Royal Ascot 2024: Duke Of Cambridge Stakes Stats Guide

Duke Of Cambridge Stakes
Fillies' & Mares' Group 2 | Rnd | Class 1 | 4YO plus
Winner £127,598 - 19 entered to run

Last year’s race
Winner: Rogue Millennium
Jockey: Danny Tudhope
Trainer: Tom Clover
Owner: The Rogues Gallery
Age: 4
Weight: 9st 2lbs
Starting Price: 10/1
Season Form Figures: 232
Previous Best: 2nd - Al Basti Equiworld Dubai Middleton Fillies' Stakes (Group 2), York (May 2023)

By Paul Jones

This Group 2 for older fillies and mares over the straight mile will be the 21st running since it was upgraded from a Listed contest at the September meeting, with a number of strong patterns emerging since its upgrade.

Peeress (14/1) and Amazing Maria (25/1) were hard to find, but the favourite or second-favourite has won on 11 occasions. One of those was the 2022 winner Saffron Beach, when she overcame one significant negative trend. In victory, she became the first winner to defy a Group 1-winning penalty (5lb) from 14 to try, and in some style too in scoring by 3½ lengths. Usherette defied a 3lb penalty eight years ago when an extra 2lb would have made no difference to the result.

All bar five of the 20 winners since the race became part of Royal Ascot had won a Group 2 or Group 3 earlier in their career, with another four having won at Listed level including last year’s winner Rogue Millennium, who is being lined up to try and defend her title as a five-year-old. She returned to action last month to finish third in a Group 2 at the Curragh. Move Swiftly wouldn't have been on the radar of many trends-backers in 2019, being the first winner of the Duke of Cambridge not to have won at any of those levels previously.

Of the 20 winners when this race was run at Ascot (one running at York), six had previously recorded a victory at the course and another three had finished placed at the previous year’s Royal Meeting, so quality course form is certainly a bonus.

The leading connections have been Sir Michael Stoute and Cheveley Park Stud, who have combined to win the race twice, as well as on two other separate occasions.

The Princess Elizabeth Stakes (Group 2) at Epsom often throws up a leading contender and this season’s winner Breege looks set to head back to Royal Ascot after finishing second in last season’s Sandringham Handicap. Last year’s Epsom winner (Prosperous Voyage) went on to finish a close-up third in the Duke of Cambridge.

The Dahlia Stakes (Group 2) at the Guineas meeting has been a more notable guide, with the last nine winners to take their chance here producing two winners, two seconds and a third - plus Integral finished second at Newmarket nine years ago before adding this more sought-after prize. This season’s Dahlia saw Stay Alert beat Running Lion by 3½ lengths.

The Gosden stable are chasing a third win in five years after victories for Nazeef and Indie Angel, joining Sir Michael Stoute (also had four seconds) on four victories. Godolphin have supplied four beaten favourites, but the Andre Fabre-trained Usherette put that right for them as the market leader eight years ago. The French are not to be underestimated having supplied three winners, two seconds and three thirds, so pay any Gallic runners plenty of respect.

Four-year-olds have had much the best of it to lead their older rivals 16-3 but they have certainly held a numerical advantage, making up approximately three quarters of the total runners, so don't read too much into it.

Positives
The favourite or second-favourite
Contested the Dahlia Stakes (the winner especially)
Winning course form
Won or placed at Royal Ascot last year
Trained by Sir Michael Stoute, John & Thady Gosden or in France
Owned by Cheveley Park Stud

Negatives
Running under a Group 1 penalty
Yet to win a Group race