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 1975 Stakes 1 1/2 miles
Pos. Horse Jockey Trainer Owner
1 CHARLIE BUBBLES P Eddery P Walwyn Mr L Salmar 12/1
2 ARTHURIAN L Piggott H Cecil Mrs J Hanes 9/2 fav
3 DIBIDALE W Carson B Hills Mr W Robinson 5/1
4 MILS BOMB G Lewis Murless Mr L Freedman 9/2 jt fav
5 SHEBEEN G Baxter B Hobbs Sir K Butt 5/1
6 RELAY RACE F Durr H Cecil Sir R Macdonald-Buchanan 17/2
7 SIR PENFRO T Murphy M V O'Brien Mr J Phillips 11/1
8 REALISTIC A Murray Blagrave Mr H G Blagrave 20/1
9 RIBOREEN B Taylor J Winter Mr D Prenn 20/1
10 STRAIGHT FLIGHT J Mercer W Hern Sir M Sobell 20/1
11 THALASSA P Cook C Brittain Mr R Richards 50/1
The Hardwicke Stakes over a mile and a half of the Swinley Course was on Friday 20th June 1975 and the winner, a bay horse by Wolver Hollow out of Sixandahalf won a first prize of £12,345 (equivalent to £106,000 in 2020). Over round 103%
Hardwicke Stakes Group 2 1 mile 4 furlongs 1879
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