The Chesham Stakes
The Chesham Stakes is a Class 1 listed race run during the annual Royal Ascot meeting.
The Chesham Stakes was first run in 1921, and is named after the 3rd Baron Chesham, the last member of the court to occupy the position of Master of Buckhounds. The original distance run in the race was six furlongs, but this was lengthened to seven furlongs in 1996.
The Chesham Stakes is open only to two-year-old thoroughbred racehorses whose sires won over a distance of 10 furlongs or more in their own racing careers.
Chesham Stakes Winners
One of the most talented sprinters to have won the Chesham Stakes was the 2006 Chesham Stakes winner Champlain, who set the fastest time in the history of the race over a seven furlong distance, clocking one minute and 27 seconds. Cape Verdi, the race runner-up in 1997, is notable for having gone on to win the 1,000 Guineas the following season.
Italian celebrity jockey Frankie Dettori has ridden the most Chesham Stakes winners, with three race wins to his credit. No other jockey has claimed more than one race win since Dettori won his first Chesham Stakes in 1997. In recent years the race has gone to a handful of lesser-known jockeys, including Ted Durcan and Royston French.
Mark Johnston and Paul Cole are the two top ranked Chesham Stakes winning trainers. Both trainers have seen three of their horses emerge as Chesham Stakes winners, with Johnston landing 1st and 3rd place in the 2002 Chesham Stakes.
Chesham Stakes Betting
Mark Johnston is clearly the trainer to watch when doing your Chesham Stakes betting, with his horses showing in four of the Chesham Stakes races since the turn of the millennium. Given the record Frankie Dettori has in the race, a Dettori/Johnston partnership might also be worth looking out for.
With small fields contesting the Chesham Stakes, short odds runners have an excellent record of showing, making this a good race to place bigger bets at shorter odds.
