Royal Ascot 2022: Ribblesdale Stakes Stats Guide

Last year’s race

Winner: Loving Dream

Jockey: R Havlin

Trainer: J & T Gosden

Owner: Lordship Stud

Age: 3 Weight: 9st 0lbs

Starting Price: 18/1

Season Form Figures: 25

Previous Best: 1st - Class 5 Fillies’ Maiden, Wolverhampton (December 2020)

By Paul Jones

Oaks runners have a pretty good record given how few fillies have contested both prizes turning out again relatively quickly, recording seven wins since 1997.

It is not a massively strong trends race but it can still pay to look to a later-developing improver as just six winners in the last 27 years had been contesting Group races as juveniles so the Ribblesdale boasts a very similar pattern in this respect to the colts' equivalent of this race at the Royal Meeting, the King Edward VII Stakes.

With regards to a filly’s last run, five winners in the last 20 years won a maiden last time out. The 2019 winner, Star Catcher, was previously third in a Listed prize but ended the season and the leading 3yo middle-distance filly adding three Group 1s after her success in the Ribblesdale.

She was trained by John Gosden as was last year’s winner, Loving Dream, who was previously only fifth in the Lingfield Oaks Trial but she also went on to Group 1 success later in the campaign so was another for the stable to take a big step forward in winning here. The Gosden yard are chasing a fifth win in six years (also saddled four seconds this century) having also won the Ribblesdale with Coronet and Frankly Darling.

Winning form earlier in the season is usually a good steer as 18 of the last 23 winners had won either of their last two starts during the current campaign and nine of the last 14 winners had won at Group or Listed level.

The Irish have won the Ribblesdale eight times in the last 20 years (three for Aidan O’Brien and two Dermot Weld) including the 1-2 in 2015 so they have fared considerably better than in the colt’s equivalent, the King Edward VII, with two victories in the last 47 years.

Godolphin were quiet in this race with no runners between 2006-2008 but they have won it twice since adding to three previous successes (all trained by Saeed bin Suroor) and four seconds from just 14 runners. Sir Michael Stoute should be faring a whole lot better and has been responsible for six losing favourites from his last 24 runners, the latest being Noon Star last year who could only finish sixth as the 2/1 market leader.

At a glance summary:

POSITIVES

Won a Group or Listed race

Trained by John & Thady Gosden

Trained in Ireland

Last-time-out maiden winner

Godolphin owned

Ran in the Oaks

Did not contest a Group race as a two-year-old

NEGATIVES

Not won either of last two starts

Trained by Sir Michael Stoute