Hardwicke Stakes Betting Guide

Hardwicke Stakes (Group 2) (1m4f)

The Hardwicke Stakes is a Group 2 race for four year olds and upwards and attracts the best horses from around Europe. The trip is the same as the Derby being a mile and a half and many go on to run in the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes here in July and the 2010 winner Harbinger completed the double for Sir Michael Stoute.

The race has a very long history and has changed very little over the years, many horses have won the race more than once and the last to do that was Maraahel in 2006 and 2007.

It takes a lot of getting this trip and you should be looking for a horse that has won at the distance, only two horses has managed to step up from 1m 2f and win here, one of them being 2011 winner, Await The Dawn. Class is also a key ingredient, 14 of the last 17 winners had won a Group 2 or 3 race previously but surprisingly runners carrying a Group 1 penalty have struggled.

Fancied horses have a good record but in saying that the fields are usually relatively small. Four of the last five favourites have obliged and the last double figure priced winner was Bandari at 10/1 back in 2005.

Trainers to follow are Aiden O'Brien who saddled the 2011 winner Await The Dawn, Mark Johnston and Sir Michael Stoute who trained the most recent winner of the Hardwicke, Sea Moon.

Hardwicke Stakes Previous Winners Since 2001

2012 Sea Moon 3/1 Stoute, Sir Michael

2011 Await The Dawn (USA) 4/6 O'Brien, A P

2010 Harbinger 8/11 Stoute, Sir Michael

2009 Bronze Cannon (USA) 8/1 Gosden, J H M

2008 Macarthur 11/8 OBrien, A P

2007 Maraahel (IRE) 100/30 Stoute, Sir Michael

2006 Maraahel (IRE) 9/2 Stoute, Sir Michael

2005 Bandari (IRE) 10/1 Johnston, M

2004 Doyen (IRE) 6/5 Suroor, Saeed Bin

2003 Indian Creek 14/1 Elsworth, D R C

2002 Zindabad (FR) 4/1 Johnston, M