Royal Ascot 2022: Platinum Jubilee Stakes Stats Guide

Last year’s race

Winner: Dream Of Dreams

Jockey: R L Moore

Trainer: Sir Michael Stoute

Owner: Mr Saeed Suhail

Age: 7 Weight: 9st 3lbs

Starting Price: 3/1

Season Form Figures: 1

Previous Best: 1st - Sprint Cup Stakes (Group 1), Haydock (September 2020)

By Paul Jones

As with the runnings of the Golden and Diamond Jubilees, the old Cork & Orrery has been renamed to recognise the latest jubilee landmark of The Queen’s 70-year reign.

Previous Royal Ascot form has been a useful pointer as 13 of the last 26 winners had been placed at worst at this meeting before. In fact, Dream Of Dreams had finished a close second in this race for the previous two years before making it third time lucky in 2021. Whether it is the Berkshire course that brings the best out of such contenders or the fact that their connections have readied them for this particular week is a difficult one to weigh up but I would argue that there is something in both arguments

Continuing that theme, three years ago Blue Point emulated Choisir in completing the King’s Stand-Diamond Jubilee double on the opening and closing days of the meeting. Five of the last 19 Platinum Jubilee Stakes winners ran in the King’s Stand Stakes as have two of the last 11 runners-up. So look out for any of those.

Outside of previous Royal Ascot form, the Duke Of York Stakes has been the best guide as since 1992, ten Diamond Jubilee Stakes winners ran in that Group 2 event on the Knavesmire over the same trip with six finishing first or second before striking here. Highfield Princess beat Spycatcher into second last month in what seemed like a below-average running.

Group and Listed race winners with a victory earlier in the season have won 16 of the last 27 runnings but the only winning seasonal debutant in the last 40 years was Hello Youmzain, and that was due to Covid.

International raiders have a good record with Choisir and Black Caviar winning for Australia, Cape Of Good Hope for Hong Kong and Undrafted for America. Both of Aidan O’Brien’s winners, Starspangledbanner and Merchant Navy, were formerly trained in Australia. In addition, the Aussie pair of Takeover Target and Star Witness also finished third here after winning and finishing second respectively in the King’s Stand and three other American-trained horses have hit the frame since 2009 in addition to Wesley Ward’s Undrafted causing a mini-surprise. The Aussies could be represented this year by Home Affairs and Nature Strip and Ward looks set to run Campanelle after her wins in the Queen Mary and Commonwealth Cup at this meeting in the previous two seasons.

There can a huge difference between five and six furlongs at top level for many horses, as both trips have their specialists and the majority of horses more at home over the minimum trip tend to get caught out over an extra 220 yards at Group 1 standard. It is interesting that Sir Henry Cecil believed that 6f at Ascot races more like 6.5f so maybe there is something in the fact that only Kingsgate Native had not previously won over 6f prior to his victory since 1990. Four of the last six winners had never ran over 5f. In fact, only two of the last 20 winners had not run over at least 7f at some point.

As many as six favourites won between 1989-1997 but we had to wait until Starspangledbanner put an end to the 13-year losing run of the market leader when winning as 13/2 joint-favourite in 2010 and five more favourites have also justified their position as market leader since so it has been a profitable last decade for favourite backers. However, it has also been a race in which to chance some fancy-priced horses lately as nine of the last 22 winners started at a double-figure price.

At a glance summary:

POSITIVES

Won or placed at Royal Ascot before

Won a Group or Listed race earlier in the season

Non-European trained contenders

Contested a 7f race at some point during their career

Never raced over 5f

NEGATIVES

Not won over 6f