2023 Racecard
The Hardwicke Stakes is a Group 2 contest held over one mile, three furlongs and 211 yards, on the final day of Royal Ascot, which is traditionally held on the middle Saturday in June.
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The race is open to horses aged four and up, with a 3 lb allowance for fillies and mares who take their chance.
The race was established in 1879, and was initially open to three-year-olds, with the last three-year-old winner of the Hardwicke Stakes being Helioscope in 1949. The event is named in honour of the 5th Earl of Hardwicke, who served as the Master of the Buckhounds in the 19th century.
The most successful horse in the history of the Hardwicke Stakes is Tristan, who was trained by Thomas Jennings and won three successive renewals of the race between 1882 and 1884.
The race is often seen as a pathway to the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes, a Group 1 race which is held at Ascot the following month over the same trip. The last horse to win both races in the same year was the Sir Michael Stoute-trained Harbinger, in 2010.
The 2005 renewal of the Hardwicke Stakes, along with the rest of Royal Ascot that year, took place at York due to Ascot racecourse being renovated.
The leading trainer in the Hardwicke Stakes is Sir Michael Stoute, with eleven winners: Dihistan (1986), Rock Hopper (1991 &1992), Maraahel (2006 & 2007), Harbinger (2010), Sea Moon (2012), Telescope (2014), Snow Sky (2015), Dartmouth (2016) and Crystal Ocean (2018).
The joint-leading jockeys in the Chesham Stakes are Lester Piggott and Pat Eddery, both with seven winners. Piggott’s seven victories in the Hardwicke Stakes came on Elopement (1955), St Paddy (1961), Karabas (1970), Relay Race (1974), Meneval (1977), Critique (1982) and Jupiter Island (1985), while Eddery’s seven wins in the Hardwicke Stakes were with Charlie Bubbles (1975), Orange Bay (1976), Dihistan (1986), Assatis (1989), Rock Hopper (1991 & 1992) and Posidonas (1998).
