The Park Express Stakes is a Group 3 race for fillies and mares aged three years and upwards.
The Park Express Stakes takes place on the 26th of March 2024.
It takes place over a mile at the Curragh in late March and is named after the 1986 Phoenix Champion Stakes winner.
Notable past winners include Alexander Goldrun (2004) and Mother Earth (2022).
Find out more about the Park Express Stakes:
Contents
- 1 Race Overview – The Park Express Stakes
- 2 Park Express Stakes Previous Winners
- 3 Park Express Stakes 2023 Result
- 4 Famous Park Express Stakes Winners
- 5 Key Park Express Stakes Trials
- 6 Park Express Stakes Betting Trends
- 7 Park Express Stakes – Top Trainers and Jockeys
- 8 Betting on the Park Express Stakes
- 9 Park Express Stakes Facts
- 10 Summary of Park Express Stakes
- 11 Other March Related Articles
Race Overview – The Park Express Stakes
The Park Express Stakes is a Group Three horse race held at Curragh Racecourse in March over a one-mile distance.
Horses must be three years old or older to compete in the race.
Check out our guides to all the other Irish Group 3 horse races.
Some of the horses running in the Park Express Stakes will appear in other events later in the year. Keep an eye on the horses and place your ante-post bets soon.
Check out our Curragh horse racing betting tips page if you are looking for more racing tips for events at Curragh.
For all Curragh races, our finest racing tipsters give free horse racing tips!
Park Express Stakes Previous Winners
Here are the previous winners for the Park Express Stakes.
| Year | Winner | Age | Jockey | Trainer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Rehn’s Nest | 3 | Rory Cleary | Jim Bolger |
| 2014 | Vote Often | 3 | Pat Smullen | Dermot Weld |
| 2015 | Ramone | 5 | Shane Foley | Bill Farrell |
| 2016 | Queen Blossom | 3 | Fran Berry | Patrick Prendergast |
| 2017 | Czabo[a] | 4 | Graham Lee | Mick Channon |
| 2018 | Making Light[a] | 4 | Leigh Roche | Dermot Weld |
| 2019 | Normandel[a] | 5 | Kevin Manning | Jim Bolger |
| 2020 | Lemista[a] | 3 | Chris Hayes | Ger Lyons |
| 2021 | Epona Plays[a] | 4 | Wayne Lordan | Willie McCreery |
| 2022 | Mother Earth | 4 | Ryan Moore | Aidan O’Brien |
| 2023 | Insinuendo | 6 | Billy Lee | Willie McCreery |
Park Express Stakes 2023 Result
Check out the latest result from this race:
Famous Park Express Stakes Winners
The Park Express Stakes is currently the first Group race of the new turf flat racing season in Ireland. It was promoted from Listed to Group 3 status in 2006. The race was first run in 2003 with victory going to Wrong Key, trained by Kevin Prendergast and ridden by Kieren Fallon.
The 2004 renewal was won by Alexander Goldrun, trained by Jim Bolger and ridden by Kevin Manning. She had won the Derrinstown Stud 1000 Guineas Trial in 2003 and went on from here to be one of the top fillies in training. She won the Prix de l’Opera, the Hong Kong Cup and the Pretty Polly Stakes in 2005 and 2006. She also won the Group 1 Nassau Stakes at Goodwood in 2005.
Alexander Goldrun was kept in training in 2006 and arguably ran the best race of her career when beaten a short-head by Ouija Board in the Nassau. It was a fantastic duel between the two mares and the photo-finish could have gone either way. She was retired with five Group 1 wins in four different countries to her credit.
2022 winner Mother Earth was an incredibly tough and consistent filly trained by Aidan O’Brien. She won four and was placed eleven times in her nineteen race career. Her biggest victories were the 1000 Guineas at Newmarket in 2021 and the Prix Rothschild in the same year. She was a 10-1 chance when winning at Newmarket with Frankie Dettori in the saddle.
Ryan Moore had elected to ride stable favourite Santa Barbara but Mother Earth came through to beat Saffron Beach by a length. The filly tried to complete the English/French Guineas double but was beaten by 38-1 outsider Coeursamba at Longchamp.
Key Park Express Stakes Trials
Two of the last twelve winners had raced in the Knockaire Stakes at Leopardstown on their previous start, one of them winning and one finishing unplaced.
All but one of the last twelve winners had won at least once over a mile and the same number were having their first run of the season.
Three of the last twelve winners ran in the Lanwades Stud Stakes next time, one winning and one placed.
Two were sent to Naas for the Gladness Stakes with one winner and one unplaced.
Five winners from the same period won at least once more in the same season.
Park Express Stakes Betting Trends
The Park Express Stakes has proved tricky for punters with only one winning outright favourite and one successful joint-favourite in the past twelve years.
Mother Earth (2022) was the only clear favourite to oblige at 4-5 while Lolly For Dolly won as the 5-2 joint-favourite in 2011.
The race was won by 100-1 outsider Ramone in 2015 while other shock winners include Queen Blossom (2016) at 16-1 and Normandel (2019) at 14-1.
Eight of the last twelve winners started at odds of 8-1 or bigger.
Mother Earth (114) was the highest-rated winner of the race in recent years with the eleven previous winners falling between 91 and 107.
Three and four-year-olds have the best record in this event.
Three five-year-olds have been successful; Pollen (2010), Ramone (2015) and Normandel (2019).
Park Express Stakes – Top Trainers and Jockeys
The leading trainer in the history of the Park Express Stakes is Jim Bolger who has won it four times; Alexander Goldrun (2004), Oh Goodness Me (2009), Rehn’s Nest (2013) and Normandel (2019).
Aidan O’Brien won it for the second time in 2022 with Mother Earth, 17 years after his first victory with Kitty O’Shea (2005).
Wayne Lordan leads the jockey stats with four victories; Danehill Music (2006), Lolly For Dolly (2011), Chrysanthemum (2012) and Epona Plays (2021).
Betting on the Park Express Stakes
The Park Express Stakes has proved extremely tricky for punters. It isn’t often that a Classic winner like Mother Earth features here but that ended a bleak run of beaten favourites including a 100-1 winner!
Park Express Stakes Facts
- The Park Express Stakes is a Group 3 flat horse race in Ireland open to thoroughbred fillies and mares aged three years or older.
- It is run over a distance of 1 mile at the Curragh Racecourse, and it takes place annually in March.
Summary of Park Express Stakes
Thank you for reading our Park Express Stakes guide.
We have looked at stats, facts and more, so you can make an informed choice whether to place a bet or settling down to watch the race on the TV!
Enjoy!
