Stewards Cup

The Stewards’ Cup at Goodwood Racecourse is one of the most valuable sprint handicaps of the season. It ranks alongside races like the Wokingham Stakes at Royal Ascot and the Ayr Gold Cup as a prime target for sprinters.

The Stewards Cup takes place on the 3rd of August 2024.

The Glorious Goodwood 2024 takes place on the final day of the Glorious Goodwood Festival.

The race has been won by several horses who went on to win at Group 1 level including Lochsong (1992), Coastal Bluff (1996) and Borderlescott (2006).

Find out more about The Stewards Cup:

Stewards Cup – Race Overview

The Stewards’ Cup is a flat handicap horse event taking place in the UK for horses aged three and older. It is hosted at Goodwood over a distance of 6 furlongs (1,207 metres) and is held every year in late July or early August.

The Stewards’ Cup is the big betting race of the week at the Glorious Goodwood festival meeting in late July or early August.

The Stewards Cup is run on the closing Saturday over six furlongs with a maximum field of 28 runners.

The draw is always the subject of much debate with 12 of the last 16 winners starting from a double-figure stall.

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

Famous Stewards’ Cup Winners & History

The inaugural Stewards’ Cup took place in 1840 with victory going to Epirus.

Marvel (1890, 1892) became the first of five dual winners, the most recent being the popular Sky Diver (1967, 1968).

The race acquired its first commercial sponsor in Spillers in 1970 and was soon established as one of the top sprint handicaps of the season.

Ahonoora was a shock 50-1 winner in 1978 and would go on to win the King George Stakes and the William Hill Sprint Championship the following year. He proved even more successful as a stallion where his progeny included Derby winner Dr Devious and the high-class Park Express.

In 1979 punters latched on to Clive Brittain’s flying grey Standaan who won off a lightweight under apprentice Paul Bradwell. He would also prove to be a Group class sprinter, a trend that continued through the 1980s and 1990s. The brilliant Soba won at odds of 18-1 in 1982 while Petong (1984) was another Stewards’ Cup winner destined for better things.

1992 winner Lochsong went on to win the Portland Handicap at Doncaster and the Ayr Gold Cup before proving herself a sprint champion in 1993 and 1994. Her Group race wins included the King George Stakes (1993, 1994), the Prix de l’Abbaye (1993, 1994) and the King’s Stand Stakes (1994).

The high quality of Stewards’ Cup winners was maintained with the likes of Coastal Bluff (1996), Danetime (1997) and Borderlescott (2006).

Hoof It defied the welter burden of 10 stone to win for Mick Easterby and Kieren Fallon with Summerghand winning off a 4lbs lower mark in 2020.

Stewards’ Cup Trials

The Wokingham Stakes at Royal Ascot has been the most influential race for finding the Stewards’ Cup winner over the years. That is an equally competitive sprint where the field often splits into two groups and there are always hard-luck stories for beaten runners.

Summerghand was beaten in a photo-finish in the Ascot race before winning here in 2020.

Other Royal Ascot races worth noting include the Commonwealth Cup and the King’s Stand Stakes. Khaadem (2019) and Gifted Master (2018) were well beaten in those races prior to winning here.

The Betfred Mobile Heritage Handicap at Newmarket produced Magical Memory (2015) and Dancing Star (2016) who both followed up in the Stewards’ Cup as three-year-olds.

Stewards’ Cup Betting Trends

Although the Stewards’ Cup has produced more than its fair share of shock results, punters have enjoyed some success in recent times. There has been a trend towards improving three-year-olds with heavily-supported Magical Memory (2015), Dancing Star (2016) and Khaadem (2019) all starting favourite.

There was considerable confidence that Nahaarr would continue this trend in 2020 but he finished a disappointing ninth. He bounced back to win the Ayr Gold Cup next time and was later placed in Group 2 company.

These successful gambles have been interspersed with long-priced winners including Lancelot Du Lac (2017) at 25-1 and Gifted Master (2018) at 20-1.

Other Stewards’ Cup winners to leave punters scratching their heads include Madraco (1987) at 50-1 and Conquest (2008) at 40-1.

Stewards’ Cup Stats

Horses aged three and four have the best recent record in the race, particularly those with relatively few miles on the clock.

Prior to Magical Memory’s 2015 victory, Danetime (1997) had been the only three-year-old to win in over 30 years.

There have now been three winners from that age group in the past six seasons.

The age of the lightweight seems to have gone as the race has attracted a better quality of sprinter with a narrower weights range.

No winner has carried less than 8 stone 9 pounds since Bond Boy’s victory in 2002.

The stats indicate a slight preference for a double-figure draw, although Khaadem (2019) won from stall 3 and Dancing Star (2016) from stall 4.

Top Trainers and Jockeys

Only two trainers have ever managed to win the Stewards’ Cup on four occasions; John Scott (1840 to 1860) and James Jewitt (1884 to 1898). That illustrates what a tough race it is to win.

The late David Nicholls, dubbed “The Sprint King”, won it three times while William Haggas and Charles Hills have both won it twice in recent years.

Richard Hughes became the winning-most jockey in the history of the race when bagging a fourth victory aboard Intrinsic in 2014.

Frankie Dettori won it for the first time aboard Magical Memory (2015) and added another on Lancelot Du Lac two years’ later.

Stewards’ Cup 2024 Odds

Check out the odds for the Strwards’ Cup:

These odds have not yet been released.

Stewards’ Cup Tips

Our Stewards’ Cup tips are:

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

There are horses from the Stewards’ Cup that will also run in other races through the year so stay updated on them and place ante-post bets.

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Please take a look at our racing tips page for Goodwood Races.

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Stewards’ Cup Previous Winners

Check out the previous winners of this race:

Stewards’ Cup Previous Result

Check out this result from the Goodwood Racecourse:

Betting on the Stewards’ Cup

Betting on the Stewards’ Cup hots up soon after Royal Ascot as punters take note of the Wokingham Stakes form.

With so much top-class racing on offer these days, it is usually best to hold fire on those Goodwood ante-post bets until running plans are confirmed by connections.

Bookmakers offer enhanced each-way terms on the Stewards’ Cup during Glorious Goodwood, paying out down to fifth or sixth place.

Summary of The Stewards Cup

The Stewards’ Cup provides a thrilling spectacle on the Sussex Downs as the runners hurtle down the straight.

A competitive sprint is a difficult race to bet on with confidence but that will not deter punters if they think they have a horse ahead of the handicapper.

Watch out for those improving three-year-old sprinters.

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