The Hampton Court Stakes

ASCOT, ENGLAND - JUNE 21: Richard Hills and Zaham (R) get the better of the Richard Ryan Moore on Al Shemali to land The Hampton Court Stakes Race run at Ascot Racecourse during the third day of The Royal Meeting held at the Berkshire track on June 21, 2007 in Ascot, England. (Photo by Julian Herbert/Getty Images)

The Hampton Court Stakes is a listed race run as the penultimate race of day three of the Royal Ascot meeting. The 2008 Hampton Court Stakes will be run at 4:55pm on Thursday the 22nd of June on the Ascot flat racing course.

The Hampton Stakes was first registered as the ‘New Stakes', a listed race run on the Saturday following the Royal Ascot meeting. The race was officially absorbed into the Royal Ascot meeting in 2002 as part of the Royal Jubilee celebrations, when it was renamed after the Tudor Royal Residence.

The Hampton Court Stakes is run over one mile and two furlongs and is open to three-year-olds and over. The race is one of the longer events open to three-year-olds at the Royal Ascot meeting and carries a £60,000 purse.

Hampton Court Stakes Winners

Although it is technically possible for a racehorse to win two consecutive Hampton Court Stakes races, this has not yet occurred in the short history of the race. At present the stand-out Hampton Court Stakes winner is Snoqualmie Boy, who created a stir amongst punters after becoming the first long-odds horse to win the race, at 33-1 odds.

Although several top English flat racing jockeys have achieved wins in the Hampton Court Stakes, none has managed to do so twice. The most recent Hampton Court Stakes winning jockey is Richard Hills, son of trainer Barry Hills, whose horse finished third in the 2007 Hampton Court Stakes.

Top Irish trainer Aidan O'Brien has made a point of going after the Hampton Court Stakes since the race was launched in 2002. During this period he has trained two Hampton Court Stakes winners.

Hampton Court Stakes Betting

The Hampton Court Stakes is a popular race amongst punters, as potential winners are relatively easy to identify based on form and stable of origin. Further, short-odds winners consistently finish placed and there has been only one serious upset in the history of the race.

Don't ignore Aidan O'Brien's horses when doing your Hampton Court Stakes betting as the trainer excels in both flat and national hunt racing, giving him an edge in longer distance races.