The Gold Season at Newmarket is just around the corner, with four top-class meetings spread across the course of as many weekends in September and early October. The highlight of which is the concluding Future Champions Festival, and the day two feature race is the Dewhurst Stakes.
The seven-furlong contest is often considered to be Britain’s most prestigious race for juvenile horses, with many of the winners going on to have glittering careers — none more so than the great Frankel. So, as we hope to unearth the next generation of flat racing stars, let’s take a look at the last five winners of the Dewhurst Stakes. Read on to find out more!
2016 – Churchill
Aidan O’Brien has tasted so much success in the Dewhurst Stakes, winning the Group 1 race an impressive seven times over the course of the last 20 years — which is more than any other trainer in that period. And, after Air Force Blue’s victory in 2015, Churchill made it back-to-back victories for the Irishman. It wasn’t the easiest of races for the odds-on favourite in the horse betting markets, as he was forced to switch right one furlong out. However, Ryan Moore soon guided him into the lead and he stayed on gamely to win by just over a length clear of his stablemate Lancaster Bomber, who was a 66/1 shot. Blue Point was third.
2017 – U S Navy Flag
As if a 1-2 finish in the 2016 renewal of the prestigious race wasn’t impressive enough, O’Brien landed an incredibly rare 1-2-3-4 in 2017, with U S Navy Flag romping home in first, followed by Mendelssohn, Seahenge and Threeandfourpence. The 5/1 shot, who was ridden by Ryan Moore, made all the running and streaked clear over one-furlong out, with a strong finish seeing him finish two and a half lengths clear of 50/1 outsider Mendelssohn. Only a head separated Seahenge and Three and fourpence, who were five lengths off the pace of the winner.
2018 – Too Darn Hot
O’Brien’s three-year winning streak was brought to an end in 2018, as the trusty trainer/duo of John Gosden and Frankie Dettori landed their maiden victory in the Group 1 race with Too Darn Hot. Owned by renowned musical theatre composer Andrew Lloyd Webber, the horse entered the stalls as the odds-on favourite, but it wasn’t always a straightforward race. Too Darn Hot chased the leaders and was held up in midfield before being switched right two furlongs out. From there, he closed the gap on the leaders and led one furlong out before pulling clear to beat Advertise by nearly three lengths. Dettori was celebrating his first Dewhurst Stakes victory before the horse even crossed the line.
2019 – Pinatubo
Unbeaten in all of his previous five races, Pinatubo entered the stalls as the heavy 1/3 favourite, and the Charley Appleby-trained horse duly delivered on his status as the market leader. Slightly off the pace for the most part, and being held up a touch in midfield, William Buick started to ask more of Pinatubo two furlongs out, and he was soon in contention, ridden into the lead in the final furlong, and going on to beat O’Brien’s Arizona by two lengths. Whilst it was another renewal without victory for the Irish trainer, he did land a respectable 2-3-4-5.
2020 – St Mark’s Basilica
Given his track record, it was only going to be a matter of time before O’Brien was back in the Newmarket winners’ enclosure, and it was thanks to St Mark’s Basilica and Dettori that his two-year drought ended last year. The 10/1 shot started to make headway two furlongs out and had established a lead by the one-furlong marker. He began to drift right inside the final 110 yards, with his stablemate Wembley closing in, but St Mark’s Basilica held on to win by three quarters of a length. It was a family affair, with Joseph O’Brien, Aidan’s son, recording a third-place finish with Thunder Moon.
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O’Brien is hoping for a record-equalling eighth Dewhurst Stakes victory this year, as he aims to draw level with John Porter’s record, which has stood since the late 1800s!
