Wolferton Stakes Listed | Class 1 | 4YO plus Winner £68,052 - 29 entered to run  Last year’s race Winner: Royal Champion Jockey: Jack Mitchell Trainer: Roger Varian Owner: Sheikh Mohammed Obaid Al Maktoum Age: 5 Weight: 9st 8lbs Starting Price: 16/1 Season Form Figures: 5 Previous Best: 1st - Doonside Cup Stakes (Listed), Ayr (September 2022) By Paul Jones This will be the seventh year of the Wolferton being a Listed race (rather than a Listed handicap) over 1m2f on the round course, so new trends still need time to bed in. Four of the six winners since the Wolferton became a Listed event were sent off at 14/1 or bigger, including last year's 16/1 scorer Royal Champion, with the favourite placing either second or third in the last five runnings. It usually features a double-figure field and runners meet a bend after a furlong, so the draw can be important. What is a low draw, since the switch of stall numbers 12 seasons ago, has been a little bit of an advantage, with 13 of the last 19 winners drawn in what are now single-figure stalls. Horses drawn in stalls 11 and 12 have overcome that in the last two years, though those drawn in the lowest five stalls finished second, third, fourth and fifth in 2022, while last year saw the three lowest-drawn horses all finish in the first five. Addeybb also managed to overcome his wide draw five years ago, but he did go on to win two Group 1s in Australia as well as the Champion Stakes. A high draw is also easier to overcome on soft ground, which was the case in his year. Four-year-olds have filled 22 of the 34 place positions in the last 11 years, as well as contributing to 16 wins in the last 23 renewals. However, since the race lost its handicap status, four of the last five winners have been aged five or six. There have been 21 runnings since the race became part of the Royal Ascot programme and punters have sent a Sir Michael Stoute-trained contender off as the beaten-favourite on as many as eight occasions, with Saeed bin Suroor another three. Stoute did win with the well-fancied Perfect Stride 14 years ago and the unfancied Imperial Stride six years earlier, however, while Bin Suroor was responsible for surprise 20/1 winner Dubai Future in 2022. On a more positive note, John Gosden won three Wolferton’s when it was run as a handicap and then also on the first occasion when it became a non-handicap with Monarchs Glen. At a glance summary Positives A single-figure draw  Trained by John & Thady Gosden  Don’t be afraid of outsiders  Aged 5+  Negatives Unplaced last time out A Sir Michael Stoute or Saeed bin Suroor-trained favourite