Royal Ascot 2021 Stats Guides: Wokingham Stakes

The quality of horse require to run in the Wokingham keeps is higher now than ever before so previous weight and official rating stats are rendered pretty much irrelevant as we are no longer dealing with like for like. Five winning favourites this century is a good return for such a competitive sprint handicap.

On the age front, the best advice is to stick to four and five-year-olds that have won 18 of the last 21 runnings between them. It was a 1-2 for five-year-olds last season following on from a 1-2-3-4-5 for four-year-olds in 2018. A three-year-old has not won since Bel Byou triumphed in 1987 though, in fairness, they only average a couple of runners per renewal, if that now.

Looking at the older horses, although many sprinters improve as they get older, it came as a shock to see Out Do win at 25/1 in 2017 at the age of eight given that only the seven-year-old, Selhurstparkflyer (1997), who had also won the previous year’s Wokingham, had struck for horses aged over six since the race's inception in 1896.

In-form horses have very much held sway with 19 of the last 23 winners finishing in the first four last time and one of those that didn’t was Laddies Poker Two who was a fourth winning favourite in 11 years in 2010 who was arriving here off a 610-day absence. It has also proven wise to look to lightly-raced sprint handicappers as far as the current season is concerned with 13 of the last 18 winners running no more than twice earlier in the campaign. Obviously there will be more of those taking part this year.

No strong race guides but it is worth noting the 6f handicap at Newmarket on 2000 Guineas Day featuring three of the last 19 winners. Not that it is relevant this season but the 6f handicap at Epsom’s Derby Meeting had featured three of the last 21 winners and two of the last seven winners had finished second in a sprint handicap at the Dante Meeting at York on their previous start.

Roger Charlton’s record catches the eye having supplied a winner, second and five other top-six finishes in recent seasons. Paul Cole has the best record of current-day trainers in terms of winners saddling the victor in 1977, 1980 and 1987 but he has been struggling for quality horses since his glory days.

In the last 32 years only eight winners were drawn in the middle segment in stalls 10-19 but we are set for a field reduction this year of 24 runners.

Positives: Four and five-year-olds, ran no more than twice earlier in the season, ran in the 6f sprint handicap at Newmarket on 2000 Guineas Day or, Epsom on Derby Day, ran in a handicap at the Dante Meeting, the favourite, trained by Roger Charlton or Paul Cole.

Negatives: Aged older than six, unplaced last time out.