Loading content…

The Coronation Stakes

LD
  • Distance
  • Class
  • Group
  • Prize money

History

Another big day out for the best three-year-old fillies. The Coronation Stakes, indeed, is often a showdown for the winners and placed horses from the English, Irish and French 1000 Guineas. This Group 1 event, run over one mile during Royal Ascot, is the third entry in the QIPCO British Champions Series Fillies & Mares category.

The timing of the Coronation Stakes in mid-June, a month and a half after the QIPCO 1000 Guineas, allows these still maturing fillies that much more time to develop and strengthen up, so don’t always expect the 1000 Guineas winner to emerge triumphant again – another filly might have improved past her.

The race was established in 1840, commemorating Queen Victoria’s coronation two years earlier. Awarded Group 2 status in 1971, it was upgraded to the highest level in 1988. This is an event with a lot of Hills in it – that’s twin jockeys Richard and Michael Hills and their father Barry Hills, the trainer. Richard and Barry combined to bring Ghanaati home in 2009, while Michael and Barry did the same with Maids Causeway in 2005. Michael also won in 1997 on Rebecca Sharp, but she was trained by Geoff Wragg.

At the age of a remarkable 80 years, Clive Brittain saddled the winner in 2014, Rizeena.

Surprisingly, the race had eluded one of the greatest jockey’s of all time, Frankie Dettori until 2020. Picking up the ride on Alpnie Star for Jessica Harrington, Dettori finally completed his Royal Ascot Group 1 full house with a commanding victory. The performance reminiscent of Jessica Harrington’s other winner of the race, Alpha Centauri in 2018.

Current leading jockeys: Gerald Mosse, 2 wins (1993, 2011); Ryan Moore, 2 wins (2014, 2017)

Current leading trainer: Sir Michael Stoute, 4 wins (1986, 1987, 1998, 2003)

Previous winners

Year Horse Jockey Trainer Owner Prize money

News

Video

Entries

Going/Track

Weather

No/Draw Horse/Jockey Age Form/Type BHA Rating Weight Trainer Odds

/

Alpine Star too good in the Coronation Stakes

Alpine Star emulated her half-sister Alpha Centauri (the winner in 2018) when storming to victory in the 2020 Coronation Stakes.

The three-year-old Sea The Moon filly, homebred by the Niarchos Family, was making her first start of 2020 and was off the bridle from some way out. Responding gamely to Frankie Dettori, Alpine Star took up the running entering the final furlong and kept on strongly for a four and a quarter length victory over American challenger Sharing (Graham Motion/Oisin Murphy), who stayed on well from off the pace.

Speaking from her base in County Kildare, Jessica Harrington said: “It is absolutely amazing because I am sitting here, I can’t go racing, and watching it on the telly is very hard. I could not believe it because she was the only horse in the field that hadn’t had a run this year, but she is amazing. She is a half-sister to a complete superstar, Alpha Centauri, who gave me my first Royal Ascot winner. She was just amazing today, she did it so easy.

“She is very laidback and nothing like Alpha Centauri, who was a great big, very imposing filly. This filly is not very big, she is not a great colour – a little bit of a mealy chestnut. If you saw her trotting around in the string, you wouldn’t pick her out, but she has the most wonderful attitude.

 

 

“She was the best juvenile filly on turf in America last year and is a huge, physical filly.”

“Frankie was probably squeezing her along before she turned in but every time you give her a squeeze, she will come for you.”

Dettori was winning his first Coronation Stakes, meaning Newmarket’s July Cup is now the only British Group 1 race he has not won.

Dettori said: “I really fancied Alpine Star. I didn’t want to jinx it, so I kept quiet. Jessie approached me about 10 days ago when she knew that Shane (Foley) couldn’t fly here. I kept it quiet and knew she was an exciting ride. I asked John Gosden for permission to ride the filly and he said yes.

“Everything went to plan in the race. I had a decent draw. I hit a flat spot and I got the split on the fence and then the rest was history.

“It has taken 30 years to win all the Group Ones, but I can say that I have really conquered Royal Ascot now – I am delighted for all the people concerned.”

Murphy, who partnered the second-placed Sharing, said: “Sharing is a champion on really fast turf and she didn’t get her conditions. Everyone should be very proud and hopefully it persuades Graham Motion to have more horses here next year – it was a massive performance.

Results

Position Horse Jockey Trainer Owner
{position} {ownerName}

The Course

British horseracing can lay claim to plenty of blue-blooded connections, but none rival those of Ascot. The Berkshire racecourse’s roots go back 300 years to Queen Anne, who recognised the potential of a stretch of heath land while out riding just a few miles from Windsor Castle.

  • Course plan Ascot Champions Day Course Plan#
  • Course Intro

The royal link has endured ever since. Today, Queen Elizabeth II and members of the Royal Family attend the world-famous ‘Royal Ascot’ meeting each year, arriving in a horse drawn carriage. Royal Ascot, meanwhile, has earned iconic status as a centrepiece of the social calendar, when the world’s best thoroughbreds face fierce competition from the world’s most extravagant fashion designs.

Ascot, which underwent a £200 million redevelopment between 2004-6, also hosts the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes sponsored by QIPCO in July, the most prestigious open-age Flat race staged in Britain.

It will also host the inaugural QIPCO British Champions Day in October which will be the richest raceday ever staged in Britain with over £4.2m in prize money and the climax to the QIPCO British Champions Series.  Including the five category finales on QIPCO British Champions Day, Ascot stages no less than 13 of the 35 QIPCO British Champions Series races.

What sort of horses like Ascot? Horses that like right-handed courses. And what sort of people? People who like champagne and scones, apparently. During the five-day Royal Ascot meeting in 2010, 60,000 bottles of champagne and 40,000 scones were consumed. Lobsters, meanwhile, don’t like Royal Ascot – 1,500 of them were eaten over that same period.

Getting there

Ascot
Berkshire
SL5 7JX

View on Google Maps

View fixtures

@ChampionsSeries