York Racecourse opens its doors on a Wednesday in mid-May to get their three day Dante Festival underway, one of the top meetings of the flat racing season. Helping to get the festival off to a strong start is the highly anticipated Duke of York Stakes.
York first held a race by this name in 1895 but that event bears little resemblance to the one we see today with the Duke of York Stakes now a race for sprinters.
Next Race: TBD
The next renewal of this race has not been scheduled yet. We will update this once the schedule has been released for next season. The race info, trends and tips shown below will be updated for the next renewal once the final declarations have been made.
Last Run: 15th May 2019
- Winner: Invincible Army
- SP: 7/2
- Trainer: James Tate
- Jockey: PJ McDonald
Race Info
The Knavesmire turf can be extremely testing at times but there seems to be no chance of this being the case on Wednesday. Although the six furlong test takes place on a straight track, there does appear to be some draw bias as 16 of the last 17 winners started from stall 9 or lower.
| Going | Distance | Group | Prize Money | Runners | EW Terms |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Good | 6f | Group 2 | £125,000 | 10 | 1/5 1-3 |
Duke Of York Stakes Betting Tips
Note: The following tips are from 2020. Tips for the next renewal will be added once the final declarations have been made.
Race cancelled.
Duke Of York Stakes Winners
| Year | Winner | SP | Trainer | Jockey |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Abandoned | - | - | - |
| 2019 | Invincible Army | 7/2 | James Tate | PJ McDonald |
| 2018 | Harry Angel | 4/9 | Clive Cox | Adam Kirby |
| 2017 | Tasleet | 14/1 | William Haggas | Jim Crowley |
| 2016 | Magical Memory | 5/2 | Charlie Hill | Frankie Dettori |
| 2015 | Glass Office | 40/1 | David Simcock | Jim Crowley |
| 2014 | Maarek | 12/1 | Evanna McCutecheon | Declan McDonogh |
| 2013 | Society Rock | 10/1 | James Fanshawe | Kieren Fallon |
| 2012 | Tiddliwinks | 25/1 | Kevin Ryan | Jamie Spencer |
| 2011 | Delegator | 5/1 | Saeed bin Suroor | Frankie Dettori |
About the Duke of York Stakes
The Duke of York Stakes is a six furlong flat race which is run on the first day of the three day Dante Festival meeting in York, a day before the Dante Stakes. The sprint race is open to horses aged three years and older. An early version of the race was originally run as early as 1895 and was named after the then quite young, Prince George, Duke of York, who would go on to be King George V. This early contest was a middle distance affair for three year olds.
Many years later in 1950 a six furlong handicap sprint was established and was called the Duke of York Handicap Stakes and was held each year into the 1960’s. It wasn’t until 1968 that the race as it is currently known was first conceived and was won by Hard Water. In 1971 the race was brought up to Group 3 status, and again raised to Group 2 in 2003.
Untouchable Record
When having a look at the list of winners for this event it becomes apparent that the stand out trainer in terms of success is Barry Hills with an astonishing seven wins to his name, spanning almost four decades. Hills achieved success for the first time in this contest in 1974 with Noble Mark, and his last winner came in 2010 when Prime Defender took the honours that year.
There are three jockeys who are each on four wins: Lester Piggott, Steve Cauthen and none other than Michael Hills, the son of trainer Barry Hills. There has only ever been one horse who has been successful in the Duke of York Stakes more than once. That horse was Handsome Sailor who managed to claim first place both in 1987 and 1988.
Duke of York Stakes Top Jockeys: 1968 – 2019
| Jockey | Total Wins | Years | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steve Cauthen | 4 | 1980 | 1982 | 1989 | 1990 |
| Lester Piggott | 4 | 1971 | 1975 | 1979 | 1983 |
| Michael Hills | 4 | 1988 | 1994 | 1997 | 2006 |
| Frankie Dettori | 3 | 2000 | 2011 | 2016 | |
| Willie Carson | 3 | 1974 | 1977 | 1993 | |
| Jim Crowley | 2 | 2015 | 2017 | ||
| Kieren Fallon | 2 | 1998 | 2013 | ||
| Jamie Spencer | 2 | 2005 | 2012 | ||
| Kevin Darley | 2 | 1986 | 2001 | ||
In recent years there has been a mixed bag of jockeys who have gained first place in the contest. Frankie Dettori is the only one that comes close to the record having achieved success three times, the most recent having come in 2016. The champion jockey still has regular high profile winners so will always be in the mix. Regarding trainers, over the last 10 years no trainer has won the event more than once, so following recent form is always the best way to gauge a trainer’s prospects in the Duke of York Stakes.
Recent Trends
When looking at the winners from 2000 to 2019 we can see a trend regarding the ages of the horses. As you can see from the chart below, 75% of the horses who have been successful in the race have been aged either four or five years old. In fact there has not been a three year old winner since 1999. As such it could be a good idea to keep this information to mind when making your selections.
