Royal Ascot: Hardwicke Stakes

The Hardwicke Stakes, held on the final day of the Royal meeting, is a Group 2 race over 1 mile 3 furlongs and 211 yards and is open to horses aged four years or older. The race is named in honour of the 5th Earl of Hardwicke, the Master of the Buckhounds in Benjamin Disraeli’s government from 1874 to 1880. The race was named in his honour in 1879, but he was an inveterate gambler who had huge debts with Agar-Robartes Bank and had to try to sell his Wimpole Hall Estate in Cambridgeshire in 1891. However, it failed to sell at auction and Lord Robartes, chairman of the Bank, had to accept the Estate in settlement of the debt.
Early history:- The inaugural running of the Hardwicke Stakes over a mile and a half of the Swinley Course took place on Friday 13th June 1879 with £2000 added prize money and a massive 168 subscribers at 10 sovereigns each. The race was won by Lord Bradford's Chippendale, beating Lord Falmouth's Silvio and Mr W Crawfurd's Lancastrian by a head and 10 lengths in 2 minutes 56 seconds.
Hardwicke Stakes 1924 Stakes 1 1/2 miles
Pos. Horse Jockey Trainer Owner
1 CHOSROES G Archibald Atty Persse Sir H Meux 10/1
2 INVERCAULD Steve Donoghue Doyle Mr R Walker 100/8
3 FRATER G Smith R Dawson Vicomete de Fontarce 100/6
4 SIMON PURE Joe Childs H Sadler Mr H Salvin 20/1
5 POLYPHONTES W McLachlan snr De Mestre Mr Solly Joel 5/1
6 SANSOVINO Tommy Weston Lambton Lord Derby 4/6 fav
7 GREAT BARRIER C Elliott Jack Jarvis Sir G Bullough 100/6
8 SANTORB Michael Beary J Rhodes Mr B Walker 20/1
9 WATFORD Gordon Richards Wilmot Captain A Thistlethwayte 10/1
10 COROLET G Walsh O Bell Lady Cunliffe-Owen 10/1
11 CANUSA W Alford W Jarvis Mr M L Meyer 20/1
12 HENRI W McLachlan jnr G Sadler Mr Walter Raphael 100/8
13 TOUR DE FORCE Charlie Smirke P Gilpin Lord Woolavington 20/1
The Hardwicke Stakes over a mile and a half of the Swinley Course was on Friday 20th June 1924 and the winner, a brown colt by Clarissimus out of Tortor won a first prize of 1450 sovereigns (equivalent to £77,000 in 2020). Over round 151%
Hardwicke Stakes Group 2 1 mile 4 furlongs 1879
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