Royal Hunt Cup

The Royal Hunt Cup is a handicap over a mile for three-year-olds and upwards at Royal Ascot. It currently takes place on the second day of the meeting.

The Royal Hunt Cup is held on Wednesday 21st June 2023 at 5:00 pm.

There has only ever been one dual winner of this competitive handicap, Master Vote way back in 1947-48. Notable recent winners include Mighty Fly (1983), Colour Sergeant (1992), Yeast (1996), Mine (2004), Forgotten Voice (2009) and Real World (2021).

Find out more about the Royal Hunt Cup:

Contents

1 Race Overview – Royal Hunt Cup
2 Royal Hunt Cup 2023 Odds
3 Royal Hunt Cup Tips
4 Royal Hunt Cup Previous Winners
5 Royal Hunt Cup Previous Result
6 Famous Royal Hunt Cup Winners
7 Key Royal Hunt Cup Trials
8 Royal Hunt Cup Betting Trends
9 Royal Hunt Cup – Top Trainers and Jockeys
10 Betting on the Royal Hunt Cup
11 Summary of Royal Hunt Cup
12 Popular Questions
- 12.1 Where is the Royal Hunt Cup held?
- 12.2 What distance is the Royal Hunt Cup?
13 2023 Royal Ascot Festival Posts
14 Related June Articles
15 Resources

Race Overview – Royal Hunt Cup

The Royal Hunt Cup is a flat handicap horse event hosted in the U.k for horses aged three and above. It is held annually June at Ascot over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 metres).

Check out our guides to all the other UK Premier Handicap horse races.

Royal Hunt Cup 2023 Odds

Here are the latest odds for the Royal Hunt Cup in June 2023:

These odds have not yet been released.

Here is the full list of betting odds at Ascot Races today.

Royal Hunt Cup Tips

Here are some tips for the Royal Hunt Cup in June 2023:

2 points to win for TBC at odds of TBC
1 point each way for TBC at odds of TBC

Some of the horses racing in the Royal Hunt Cup will also be in other races throughout the year. Watch the horses to see how they perform or place your bets on ante-post betting.

For all Ascot racing events, our top racing tipsters offer racing tips!

For more racing tips on races at Ascot Course, look at our guide.

Royal Hunt Cup Previous Winners

Take a look at the previous winners from the Royal Hunt Cup:

Year	Winner	Age	Weight	Jockey	Trainer	SP	Time
1980	Tender Heart	4	9-00	Joe Mercer	John Sutcliffe, Jr.	1006.5 13/2
1981	Teamwork	4	8-06	Greville Starkey	Guy Harwood	1008 8/1
1982	Buzzards Bay	4	8-12	Joe Mercer	Hugh Collingridge	1014 14/1
1983	Mighty Fly	4	9-03	Steve Cauthen	David Elsworth	1012 12/1
1984	Hawkley	4	8-06	Tyrone Williams	Patrick Haslam	1010 10/1	1:40.38
1985	Come On The Blues	6	8-02	Chris Rutter	Clive Brittain	1014 14/1
1986	Patriach	4	7-12	Richard Quinn	John Dunlop	1020 20/1	1:39.55
1987	Vague Shot	4	9-05	Steve Cauthen	Richard F. Casey	1010 10/1	1:46.53
1988	Governorship	4	9-06	John Reid	Charlie Nelson	1033 33/1	1:40.96
1989	True Panache	4	9-04	Pat Eddery	Jeremy Tree	1005 5/1 F	1:40.92
1990	Pontenuovo	5	7-07	Gary Bardwell	David Elsworth	1050 50/1	1:40.18
1991	Eurolink the Lad	4	8-09	John Reid	John Dunlop	1025 25/1	1:42.75
1992	Colour Sergeant	4	7-08	David Harrison	Lord Huntingdon	1020 20/1	1:38.07
1993	Imperial Ballet	4	8-12	Pat Eddery	Henry Cecil	1020 20/1	1:47.40
1994	Face North	6	8-03	Alan Munro	Reg Akehurst	1025 25/1	1:41.46
1995	Realities	5	9-00	Michael Kinane	Guy Harwood	1011 11/1	1:40.08
1996	Yeast	4	8-06	Kieren Fallon	William Haggas	1008 8/1 F	1:39.39
1997	Red Robbo	4	8-06	Olivier Peslier	Reg Akehurst	1016 16/1	1:40.30
1998	Refuse to Lose	4	7-11	Jason Tate	James Eustace	1020 20/1	1:43.21
1999	Showboat	5	8-06	Neil Pollard	Barry Hills	1014 14/1	1:38.59
2000	Caribbean Monarch	5	8-10	Kieren Fallon	Sir Michael Stoute	1005.5 11/2	1:41.91
2001	Surprise Encounter	5	8-09	Frankie Dettori	Ed Dunlop	1008 8/1	1:40.27
2002	Norton	5	8-09	Jimmy Fortune	Terry Mills	1025 25/1	1:40.31
2003	Macadamia	4	8-13	Dane O'Neill	James Fanshawe	1008 8/1	1:39.87
2004	Mine	6	9-05	Richard Quinn	James Bethell	1016 16/1	1:40.85
2005	New Seeker [a]	5	9-00	Philip Robinson	Clive Cox	1011 11/1	1:37.54
2006	Cesare	5	8-08	Jamie Spencer	James Fanshawe	1014 14/1	1:40.62
2007	Royal Oath	4	9-00	Jimmy Fortune	John Gosden	1009 9/1	1:39.78
2008	Mr Aviator	4	9-05	Richard Hughes	Richard Hannon Sr.	1025 25/1	1:39.63
2009	Forgotten Voice	4	9-01	Johnny Murtagh	Jeremy Noseda	1004 4/1 F	1:40.41
2010	Invisible Man	4	8-09	Frankie Dettori	Saeed bin Suroor	1028 28/1	1:37.16
2011	Julienas	4	8-08	Eddie Ahern	Walter Swinburn	1012 12/1	1:38.53
2012	Prince of Johanne	6	9-03	John Fahy	Tom Tate	1016 16/1	1:38.24
2013	Belgian Bill	5	8-11	James Doyle	George Baker	1033 33/1	1:38.68
2014	Field Of Dream	7	9-01	Adam Kirby	Jamie Osborne	1020 20/1	1:37.88
2015	GM Hopkins	4	9-03	Ryan Moore	John Gosden	1008 8/1	1:40.30
2016	Portage	4	9-05	James Doyle	Michael Halford	1010 10/1	1:43.01
2017	Zhui Feng	4	9-00	Martin Dwyer	Amanda Perrett	1025 25/1	1:37.82
2018	Settle For Bay	4	9-01	Billy Lee	David Marnane	1016 16/1	1:39.42
2019	Afaak	5	9-03	Jim Crowley	Charles Hills	1020 20/1	1:42.36
2020	Dark Vision	4	9-01	William Buick	Mark Johnston	1007.5 15/2	1:38.32
2021	Real World	4	8-06	Marco Ghiani	Saeed bin Suroor	1018 18/1	1:38.04
2022	Dark Shift	4	9-01	James McDonald	Charles Hills	1006.5 13/2	1:39.13

Royal Hunt Cup Previous Result

It's a win in the Royal Hunt Cup for DARK SHIFT! 🙌 pic.twitter.com/MD3wocsfm4

— Ascot Racecourse (@Ascot) June 15, 2022

Famous Royal Hunt Cup Winners

The first running of the Royal Hunt Cup took place in 1843 with victory going to Knight Of The Whistle. The race was originally run on the round course but now takes place on the straight mile.

Mighty Fly won this race for David Elsworth and Steve Cauthen in 1983. The talented four-year-old was quite popular at around 12-1. The trainer would land the prize again in 1990 with the 50-1 chance Pontenuovo, ridden by Gary Bardwell.

The race traditionally features some major gambles but successful ones have been few and far between. True Panache was a wholesale gamble prior to the start at a rain-soaked Ascot in 1989 and duly landed the spoils for trainer Jeremy Tree and jockey Pat Eddery. He was the only winning favourite between 1980 and 1996 when Kieren Fallon won on Yeast for William Haggas.

Mine won the race at odds of 16-1 in 2004 for James Bethell and Richard Quinn. The horse would go into the history books for a remarkable three victories in the Bunbury Cup at Newmarket (2002, 2005 and 2006).

Royal Oath (2007) was one of the few Hunt Cup winners to go on to success outside of handicap company. He went on to win the King Edward Stakes at Woodbine in Canada in 2008 for John Gosden. Walter Swinburn enjoyed the greatest moment of his short training career when saddling 12-1 chance Julienas to win this race in 2011.

The last major gamble to be landed in the Royal Hunt Cup was Forgotten Voice for Jeremy Noseda and Johnny Murtagh in 2009. He started 4-1 favourite after winning on the all-weather and made a mockery of his handicap mark. He did not win again until scoring in a novice hurdle at Bangor-on-Dee for Nicky Henderson in 2012 but would make a successful return to the flat, eventually winning a Group 3 at Goodwood in 2013.

Real World stormed to victory for Godolphin in 2021, finishing clear on the far side of the track at odds of 18-1. It was the first of five successive victories, culminating in a Group 2 success at Meydan in January 2022.

Key Royal Hunt Cup Trials

Winners of the Royal Hunt Cup have come from races scattered far and wide in recent years. Only one of the last twelve had actually won on their previous start. Horses with recent form in big handicaps at Newmarket, York and Epsom usually feature prominently in the betting.

Five of the last twelve Royal Hunt Cup winners ran at Goodwood in the Golden Mile but all were beaten with only one managing to be placed. Only one of those twelve managed to win on their next start and that was Real World (2021) who won the Steventon Stakes at Newbury.

Royal Hunt Cup Betting Trends

It is a sobering thought for punters that Forgotten Voice (2009) is the only winning favourite in the last 25 years! There have been some well-backed winners, notably GM Hopkins (2015) for John Gosden and Ryan Moore and Dark Vision (2020) for Mark Johnston and William Buick.

Long priced winners have been coming in quite regularly in this race. Invisible Man (2010) returned at 28-1 for Saeed bin Suroor and Frankie Dettori in 2010. Zhui Feng (2017) was a 25-1 shot for Amanda Perrett and Martin Dwyer in 2017. Field Of Dream (2014) and Afaak (2019) both returned at 20-1 in a race where bookmakers have certainly had the upper hand.

Four-year-olds have won six of the last seven renewals, a sequence only interrupted by five-year-old Afaak. Field Of Dream was the oldest winner of modern times when scoring as a seven-year-old for Jamie Osborne and Adam Kirby.

The last twelve winners have all been officially rated between 93 and 105. Nine of those winners were drawn 11 or higher, although Real World’s runaway success from stall 4 in 2021 completely shattered the perceived bias against a low draw.

Royal Hunt Cup – Top Trainers and Jockeys

This is an incredibly tough race to win so it is not surprising to find the leading trainer dating back well over a century! That honour is still retained by James Jewitt who saddled five winners between 1882 and 1897. Saeed bin Suroor’s two winners were both seemingly unfancied; Invisible Man (2010) and Real World (2021). John Gosden has also won it twice; Royal Oath (2007) and GM Hopkins (2015).

The leading jockey honours in the Royal Hunt Cup are currently shared by Charles Wood (1875 to 1887) and Lester Piggott (1963 to 1976) with four winners apiece. Frankie Dettori has won it twice; Surprise Encounter (2001) and Invisible Man (2010), as has James Doyle; Belgian Bill (2013) and Portage (2016).

Betting on the Royal Hunt Cup

The Royal Hunt Cup is arguably the trickiest betting race of the week. Punters were confident they had narrowed it down to horses drawn high last year only to see Real World storm home on the opposite side of the track. Bookmakers usually offer enhanced place terms on the Royal Hunt Cup down to fifth or sixth place so there is at least plenty of scope for each-way betting.