Winter Hill Stakes

The Winter Hill Stakes is a Group 3 race for three-year-olds and upwards over ten furlongs at Windsor in August.

It is the only Group race staged at the venue and was won for three successive seasons by Annus Mirabilis between 1996 and 1998. Other notable winners include Campanologist (2009), Al Kazeem (2014) and Her Majesty The Queen’s Fabricate (2017 and 2018).

Find out more about the Winter Hill Stakes:

Race Overview

The Winter Hill Stakes is a Group 3 flat horse race for horses aged three and up annually in the United Kingdom. Every year in August, it takes place at Windsor over a course of 1 mile and 2 furlongs. The event was categorised as Listed for a while.

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Winter Hill Previous Winners

Winter Hill Previous Result

Check out this result from the Windsor Racecourse:

Famous Winter Hill Stakes Winners

The Winter Hill Stakes was first run in 1986 and held Listed status until promoted to a Group 3 in 1995. Sir Michael Stoute won the inaugural running with Samarid, ridden by Walter Swinburn. The same combination struck again with Dolpour (1989) and Desert Shot (1995).

Saeed bin Suroor saddled Annus Mirabilis to win the race in 1996 and 1997 with Frankie Dettori aboard. He completed the hat-trick in 1998, this time ridden by Daragh O’Donohoe. Sir Michael Stoute’s Adilabad won in 2000 and 2001 while Her Majesty The Queen’s Fabricate became the latest dual winner in 2017 and 2018.

The highest class winner was Al Kazeem in 2014, trained by Roger Charlton and ridden by George Baker. He had previously been retired to stud but proved subfertile and returned to the course. He won here after a pipe-opener at Newbury and ran his best race that season to finish second in the Champion Stakes behind Noble Mission.

His biggest career victories were the 2013 Eclipse Stakes and Prince of Wales’s Stakes. He also won the Group 1 Tattersalls Gold Cup in 2013 and 2015. The second victory turned out to be his last racecourse appearance after he returned with a leg injury. His owner did not want to risk a second return to the track and he was retired.

Key Winter Hill Stakes Trials

Winners of the Winter Hill Stakes have come via a multitude of races with no clear trial. Two of the last twelve winners ran in the Rose Of Lancaster Stakes at Haydock last time out with one winning and one placed.

Four of the last five winners have gone to Newbury in September to contest the Legacy Cup Stakes. Desert Encounter (2019) and Solid Stone (2021) were both successful. Extra Elusive (2020) finished third in the Legacy Cup while Fabricate (2017) finished fifth. Three of the last twelve winners ran in the Prix Dollar at Longchamp next time but all were beaten.

Winter Hill Stakes Betting Trends

Only three of the last twelve Winter Hill Stakes winners started market leader. Planteur (2013) started 1-2 favourite, trained by Marco Botti and ridden by Frankie Dettori. Al Kazeem (2014) returned at 8-11 the following season while Fabricate (2018) was a winning 11-10 favourite.

There have also been four winning second favourites and one third favourite. Shock results have been rare in this event. Only Prince Siegfried (2011) won at a double-figure price when successful at 14-1 for Saeed bin Suroor and Ted Durcan.

Only one three-year-old has won in the past fifteen renewals of the Winter Hill Stakes. That was another Godolphin runner in Racing History in 2015. Desert Encounter (2019) became the oldest winner in the history of the race when scoring as a seven-year-old for David Simcock and Jamie Spencer.

Racing History was the lowest officially rated winner in recent years on 99. An official figure of 108 or higher is normally required to win here. The highest rated winner in the past twelve seasons was Al Kazeem (2014) with a figure of 123, 6lbs higher than previous winner Planteur.

Winter Hill Stakes – Top Trainers and Jockeys

Saeed bin Suroor and Sir Michael Stoute currently share top spot as the most successful trainers in the history of the Winter Hill Stakes with eight victories apiece. Saeed bin Suroor’s winners; Annus Mirabilis (1996, 1997, 1998), Naheef (2002), Ancient World (2004), Campanologist (2009), Prince Siegfried (2011) and Racing History (2015).

Sir Michael Stoute’s winners; Samarid (1986), Dolpour (1989), Desert Shot (1995), Adilabad (2000, 2001), Tam Lin (2006), Queen’s Best (2007) and Solid Stone (2021).

Frankie Dettori leads the jockey standings with five winners. He rode Annus Mirabilis to his first two victories and was also successful on Naheef (2002), Campanologist (2009) and Planteur (2013). Hollie Doyle became the first female rider to score in this event when partnering Extra Elusive to victory in 2020. The victory

Best Winter Hill Betting Sites

The Winter Hill Stakes is an interesting contest, often featuring a mix of high class handicappers and established Group horses. Victory in this race can lead to more lofty ambitions in the closing months of the season. Shock results are rare in a race which usually attracts a small but select field.

Summary of Winter Hill Stakes

We hope you have enjoyed our guide to the Winter Hill Stakes.

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