Equiano (22-1 in 2008) and Choisir (25-1 in 2003), trained in France and Australia, respectively.

King’s Stand Stakes Previous Winners

Take a look at the previous winners from the King’s Stand Stakes:

Year	Winner	Age	Jockey	Trainer
2013	Sole Power	6	Johnny Murtagh	Edward Lynam
2014	Sole Power	7	Richard Hughes	Edward Lynam
2015	Goldream	6	Martin Harley	Robert Cowell
2016	Profitable	4	Adam Kirby	Clive Cox
2017	Lady Aurelia	3	John Velazquez	Wesley Ward
2018	Blue Point	4	William Buick	Charlie Appleby
2019	Blue Point	5	James Doyle	Charlie Appleby
2020	Battaash	6	Jim Crowley	Charles Hills
2021	Oxted	5	Cieren Fallon	Roger Teal
2022	Nature Strip	7	James McDonald	Chris Waller
2023	Bradsell	3	Hollie Doyle	Archie Watson
2024	Asfoora	5	Oisin Murphy	Henry Dwyer
2025	American Affair	5	Paul Mulrennan	Jim Goldie

King’s Stand Stakes Stats

Key King’s Stands facts:

• The age group 4-6 has fared best in recent times.
• Lady Aurelia did win as a three-year-old for American Trainer Wesley Ward in 2017, but the last UK-trained three-year-old winner was Dominica for Marcus Tregoning in 2002.
• The Tatling (2004), Takeover Target (2006) and Sole Power (2014) all won at the age of seven.
• All but two of the last twenty winners had won at least once at Group race level, and around two-thirds of them had been first or second on their most recent start.
• A rating of at least 113 is usually required to win the King’s Stand. Battaash (126) was the highest officially rated recent winner going into the race.

Top Trainers and Jockeys of The King’s Stand

No trainer or jockey has been able to dominate this race in recent times.

Lester Piggott’s seven winners between 1957 and 1985 are still the record. His winners were Right Boy (1957), Majority Rule (1963), Swing Easy (1971), Abergwaun (1973), Godswalk (1977), Solinus (1978) and Never So Bold (1985). Four of them were trained by Vincent O’Brien, who had a record five winners in total, the last being Bluebird in 1987.

Frankie Dettori’s only King’s Stand winner came aboard Lochsong in 1994.

Ten different jockeys have ridden the last ten winners. Jim Crowley (Battaash, 2020) had also won on Prohibit (2011), trained by Robert Cowell, who is also the trainer of Goldream (2015).

Betting on the King’s Stand Stakes

The King’s Stand Stakes is a popular ante-post betting race in the build-up to Royal Ascot.

Betting often centres around the reigning champion, and there are usually some enticing offers for new customers, including enhanced odds on the favourite.

There can also be some each-way value, particularly if taking the time to study the form of the overseas raiders, which UK bookmakers can sometimes underrate.

The most obvious target for King’s Stand Stakes winners is the five-furlong Nunthorpe Stakes at York’s Ebor meeting. Sole Power completed the double in 2014, and Lady Aurelia came within a whisker of doing so in 2017.

Blue Point made a quick reappearance to win the Group 1 Diamond Jubilee Stakes on the concluding Saturday of Royal Ascot whereas Battaash followed up in the King George Stakes at Goodwood.

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Summary of The King’s Stands Stakes

The King’s Stand Stakes is the ultimate speed test at Royal Ascot, with recent winners Blue Point and Battaash capturing the public’s imagination.

There are few more exciting sights in racing than the raw speed of these Group 1 sprinters hurtling up the straight at Royal Ascot.

There is always a strong International challenge to add to the mix on an enthralling opening day of the Royal meeting.