Royal Ascot 2022: St James Palace Stakes Stats Guide

Last year’s race

Winner: Poetic Flare
Jockey: K J Manning
Trainer: J S Bolger
Owner: Mrs J S Bolger
Age: 3 Weight: 9st 0lbs
Starting Price: 7/2
Season Form Figures: 1162
Previous Best: 1st – Qipco 2000 Guineas (Group 1), Newmarket (May 2021)

By Paul Jones

Aidan O’Brien won all three major 2000 Guineas’ in 2002 but Charlie Appleby and Godolphin went one better this season by managing the same feat but with three different colts.

Of those three Classic winners he looks set to rely on the Newmarket winner, Coroebus, in the St James’s Palace Stakes with Native Trail (previously runner-up to him at Newmarket) maybe set for a step up in trip after he won in somewhat workmanlike style at long odds-on at the Curragh and Modern Games will attempt to add the French Derby to his success at ParisLongchamp.

Barney Roy placed in the 2000 Guineas before giving Godolphin a third SJP victory five years ago following Shamardal and Dawn Approach but they have had also been represented by five losing Classic winners.

Thirteen of the last 23 winners entered the race as a Classic winner.newmarket and Irish 2000 Guineas hold a significant edge over the French equivalent with the Newmarket and Curragh Classics having highlighted 19 and 16 of the last 27 winners respectively. In fact, an eye-catching 15 of the last 27 St James’s Palace Stakes winners contested both Classics. Last season’s authoritative SJP winner, Poetic Flare, even contested all three Guineas underlining his toughness.

It usually pays to stick to the leading fancies for the St James’s Palace Stakes. Only the Aidan O’Brien-trained Circus Maximus (10/1), who had previously failed to stay in the Derby when finishing sixth, has won at double-figure odds since 1992 when Brief Truce floored Arazi and Rodrigo De Triano (both unplaced).

O’Brien has unquestionably been the trainer to follow winning eight of the last 22 runnings and six of his winners contested the Irish 2000 Guineas. Three of his four dual Guineas winners went on to add this prize but his finest hour in this race was when saddling the 1-2-3 in 2007 and he has also had 12 horses placed in addition to his winners going back to 2002.

John Gosden has won two of the last four runnings however with horses that bypassed all the Guineas (Without Parole and Palace Pier) and he was only a neck away from making that three years as King Of Comedy was only just denied in between those successes.

Winning form last time out is far from essential as 11 of the last 26 winners were beaten on their most recent start, three in the Derby. p>As for two-year-old form, Henrythenavigator, Canford Cliffs and Dawn Approach all won the Coventry Stakes on the same day 12 months earlier in the last 12 years which was won last season by Berkshire Shadow who finished a very respectable 5l fifth in what looked an above-average 2000 Guineas this season.

At a glance summary

POSITIVES
Ran in both the Newmarket and Irish 2000 Guineas
A Group 1 winner (especially if won a European Guineas)Start at single-figure odds
Trained by Aidan O’Brien (especially if contested the Irish 2000 Guineas)
Won last season’s Coventry Stakes and/or Dewhurst Stakes

NEGATIVES
Yet to contest a Group 1 race unless trained by John & Thady Gosden
Failed to finish in the first four in any form of 2000 Guineas unless trained by John & Thady Gosden