Winter Derby

The Winter Derby is a Group 3 race for four-year-olds and upwards over ten furlongs on the all-weather at Lingfield Park in late February or early March.

It was introduced in 1998 to attract better-class horses to the artificial surfaces and is the first Group race of the year in England.

Notable past winners include Scintillo (2009), Tryster (2015), Wissahickon (2019) and Alenquer (2022).

Find out more about the Winter Derby:

Race Overview – The Winter Derby

The Winter Derby is a Group Three horse race held at Lingfield Racecourse in February.

It is run over a distance of one mile and two furlongs.

The race is accessible to horses aged four and up, and it attracts a strong field of horses vying for the Group Three prize.

This race is known to be popular in February.

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Famous Winter Derby Winners

The inaugural running in 1998 was won by Philip Mitchell’s Running Stag, ridden by Ray Cochrane. The horse had always displayed potential and gained his biggest career win in the 1999 Grade 2 Brooklyn Handicap at Belmont Park. He arguably ran the race of his life when second to Jim And Tonic in the 1999 Hong Kong Cup at odds of 25-1.

Frankie Dettori won it for the first time aboard Parasol in 2003, beating the 2002 winner Adiemus by a neck. Parasol was trained by David Loder and was following up his win in the Winter Derby Trial over course and distance three weeks’ earlier.

2009 winner Scintillo was trained by Richard Hannon Senior and ridden by Richard Hughes. He had won the Group 1 Gran Criterium at San Siro as a two-year-old but had lost his way prior to a confidence-boosting win at Kempton on his previous start. He went on to win the Group 2 Grand Prix de Chantilly in May 2009.

Tryster was a stylish winner for Charlie Appleby and Adam Kirby in 2015, sweeping through the field to beat subsequent 2016 winner Grendisar. The Godolphin runner followed up here in April in the valuable Easter Classic and won the Group 1 Jebel Hatta at Meydan the following spring. He was sent off favourite for the Group 1 Dubai Turf but had to settle for third behind Japan’s Real Steel.

2019 winner Wissahickon had won the Cambridgeshire Handicap at Newmarket off an official rating of 107. He was rated 10lbs higher after winning this race but suffered a shock defeat in the Easter Classic when starting 1-3 favourite.

Alenquer added his name to the roll of honour in 2022, the winner of the 2021 King Edward VII Stakes at Royal Ascot and later the Tattersalls Gold Cup at the Curragh.

Key Winter Derby Trials

Lingfield stages the Winter Derby Trial three weeks before this event. Four of the last twelve winners ran in the official trial with two of them successful.

Two of the last twelve winners ran in the Quebec Stakes here prior to the Winter Derby so previous course form looks to be an advantage.

All but four of the twelve had already won at least once at Lingfield Park.

The next target for Winter Derby winners is often the Middle Distance Stakes at the All-Weather Championships.

Six of the last twelve winners contested that event and three of them were successful; Tryster (2015), Grendisar (2016) and Convey (2017).

Winter Derby Betting Trends

Favourites have won four of the last twelve renewals of the Winter Derby; Nideeb (2011), Farraaj (2013), Tryster (2015) and Wissahickon (2019). The latter returned at the prohibitive odds of 1-4.

All but two of the twelve were in the first three in the betting. The exceptions were Robin Hoods Bay (10-1) in 2014 and Master The World (16-1) in 2018.

Four-year-olds have the edge in the history of this race and have won six of the last twelve renewals.

The oldest winner in the history of the race was Premio Loco who won as an eight-year-old in 2012.

An official rating of 107 or higher is normally required to win this race.

The highest officially rated winner in recent seasons was Wissahickon (117) in 2019.

Winter Derby – Top Trainers and Jockeys

John Gosden is the leading trainer in the history of the Winter Derby with three consecutive winners from 2019. He won it for the first time with Wissahickon and followed up with Dubai Warrior (2020) and Forest Of Dean (2021).

Italian-based Luigi Camici trained Caluki to win here in 2004, the only time the prize has gone outside of Great Britain.

Frankie Dettori leads the jockey standings with four winners; Parasol (2003), Caluki (2004), Wissahickon (2019) and Dubai Warrior (2020).

Betting on the Winter Derby

The first three in the betting tend to dominate here, although there have been a few shock results over the years.

The Winter Derby Trial often provides a few clues with progressive four-year-olds doing best.

The winner often targets the Easter Classic so the outcome will have a big impact on the betting market for that event.

Winter Derby Previous Result

Check out the latest result from this race:

Winter Derby Facts

• The Winter Derby is a Group 3 flat horse race in Great Britain open to thoroughbreds who are four-years-old or above.
• It is run over a distance of 1 mile and 2 furlongs (2,012 metres) at Lingfield Park Racecourse, and it takes place annually in late February or early March.

Best Winter Derby Betting Sites

The most popular betting sites for the Winter Derby are listed on this page.

Summary of Winter Derby

Thank you for reading our Winter Derby guide.

We have looked at odds, tips, previous winners and more, so you have all the information you have about this top winter race.

Check out our guides to all the other Group 3 horse races.

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