Prince of Wales’s Stakes betting

The Group 1 Prince of Wales’s Stakes is a 10f race for four-year-olds and upwards and takes place on the second day of Royal Ascot. It’s one of the most prestigious races of the meeting and Prince of Wales’s Stakes betting odds are published weeks in advance.

Prince of Wales’s Stakes betting tips often feature some of the best middle-distance horses in Europe. The most famous winner of the race was Dubai Millennium in 2000, the highest-rated horse owned by Godolphin. Other notable winners include Brigadier Gerard (1972) and Ouija Board (2006) and Crystal Ocean (2019).

Prince of Wales’s Stakes betting tips

Previous winning form over the distance is essential, although horses can drop back successfully from 1m4f. Highland Reel had won the Coronation Cup over that distance at Epsom prior to winning here in 2017.

Another Prince of Wales’s Stakes tip is to study the result from the previous year. Several horses have been placed and come back to win the race the following season, including So You Think (2012) and The Fugue (2014).

Horses with recent form dominate this race, many of them having won on their latest outing.

Ireland’s Free Eagle did manage to overcome a 242-day absence when winning for Dermot Weld in 2015. Fellow Irish trainers John Oxx and Aidan O’Brien have also been successful in this race.

The Prince of Wales’s Stakes is more about quality than quantity, so there are rarely excuses for beaten horses. The home straight is only just shy of 3f, so jockeys don’t want to give the leaders too much rope.

Prince of Wales’s Stakes betting trends

Trainer Aidan O’Brien won the race for a fourth time in 2021 with his remarkable filly Love. She was a winner on all three starts during her three-year-old campaign, including in the 1,000 Guineas and the Oaks.

Her first start as a four-year-old came after a 300-day absence, but she showed true battling qualities to knuckle down and get the better of Audarya.

John Gosden and Sir Michael Stoute are other four-time winning trainers. Stoute had success in 2018 and 2019 with Poet’s Word and Crystal Ocean. And it was Poet’s Word that helped him surpass Sir Henry Cecil’s record of winners at the Royal meeting. While those powerful trainers have runners to note, the Prince of Wales’s Stakes betting is worth a check.

In the last 12 renewals, 11 of the winners have been found in the first three of the betting. Only 2016 winner My Dream Boat sprung a surprise, winning at 16/1.

The Prince of Wales’s Stakes odds have proved to be a good guide to the likely winner in recent years. This is one of the best Royal Ascot betting races for fancied horses and the winner invariably comes from the first three horses in the market.

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Prince of Wales’s Stakes ante-post betting pointers

French-trained horses also have a good record in the Prince of Wales’s Stakes, often using the Prix Ganay as a prep race for Royal Ascot. Vision D’Etat won both races for Eric Libaud in 2009. Manduro was third in the Prix Ganay and won the Prix d’Ispahan at Longchamp prior to winning in 2007.

The result of the Prince of Wales’s Stakes usually has an impact on betting on the King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Diamond Stakes. The Eclipse Stakes at Sandown is an alternative target for winners of this race, Al Kazeem completing the double in 2013.

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Prince of Wales’s Stakes history and memorable winners

The race was established in 1862 and was originally for three-year-olds over a 1m5f. It was discontinued after World War II, but was re-introduced as an all-aged race over 10f in 1968. It was given Group 1 status in 2000 and restricted to older horses.

Dubai Millennium won the race for Godolphin in 2000, trained by Saeed bin Suroor and ridden by Jerry Bailey. He had previously fulfilled the dream of Sheikh Mohammed by winning the Dubai World Cup in a course record time.

Sadly, Dubai Millennium suffered a career-ending injury and his stud career was cut short when he succumbed to grass sickness in 2001.

Lord Derby’s Ouija Board was a popular winner of the race in 2006, trained by Ed Dunlop and ridden by Olivier Peslier. She had won the Epsom Oaks and the Irish Oaks, as well as the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf in 2004.

After winning at Royal Ascot, Ouija Board won a second Breeders’ Cup and was retired to the paddocks. She is the dam of 2011 Derby winner Australia.

Other notable Prince of Wales’s Stakes winners include Mtoto (1987, 1988), Bosra Sham (1997) and The Fugue (2014). The Fugue was owned by Lord Lloyd-Webber and set a new course record of 2 minutes 1.90 seconds. She had finished third in the race a year earlier behind Al Kazeem.

Poet’s Word upset the odds-on favourite Cracksman in 2018 under a brilliant ride from James Doyle. He provided Sir Michael Stoute with the 76th Royal Ascot winner of his career, making him the most successful trainer in the history of the meeting.

Prince of Wales’s Stakes Betting 2021

The Prince of Wales’s Stakes takes place on the second day of Royal Ascot. It’s an important middle-distance race for older horses and makes up part of the British Champions Series.

Later in the year, these older horses will clash against the three-year-olds in races like the Eclipse at Sandown and York’s Juddmonte International, so this is gives them a chance to taste victory before taking on their younger rivals.

And in the past it has seen many notable winners like Brigadier Gerard (1972), Dubai Millennium (2000) and Ouija Board (2006).

The Prince of Wales’s Stakes tends to be a good indicator for the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes, with last year’s winner Crystal Ocean going head-to-head with Enable in the latter. 

Get the latest Prince of Wales’s Stakes odds with our ante-post markets for Royal Ascot.

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