Stats Guide: King's Stand Stakes

Last year's race

Winner: Nature Strip

Jockey: James McDonald

Trainer: Chris Waller

Owner: R Lyons, P Harrison, P Kean et al.

Age: 8

Weight: 9st 7lbs

Starting Price: 9/4

Season Form Figures: 231

Previous Best: 1st - T J Smith Stakes (Group 1), Randwick (April 2022)

By Paul Jones

We look set to have a serious international flavour to this season’s King’s Stand, with Coolangatta and Cannonball (Australia) plus Big Invasion and Caravel (America) to the fore in the market, following Nature Strip’s standout performance of the whole meeting last year when blitzing his rivals to give the Aussies their fifth King’s Stand win since 2003.

The Australian challenge had gone quiet in terms of quantity and real quality, with no winners since Scenic Blast in 2009, but their thirst for Royal Ascot success appears to be back in a big way as Nature Strip was their best sprinter sent to these shores since Black Caviar.

Four of their five King’s Stand winners won the Lightning Stakes at Flemington in February, and Nature Strip was only beaten a short-head in attempting to win back-to-back runnings of that Grade 1 contest last season before winning his prep race and then scorching to a 4½ length success here from Twilight Calls, who is unlikely to run into anything of that winner’s quality again this year. The three-year-old Coolangatta was this season’s Lightning winner, recording her fifth win in eight career starts.

The five Australian winners were aged between four and seven, but Coolnagatta and fellow compatriot Cannonball are bidding to become the fourth successful three-year-old winners this century. Age is not a critical factor, however, with recent winners aged from three right through to seven in the last eight years, but, over a longer period of time, three-year-olds have a decent strike rate, winning twice a decade on average, which may not sound all that exciting, but they are always heavily outnumbered in this, so do afford them respect. However, the Commonwealth Cup, restricted to the Classic generation, is likely to take some contenders away from the King’s Stand.

Lady Aurelia gave the Americans success in the King’s Stand six years ago for Wesley Ward, who has Twilight Gleaming and Love Reigns entered. However, Big Invasion and Caravel, who caused a 43/1 surprise when making all to win The Breeders’ Cup Turf (beating Emaraaty Ana into second) and is now on a five-timer after two subsequent wins, are preferred in the ante-post market.

British-trained horses have won five of the last eight runnings, having previously been up against it since the sprinting scene became more global. There were international successes in 2013, 2014 (both Sole Power) and 2017 (Lady Aurelia) after having four Australian-trained winners since 2003, a success for France in 2005 (and twice more in the previous eight years), one for Hong Kong in 2012, and even a Spanish-trained winner in 2008. The Spanish could be represented again this year by last season’s close-up Prix de l’Abbaye third Coeur De Pierre.

Unfortunately, 2021 winner Oxted is injured and misses the race for the second year running, so last season’s three-time Group 1 winning mare Highfield Princess leads the British defence ahead of fellow female Dramatised. Fillies/mares have a decent strike rate given how outnumbered they usually are, winning six of the last 29 runnings.

Dramatised returned to action in the Temple Stakes, which has been the best guide with six winners since 1990 - one ahead of the Prix du Gros-Chene with five winners in the last 27 years - but did last season’s Queen Mary winner get on the ‘golden highway’ in what was a draw-affected race?

Thirteen of the last 23 winners were also successful on their most recent outing. In fact, 14 of the last 18 winners finished first or second last time out. Abbaye winner The Platinum Queen finished last of 13 on her return in the Temple Stakes.

As you would expect for a competitive Group 1 sprint, Pattern-race winners have come to the fore, with 25 of the last 34 winners having already won at Group 1 or Group 2 level, so no massive angle there. All but three of the last 23 winners had also won a Group race over the minimum trip of 5f (also to be expected), and all bar two of the last 21 winners had enjoyed the benefit of a run earlier in the season (still nothing to get particularly excited about).

At a glance summary

Positives:
Last-time-out winner
Trained in Australia
Contested the Temple Stakes
Top-four finish in the Prix du Gros-Chene
Fillies/mares

Negatives:
Outside the first two last time out
Failed to win a Group 1 or Group 2
Failed to win a Group race over 5f