King Charles III Stakes (Great Britain)
History
The event was created as a result of bad weather at Royal Ascot in 1860. Heavy rain made it impossible to run the Royal Stand Plate over its usual distance of 2 miles, so it was shortened to 5 furlongs on the only raceable part of the course. The amended version was called the Queen's Stand Plate, and it subsequently became the most important sprint at the Royal meeting. For a period it was open to horses aged two or older. It was renamed the King's Stand Stakes following the death of Queen Victoria and the accession of King Edward VII in 1901.The present system of race grading was introduced in 1971, and the King's Stand Stakes was given Group 1 status in 1973. It was downgraded to Group 2 level in 1988.
The King's Stand Stakes became part of a new international race series, the Global Sprint Challenge, in 2005. It consequently featured a number of high-quality contenders from overseas, and it regained Group 1 status in 2008. It is now the fourth leg of the series, preceded by the KrisFlyer International Sprint and followed by the Golden Jubilee Stakes.
It was renamed King Charles III Stakes in 2023 to mark the King‘s 75th birthday. The race is currently held on the opening day of the Royal Ascot meeting.
Records
Most successful horse :
- Woolsthorpe – 1895, 1897
- Kilcock – 1898, 1899
- Sundridge – 1903, 1904
- Foresight – 1908, 1909
- Hornet's Beauty – 1911, 1913
- Diadem – 1919, 1920
- Golden Boss – 1923, 1924
- Gold Bridge – 1933, 1934
- Elbio – 1991, 1993
- Equiano – 2008, 2010
- Sole Power – 2013, 2014
- Blue Point – 2018, 2019
Leading jockey :
- Lester Piggott – Right Boy, Majority Rule, Swing Easy, Abergwaun, Godswalk, Solinus, Never So Bold
- Vincent O'Brien – Cassarate, Abergwaun, Godswalk, Solinus, Bluebird
- Jack Joel – Sundridge, Nice Prospect, Tag End
Winners since 1900
Earlier winners
- 1860: Queen of the Vale
- 1861: Buckstone
- 1862: Shillelagh
- 1863: Umpire
- 1864: Le Bearnais
- 1865: Saccharometer
- 1866: Hippia
- 1867: Cecrops
- 1868: Xi
- 1869: Gertrude
- 1870: King of the Forest
- 1871: Chopette
- 1872: Bertram
- 1873: Prince Charlie
- 1874: Blenheim
- 1875: Tangible
- 1876: Lowlander
- 1877: Springfield
- 1878: Lollypop
- 1879: Hackthorpe
- 1880: Charibert
- 1881: Ishmael
- 1882: Eastern Empress
- 1883: Prince William
- 1884: Geheimniss
- 1885: Glen Albyn
- 1886: Financier
- 1887: Crowberry
- 1888: Noble Chieftain
- 1889: Formidable
- 1890: Bumptious
- 1891: Lady Caroline
- 1892: Lady Lena
- 1893: Prince Hampton
- 1894: Best Man
- 1895: Woolsthorpe
- 1896: Wishard
- 1897: Woolsthorpe
- 1898: Kilcock
- 1899: Kilcock