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 2006 Stakes 1 1/2 miles
Pos. Horse Jockey Trainer Owner
1 MARAAHEL Richard Hills Sir Michael Stoute Hamdan Al Maktoum 9/2
2 MOUNTAIN HIGH Kieren Fallon Sir Michael Stoute Mrs J Magnier/Michael Tabor 7/2 fav
3 ENFORCER Kerrin MvEvoy William Muir D Clarke & C Edginton 8/1
4 DAY FLIGHT Richard Hughes John Gosden Khaled Abdulla 5/1
5 HARD TOP Mick Kinane Sir Michael Stoute Lord Weinstock 4/1
6 SELF DEFENSE Alan Munro Emma Lavelle Fraser Miller Racing 50/1
7 COLLIER HILL Dean McKeown Alan Swinbank Hall/Abell/Crowe 9/1
8 BANDARI Martin Dwyer Mark Johnston Hamdan Al Maktoum 17/2
The Hardwicke Stakes over a mile and a half was on Saturday 24th June 2006 and the winner, a bay horse by Alzoo out of Nasanice won a first prize of £79,492 (equivalent to £117,000 in 2020). Over round 111%
Hardwicke Stakes Group 2 1 mile 4 furlongs 1879
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