St James’s Palace Stakes betting with William Hill 

The St James’s Palace Stakes is traditionally the second race on the opening day of Royal Ascot and is one of the most prestigious 1m contests for three-year-old colts in the Flat racing calendar. 

Unlike the first 1m event on the opening day, the Queen Anne Stakes, this Group 1 contest is run on the round-mile course (1,603 metres). This requires the field to negotiate a sweeping right-hand bend into the straight. All runners carry 9st. 

This famous race is a next port of call for horses who ran well in the English, Irish or French Guineas and are seen as genuine milers at this stage of their careers.  

An impressive Guineas winner, without a pedigree that suggests he would appreciate going up in trip, would be an outstanding candidate for this race and would likely be near the top of William Hill’s St James’s Palace Stakes betting market.  

Bet on horse racing

St James’s Palace Stakes tips 

Promoted to Group 1 status in 1988, the St James’s Palace Stakes is often won by a horse with a Group 1 victory already in the bag - whether that be as a two-year-old or a Guineas. 

As a result, proven top-level performers need to be at the forefront of your thinking when studying the St James’s Palace Stakes odds. 

With that in mind, horses near the top of the market have a good record, but it’s worth bearing in mind that 2016 2,000 Guineas winner Galileo Gold was sent off a 6-1 chance when winning this race later that season. 

Instead, there was a clamber to back the Aidan O’Brien-trained French Guineas winner The Gurkha, who was sent off 4-5 in the St James’s Palace Stakes betting, but suffered a difficult trip and was eventually beaten a length-and-a-quarter.  

Unlike the 2,000 Guineas, which is raced over a straight mile at Newmarket, the St James’s Palace Stakes takes place on the round course at Royal Ascot.

After a sweeping right-hand bend, there’s a short run-in, so positioning is crucial. A horse who races prominently could be better suited to strike than a hold-up horse, challenging from off the pace.

The Gurkha was one that got away for Aidan O’Brien, as was Churchill who was also turned over at odds-on in 2017. But, that doesn’t detract from the fact that the trainer has a brilliant record in this race, winning it three times in succession on two occasions (2000-2002 and 2007-2009).  

St James’s Palace Stakes betting trends 

Because this 1m race is run on the round course, it’s imperative to have a good position and be travelling well when hitting the home turn, at which point the pace lifts.  

The field tend to stick to the inside rail up the straight, so hold-up horses trapped on the inside need luck in-running in the straight.  

With that in mind, front-runners can prove tough to catch, especially if they are also proven Group 1 performers. Galileo Gold (2017) is a perfect example of a horse out in front, avoiding trouble, while odds-on favourite The Gurkha suffered trouble in-running amongst horses. 

The stiff nature of the Ascot straight means horses nearly always need to be strong stayers at the trip, something that lends itself to horses dropping back from 10f. 

This was the case in 2012 when Most Improved won this race having run in the Prix Du Jockey Club (French Derby) earlier that month.  

Horses who were considered to have not run their race in the 2,000 Guineas at Newmarket, possibly because they failed to handle the undulating track or met trouble in running, should also be high on any shortlist when checking out St James’s Palace Stakes betting. 

Barney Roy, winner of this race in 2017, is an obvious recent example of a horse who was unlucky at Newmarket – he stumbled in the dip, getting unbalanced at a crucial stage – but was able to show his true form on this more conventional track. Kingman also won this race in 2014 having been beaten at Newmarket by Night Of Thunder.  

St James’s Palace Stakes ante-post betting pointers  

Without doubt the key trials for this are the English and Irish Guineas – in that order.  

Horses who either won or ran well in defeat at Newmarket have dominated this race over the years and the Rowley Mile Classic should be your primary focus when it comes to studying William Hill’s St James’s Palace Stakes betting.  

Barney Roy and Kingman are two recent examples of horses who were able to show improved form at Ascot, enabling them to gain revenge on their 2,000 conquerors.  

Because of the right-hand turn, you need a horse that can travel into contention smoothly and have a handy position off the bend, because even though the home straight is a stiff test, horses struggle to come from uncompromising positions off that home turn.  

Looking to narrow the field ahead of the next running of the St James’s Palace Stakes? Here are some handy trends.

The more even racing surface at Ascot provides a much fairer test than the undulations of the Rowley Mile, so vanquished horses from Newmarket who are still learning should not be underestimated.  

Given the calibre of runners lining up in this race, the winner usually comes from inside the top six of the betting. That’s been the case in each of the last 20 renewals, with none of the winners being bigger than 10/1. Recent winner Poetic Flare returned as the 7/2 favourite.

With the make-up of the race usually seeing horses coming off a run in a Classic, it’s no surprise that 18 of the last 20 winners had either won at Listed level or recently run in a Group 1.

Get the latest ante-post odds

St James’s Palace Stakes history and memorable winners  

The St James’s Palace Stakes dates back to 1900 and has been won by some of the best colts ever to grace the Flat racing scene. However, it’s a race that even the greatest of them all only just managed to win.  

The legendary Brigadier Gerard only got up in the final strides to defeat the front-running Sparkler in 1971, while the mighty Frankel scraped home by just three-quarters of a length in 2012, his shortest winning margin in Group 1 events. Both were sent off long odds-on chances. 

Some of the great 2,00 Guineas winners have gone on to strut their stuff in this prestigious event, notably the likes of Rock Of Gibraltar (2002) and Dawn Approach (2013), but it’s also been won by great horses that got beat at Newmarket and still went on to have stellar careers. Giant’s Causeway (2000) and Azamour (2004) both fit this bill. 

With that in mind, do not ignore the placed horses from Newmarket when weighing up St James’s Palace Stakes betting lists.  

St James’s Palace Stakes 2021

There have been many top-class winners of the St James’s Palace Stakes down the years, and several have gone on to be key stallions. Since 2000, Giant’s Causeway, Sharmardal, Mastercraftsman and Canford Cliffs have all landed this Group 1.

In 2011, the irrepressible Frankel landed the 2,000 Guineas by six lengths before coming to Royal Ascot and recording another victory. While in 2014, Kingman won the Irish 2,000 Guineas before taking this race.

Palace Pier took an unconventional route of winning a Newcastle handicap before Royal Ascot success in 2020 – he’s gone on to become the top-rated horse in the world.

And this year’s renewal saw Newmarket hero Poetic Flare storm to victory. It was his fourth Group 1 run in 46 days, yet it didn’t stop him from showing a blistering turn of foot to win by over four lengths.

To keep up with all the latest news and tips ahead of the St James’s Palace Stakes and Royal Ascot, visit news.williamhill.com.