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 1936 Stakes 1 1/2 miles
Pos. Horse Jockey Trainer Owner
1 CORRIDA E C Elliott J Watts M M Boussac 8/1
2 HIS GRACE G Richards R Dawson Lord Carnarvon 4/1
3 MONUMENT M Beary Boyd-Rochfort Duke of Marlborough 100/7
4 PORTFOLIO R Dick Lawson Lord Astor 10/1
5 THEDDINGWORTH C Richards Boyd-Rochfort Mr M Field 20/1
6 ST BOTOLPH T Weston Digby Mr F Dennis 20/1
7 ABYSSINIA E Smith Sneyd Sir H Lyons 20/1
8 PLASSY R Perryman C Leader Lord Derby 11/10 fav
9 FREEMASON S Donoghue Lambton Mr G Lambton 100/7
10 BAY LAUREL K Robertson Templeman Mr E Thornton-Smith 100/7
11 RUBIS TOPAZE T Lowrey W Nightingall Mrs G Wilkinson 20/1
The Hardwicke Stakes over a mile and a half of the Swinley Course was on Friday 19th June 1936 and the winner, a chestnut filly by Coronach out of Zariba won a first prize of £3270 (equivalent to £236,000 in 2020). Over round 129%
Hardwicke Stakes Group 2 1 mile 4 furlongs 1879
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