British Champions Fillies and Mares Stakes betting 

The British Champions Fillies and Mares Stakes is a Group 1 race over a mile and a half at Ascot. British Champions Fillies and Mares Stakes odds are published in advance of the £4 million British Champions Day in October. 

The race is open to three-year-olds and upwards and was formerly known as the Princess Royal Stakes. In 2011 it became part of British Champions Day with the value of the race doubled to half a million pounds.  

Top class winners of this race include Epsom Oaks winners Snow Bride (1989), Ouija Board (2005) and Dancing Rain (2011). 

British Champions Fillies and Mares Stakes betting tips 

The ground can be quite testing for this fixture so it is not surprising that most recent winners had won over a mile and a half or beyond.  

Several of those winners had previous experience at Ascot. Recent winning form and a race within the past month have also been favourable factors in assessing British Champions Fillies and Mares tips. 

A rating of 100 or higher has accounted for most previous winners while many of them had won at Group race level. As this race comes towards the end of the season, almost all the winners had raced three times or more that term prior to Ascot. 

Dermot Weld won the race for Ireland in 2012 with Sapphire but Aidan O’Brien had to wait until 2017 and Hydrangea for his first victory. He followed up immediately in 2018 with Magical, a fifth win in the British Champions Fillies and Mares Stakes for jockey Ryan Moore.  

O’Brien regularly makes his mark at this meeting and always features prominently in Champions Day betting. 

British Champions Fillies and Mares Stakes betting trends 

British Champions Fillies and Mares betting tips should look beyond the favourite as they have a poor record in this event. Crystal Capella at 4-1 (2010) and Sapphire at 5-2 (2012) were joint-favourites but most outright market leaders have been beaten. 

However, the majority recent winners have been in the first three in the betting. Classic winners Dancing Rain (Oaks) and Simple Verse (St Leger) will have featured in many British Champions Fillies and Mares bets at 4-1 and 5-1 respectively. 

Dancing Rain (2011) had been a shock 20-1 winner of the Epsom Oaks earlier in the season. Seal Of Approval (16-1) was a surprise winner in 2013 for James Fanshawe and George Baker. She had clipped heels and come down on her previous start in the Park Hill Stakes at Doncaster. 

Three and four-year-olds have dominated this race in recent years. Crystal Capella’s victory as a five-year-old in 2010 went completely against the trend. 

British Champions Fillies and Mares Stakes ante-post betting pointers 

Previous winners have come from a variety of sources. Magical ran in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe at Longchamp two weeks prior to winning here.  

She did have a fragmented season due to injury so the race in France probably put her spot on for Ascot. Hydrangea ran in the Prix de l’Opera at Longchamp before her victory in 2017. 

Journey was runner-up in the Princess Royal (formerly the Harvest Stakes) at Newmarket in 2016 before winning by 4 lengths at Ascot.  

Simple Verse won a highly controversial St Leger in 2015, initially being disqualified and then re-instated after an appeal. She showed what a tough filly she was by following up in the British Champions Fillies and Mares Stakes. 

Most winners of this race are not seen again until the following spring or are retired to the paddocks.  

Magical made a quick reappearance in the Breeders’ Cup and was unlucky to come up against Enable. The Hong Kong Vase at Sha Tin was the target for Ashalanda (2009) and Crystal Capella (2010) but both were beaten. 

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British Champions Fillies and Mares Stakes history and memorable winners 

The British Champions Fillies and Mares Stakes was first run in 1946 as the Princess Royal Stakes with victory going to Mehmany. Shebeen became the first horse to win the race twice in 1974 and 1975. Crystal Capella won in 2008 and returned in 2010 to add a second victory. 

Ouija Board won the race when it was staged at Newmarket in 2005 while Ascot was closed for redevelopment.  

Despite not having raced for over 100 days, Ouija Board was a heavily supported British Champions Fillies and Mares Stakes bet and started 11-8 favourite. Her career victories included the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf in 2004 and 2006. 

Lester Piggott is the leading jockey in the history of the British Champion Fillies’ and Mares’ Stakes with eight victories. His first came aboard Rose of Medina in 1959 and his final success was in 1984 on One Way Street. 

The late John Dunlop had a phenomenal record in this race, winning it eight times between 1966 and 2006. Sir Michael Stoute won it for the seventh time in 2010 with Crystal Capella.  

Two of his winners, Karamita (1980) and Tashtiya (1986), were owned by his Highness The Aga Khan who later won with Narwala (1990) and Ashalanda (2009). 

British Champions Fillies and Mares Stakes betting 2019 

The best horses in training in this division are Enable and Sea Of Class, first and second in the Arc. Trainers John Gosden and William Haggas have already stated their clear intention to aim for Longchamp in October. 

Magical stays in training with Aidan O’Brien this season after her tremendous run at the Breeders’ Cup in November. She had finished tenth in the Arc but was less than six lengths behind Enable and was noted making good late headway. 

Magical confirmed the promise of that run by winning the British Champion Fillies and Mares Stakes before heading to Churchill Downs. She and Enable finished 9 lengths clear of the third horse. Magical would certainly be among the favourites in the British Champions Fillies and Mares odds. 

O’Brien also has Magic Wand to call upon, the winner of the Cheshire Oaks and the Ribblesdale Stakes in 2018. She returned to action with a fine run in the Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational when second to Bricks and Mortar in January. 

John Gosden has kept Coronet in training at the age of five. The grey is tough and consistent and was only a length behind Magical in this race last year. She has been in the shadow of her more illustrious stable companion Enable for much of her career. 

The Classic generation have won this in four of the last five years and will be well represented in the British Champion Fillies’ and Mares’ Stakes betting once again. Iridessa and Hermosa finished first and second in the Fillies’ Mile at Newmarket in October and look certain to stay this trip. 

Watch out for a filly called Entitle, a half-sister to none other than Enable. She was well beaten on her debut but overcame greenness to win a Lingfield maiden in December. It would be no surprise if she improved dramatically as a three-year-old. 

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