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Prince Of Wales's Stakes
The Prince of Wales's Stakes was established in 1862, as a tribute to the Prince of Wales who would be crowned to become King Edward VII. The original event was run until 1939 and was open to thoroughbred horses aged three only. With the advance of WWII the racing in the United Kingdom was largely suspended and the racing at the Prince of Wales's Stakes home course, Ascot Racecourse, was no exception. When racing finally resumed in 1946 the Prince of Wales's Stakes were not reintroduced, as there was at the time no actual Prince of Wales. However, the event was resurrected in 1968, just one year before the investiture of Prince Charles. The new event was set at the current length of one mile and two furlong and was opened to thoroughbred horses aged three and over.
Today the Prince of Wales's Stakes is one of the numerous Group 1 events held in the course of the Royal Ascot Festival, which takes place every year in June at the fabulous Ascot Racecourse. The purse of this race is set at £450,000 worth of prize money. It has been classified as a Group 1 event since 2000, when the age limit of the contenders was raised again, opening the race to thoroughbreds aged four and over only.
Recent Winners of the Prince Of Wales's Stakes:
| Year | Winner | Jockey | Trainer | Time |
2010 |
Byword |
Maxime Guyon |
André Fabre |
2:05.35 |
2009 |
Vision D'Etat |
Olivier Peslier |
Eric Libaud |
2:06.90 |
2008 |
Duke Of Marmalade |
Jonny Murtagh |
Aidan O'Brien |
2:05.35 |
2007 |
Manduro |
Stephane Pasquier |
Andre Fabre |
2:05.91 |
2006 |
Ouija Board |
Olivier Peslier |
Ed Dunlop |
2:06.92 |
2005 |
Azamour |
Michael Kinane |
John Oxx |
2:08.15 |
Prince Of Wales's Odds and News
17 Jun 2010: Guyon’s British Debut – Byword Rules The Prince Of Wales’s Stakes
Byword’s win at the Prince Of Wales’s Stakes was a joy for 21-times champion trainer Andre Fabre; for young jockey Maxime Guyon is was one of the sweetest victories of his short career. The 21-year-old had never before ridden on British soil and was entrusted with one of the race favourites by Fabre and Byword owner Prince Khalid Abdullah. With all this pressure nerves could have easily thrown Guyon’s racing form off kilter, but the young man stayed calm and rode an incredible race on an incredible four-year-old.
Guyon got serious early on in the race and positioned his mount behind leader Tazeez. The United States-bred runner from the stables of John Gosden started the race with great confidence, setting a stiff pace for the field of twelve. However, there was no shaking Byword of his heels as the Prince Of Wales’s Stakes progressed.
At about two furlongs out Guyon started his campaign to truly take over the race. Charging Byword at Tazeez in the front of the field triggered an assault from the back of the gang. Twice Over, one of the favoured runners, struggled to find an opening to make his way to the front. Although ridden with great skill by jockey Tom Queally, Henry Cecil’s star pupil did not find his momentum soon enough to make it to the top. Nonetheless, Twice Over managed to race to a valiant second place, half a lengths behind Byword and ¾ of a length before Tazeez, who proved incapable of maintaining his own set pace.
While all connections of Byword are pleased with the favourite’s winning performance, no one is more thrilled at the win that Maxime Guyon. The jockey expressed great gratitude to trainer Fabre for allowing him to ride at the Royal Ascot Festival so early on in his career and cited his ride in the Prince Of Wales’s Stakes as the most exciting achievement of his jockeying life so far. Considering his young age and seemingly god-given talent, Maxime Guyon is a name you might want to remember.
View full results of the Prince Of Wales’s Stakes.
16 Jun 2010: Royal Ascot Festival Day 2 – Thrills Continue
16 Jun 2010: Waltzing At Ascot – Prince Of Wales’s Stakes Preview
10 Jun 2010: Follow the Odds as the Royal Ascot Festival Approaches
