Royal Ascot 2021 Stats Guides: King's Stand Stakes

After only finding Blue Point too good in the 2018 and 2019 runnings, with his old rival packed off to stud, Battaash made it third time lucky in the King’s Stand when running out an easy winner last season.

It also took him three attempts to win the Nunthorpe and then he followed up at York the next season so can he do likewise with the other 5f Group 1 race to be run in Britain? If so it will be on his seasonal debut but we saw last season that was no barrier to success outclassing his rivals even if this stiff 5f isn’t as ideal for him as more speed-favouring 5fs like Goodwood, York and Chantilly.

The Temple Stakes has been the best guide with six winners since 1990 one ahead of the Prix du Gros-Chene with five winners in the last 25 years and was won by last season’s King’s Stand and Prix de l’Abbaye third, Liberty Beach on her seasonal return.

She is one of three fillies/mares amongst Battaash’s biggest rivals alongside Glass Slippers who was second in the Abbaye (won it in 2019) either side of winning Group 1s in Ireland and America, and Winter Power who is trying to emulate Lady Aurelia who won the King’s Stand as a three-year-old filly. Fillies/mares have a decent strike rate winning six of the last 27 runnings given how outnumbered they are.

British-trained horses have won four of the last six runnings having previously been up against it since the sprinting scene became more global. There were international successes in 2013, 2014 (both Sole Power) and 2017 (Lady Aurelia) after we had four Australian-trained winners since 2003, a success for France in 2005 (and twice more in the previous eight years), Hong Kong in 2012 and even a Spanish-trained winner in 2008.

Age is not a critical factor with recent winners aged from three right through to seven in the last six years (Battaash is a gelding so keeps on going and is now aged seven) but, over a longer period of time, three-year-olds have a decent strike rate winning, on average, twice a decade which may not sound exciting but they are always heavily outnumbered so do afford them respect. However, the Commonwealth Cup restricted to the Classic generation is likely to take some contenders away from the King’s Stand.

As you would expect for a competitive Group 1 sprint, pattern-race winners have come to the fore with 23 of the last 32 winners having already won at Group 1 or Group 2 level so no massive angle there. All but two of the last 21 winners had also won a Group race over the minimum trip of five furlongs (also to be expected) and all bar two of those last 20 winners had enjoyed the benefit of a run earlier in the season (still nothing to get particularly excited about). Twelve of the last 21 winners were also successful on their most recent outing, in fact, 13 of the last 16 winners finished first or second last time out.

Positives: Last-time-out winner, the Temple Stakes form (notably the winner), a top-four finisher in the Prix du Gros-Chene, three-year-olds, fillies and Mares.

Negatives: Outside the first two last time out, failed to win a Group 1 or Group 2 race, failed to win a Group race over 5f.