Last year’s race Winner: Broome Jockey: Ryan L Moore Trainer: Aidan P O'Brien Owner: M Matsushima/Mrs. Magnier/Mrs. Tabor/Mrs. Smith Age: 6  Weight: 9st 3lbs Starting Price: 6/1 Season Form Figures: 5 Previous Best: 4th – Derby (Group 1), Epsom (June 2019) By Paul Jones When successful aged five in 2019, Defoe ended the long sequence of winning four-year-olds that has stretched out to 11 runnings. Last year Broome joined Jupiter Island in becoming the only winner over the age of five since 1905.   Fanny Logan and Wonderful Tonight have taken the previous two runnings for fillies. Before then we had to go back to Stanerra in 1983 to locate the previous successful filly/mare who was winning here just three days after also taking the Prince of Wales’s Stakes.   Sir Michael Stoute leads the way with 11 Hardwicke successes and eight of those successes have been achieved going back to just 2006. Aidan O’Brien and the Johnston stable weigh in with four wins apiece, however, O’Brien’s victories have been achieved in the last 14 years whereas Mark Johnston’s quartet of successes were some time ago now between 1999-2005.   The Group 1 penalty for the Hardwicke Stakes was dispensed with ten years ago and Defoe, Wonderful Tonight and Broome’s connections took advantage of that recently. Defoe won the Coronation Cup on his previous start, Wonderful Tonight was winning on her seasonal debut after two soft-ground Group 1 wins in the autumn so the rain fell in time for her and Broome won the previous season’s Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud. Prior to that pair only Assatis in 1990 was a former Group 1 winner in over a quarter of a century.  The last winner to be breaking their duck at Group level here was Sandmason in 2001. As for Group 2 or Group 3 winners yet to win at the highest level, they have been responsible for 23 of the last 28 winners and 12 of the last 21 winners had won a Group race earlier in the season.   The Coronation Cup has been the best guide signposting nine of the last 24 winners, eight of which finished between third and sixth. Emily Upjohn beat Westover into second in a high-quality five-runner contest this season with Point Lonsdale, Tunnes and Hurricane Lane well beaten off.   Two John Porter winners (won by Grand Alliance this season) have added the Hardwicke in the last 16 years and Huxley Stakes at Chester (won by Point Lonsadle) has also been a good guide as four of the last seven winners of that Group 3 race to run in the Hardwicke Stakes have notched up three wins and a second.   Trip-wise, only Indian Creek, Await The Dawn and Fanny Logan in the last 26 years were recording their first success over at least 1m4f so don’t look to contenders primarily known as being 1m2f horses as this 1m4f takes some getting. All but four of the last 22 winners had placed at worst in a Group race earlier in the season, the omissions being Sea Moon who won a Listed race, Idaho who ran as if he badly needed his seasonal return in the Coronation Cup, the seasonal debutante, Wonderful Tonight, and Broome who was unplaced in the Tattersalls Gold Cup.   Five of the last 11 favourites have won so it’s been a good race for the market leader. At a glance summary