The King's Stand Stakes is one of several Group 1 races that take place during Royal Ascot week which is hosted annually in June. This sprint race is held over a distance of five furlongs and is a highly prestigious event.
Established in 1860, the Group 1 race takes place on the opening day of the famous meeting at Ascot Racecourse.
It is open to runners aged three years or older with three-year-old runners running off 8st 12lb and the older runners off 9st 4lb, with fillies and mares getting a 3lb allowance.
It was purely by chance that the race came into being in the first place. The year the King's Stand Stakes was introduced, the weather was battering the racecourse.
The track was so rain damaged by the rain that it was impossible to host the 2 mile Royal Stand Plate. The only segment of the track that was still raceable was a five furlongs section, so they race over that and the rest is history as they say.
This new improvised race was first call the Queen's Stand Stakes, in honour of Queen Victoria, but changed upon her death to the King’s stand when King Edward VII inherited the throne.
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The jockey with the most wins is Lester Piggott, winning the King's Stand Stakes on seven occasions from Right Boy in 1957 through to Never So Bold in 1985.
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The trainer with the most wins is Vincent O'Brien who won the race six times from Cassarte in 1962 to Bluebird in 1987.
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While several horses have won the King's Stand Stakes more than once, only a couple have won it twice whilst it was a Group 1 affair. The two are: Equiano (2008, 2010) and Sole Power (2013, 2014).
The top three fastest run Kings Stand Stakes over the last 20 years are:
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2007 - Miss Andretti (57.44)
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2017 - Lady Aurelia (57.45)
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2005 - Chineur (57.55)
King’s Stand Stakes Winners
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2021 - Oxted 4/1 Cieren Fallon/Roger Teal
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2020 - Battaash 5/6f Jim Crowley/Charlie Hills
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2019 - Blue Point 5/2 James Doyle/Charlie Appleby
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2018 - Blue Point 6/1 William Buick/Charlie Appleby
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2017 - Lady Aurelia 7/2 John R Velazquez/Wesley Ward
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2016 - Profitable 4/1 Adam Kirby/Clive Cox
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2015 - Goldream 20/1 Martin Harley/Robert Cowell
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2014 - Sole Power 6/1 Richard Hughes/Edward Lynam
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2013 - Sole Power 8/1 Johnny Murtagh/Ed Lynam
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2012 - Little Bridge 12/1 Zak Purton/C S Shum
You can view recent Royal Ascot results by clicking this highlighted link.
King’s Stand Trends
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Age: 8/10 winners were aged 4-6 years old.
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Starting Price: Only 1 of the last 10 winners went off the favourite, 8/10 winners came from the top three in the betting.
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Last Run: 5/10 winners won on their last start before the King’s Stand Stakes, 8/10 winners at least placed on their last run, 10/10 winners had their last run within the last 66 days.
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4/10 winners ran in the Temple Stakes (Haydock) on their last run, 1 of the 4 won, 1 placed.
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Course Form: 9/10 winners had at least Two previous runs at Ascot, 7/10 winners had at least one previous win at Ascot. Course winners are generally included in many people’s Royal Ascot tips.
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Distance Form: 9/10 winners had at least four previous runs over 5 furlongs, 9/10 winners had at least two previous wins over 5 furlongs.
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Flat Form: 10/10 winners had at least twelve previous flat runs, 10/10 winners had at least four previous flat wins.
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Official Rating: 9/10 winners had a rating of 113 or higher, In 2015 Goldream was rated 111.
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Group Wins: 7/10 winners had at least one win in a Group 1 race, 10/10 winners had at least one win in a Group 1-3 race.
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Season Form: 10/10 winners had at least one run that season, 8/10 winners had at least one win that season.
King’s Stand Jockeys
The leading jockey in the Kings Stand Stakes over the last 20 years is Jim Crowley who has won the race twice. Those 2 winners were Prohibit (2011) & Battaash (2020).
Several well known jockeys have had numerous rides in the same time frame but have failed to lift the trophy.
Ryan Moore (0-13), Jamie Spencer (0-11) and Frankie Dettori (0-11) are all surprising omissions from the honours board.
King’s Stand Trainers
Trainers Robert Cowell, Edward Lynam & Charlie Appleby having all won the race twice apiece in recent years.
Robert Cowell scored with Prohibit (2011) & Goldream (2015). Edward Lynam winners were with Sole Power (2013) & Sole Power (2014), while Charlie Appleby tasted success with Blue Point in 2018 and 2019.
Cold list trainers who cannot buy a winner for love nor money in the Kings Stand Stakes are Kevin Ryan who has saddled 11 runners in the race without recording any wins.
An even bigger surprise is Aidan O'Brien has come over to Ascot with 10 challengers and has gone home empty handed on each attempt.
King’s Stand Stakes Trial Races
Sprint races such as the Temple Stakes (Haydock), Nunthorpe (York), Flying Five (Curragh) and the Prix de l’Abbaye (ParisLongchamp) have all given us valuable pointers to Royal Ascot’s King’s Stand Stakes over the years.
King’s Stand Starting Prices
Looking back at the starting prices over the last 20 renewals, the biggest priced winner was Choisir in 2003 at odds of 25/1 under jockey Johnny Murtagh.
If as a punter you sided with the runners at the head of the market over the same time period there has been just three winning favourites of the race, so the percentage call has been to look at the next few after the market leader when finalising your horse racing online bets.
