Royal Ascot 2025: Copper Horse Stakes Stats Guide

Last year’s race
Winner: Belloccio
Jockey: William Buick
Trainer: W P Mullins
Owner: Thurloe Thoroughbreds Ireland Limited
Age: 6
Weight: 9st 7lbs
Starting Price: 4/1
Season Form Figures: Seasonal debut (Flat)
Previous Best: 1st - Unibet Wild Flower Stakes (Listed), Kempton (November 2022)

By Paul Jones

Run for the first time in 2020, this handicap for older horses over an extended 1m6f still needs time for trends to bed in, though it could be an insightful guide to Ebor again.

That certainly proved to be the case in the inaugural year when the successful favourite Fujaira Prince also justified favouritism at York on his next start, while in 2023 Absurde went one place better in the Ebor than when second to stablemate Vauban here. So, clearly, we must respect any Willie Mullins-trained entries, especially as the Irish maestro won it again last season with Belloccio.

The favourite or second-favourite has won three of the five runnings, but it was a couple of 33/1 outsiders that fought out the second running before Get Shirty beat the Chester Cup winner and strong favourite Cleveland in the third edition, with that winner then subsequently hitting the frame in the Ebor.

In the first running the 1-2-3 all came from the bottom half of the handicap (as did three of the first four in 2021) but higher-weighted horses dominated in 2023 with four of the first five emanating from the top eight in the handicap and it was a mixed bag that won and filled the places last year, so no real early steer there.

High numbers certainly fared best last year, with the first eight horses home all drawn in stalls 12+. If you think that’s just a coincidence, maybe think again, as in 2022 the 1-2-3-4 emerged out of stalls 16-9-19-14, whereas the horses that filled the last three positions were drawn 1-4-3. There is a very short run indeed to the first bend, so this came as a surprise and in contrast to previous Queen’s Vases over the same trip.

With just five runnings to work off so far, there are no individual race trends to speak of. The only other point of interest from the first running is that although the winner was aged six, four-year-olds filled the next five places from their six runners. In 2022, four-year-olds again collectively fared well, finishing first, third and fourth.

At a glance summary

Positives
The front two in the market
Trained by Willie Mullins
Drawn in a double-figure stall
Four-year-olds

Negatives
None