Jersey Stakes Betting

Held on Day Two of the five-day Royal Ascot meeting each June, the seven-furlong Jersey Stakes is a Group 3 sprint that leads off one of the most exciting raceday cards of the season. It includes the Group 1 Prince of Wales’s Stakes over ten furlongs, the Group 2 Queen Mary Stakes for the best up and coming two-year-old fillies and the Group 2 Windsor Forest Stakes for older female milers.

The £80,000 Jersey Stakes is open exclusively to three-year-old Thoroughbreds. It is contested on the straight turf of the famed Ascot Racecourse, with each starter carrying nine stone one pound. An allowance of three pounds is made for fillies and mares, and penalties are applied to entries successful in previous races, amounting to five pounds for Group 1 or Group 2 winners and three pounds for Group 3 winners.

Before World War I, Royal Ascot conducted a special three-part event called the Triennial Stakes. Two-year-olds would compete in the first leg over five furlongs, and then return the following year to take part in a seven-furlong contest. Then, as four-year-olds, the same horse would race two miles. When the format was discontinued in 1919, the second leg was retained as the Jersey Stakes, named for the 4th Earl of Jersey, who was the Master of the Buckhounds at Ascot in the late 18th century.

For the purpose of maintaining its illustrious legacy, records of the seven-furlong Triennial Stakes race are maintained as part of the Jersey Stakes history all the way back to 1849. One of the most famous horses to come out of that early era was Polymelus, winner of the 1905 edition. The bay stallion went on to become the five-time leading sire of Great Britain and Ireland (1914, 1915, 1916, 1920 and 1921). Counted among his descendants are Secretariat and Northern Dancer, among others.

Since 1919, two jockeys have ridden six winners apiece in the Jersey Stakes. Sir Gordon Richards got his first with Rattlin the Reefer in 1929, Medieval Knight in 1934, Theft in 1935, Cave Man in 1938, Nebuchadnezzar in 1947 and Rhinehart in 1953. Lester Piggott came next, and his half dozen included Favorita in 1961, The Creditor in 1963, Young Christopher in 1964, Gay Fandango in 1975, Hard Fought in 1980 and Rasa Penang in 1981.

Only one trainer tops the leaderboard here with five victories. That honour goes to Sir Michael Stoute, who began with Etienne Gerard in 1977 and then added Hard Fought in 1980, Zilzal in 1989, Among Men in 1997 and Jeremy in 2006. It is worth noting that since the turn of the new millennium, no trainer has brought more than a single winner to the Jersey Stakes, nor has any jockey mounted more than one winner since Richard Hughes had two back to back: Sergeyev in 1995 and Lucayan Prince in 1996.

Those who like to have a flutter with long odds may find the Jersey Stakes to be quite accommodating. On three recent occasions double-digit payouts have been awarded. The first was for Just James winning at 20/1 in 2002. Next came Membership delivering a repeat performance in 2003 at 20/1. And in 2009, Ouqba made backers happy by reaching the finish post first at 12/1.

Favourites, on the other hand, have had a difficult time making the bookmakers look sharp. The last touted Thoroughbred to win here was Mozart in 2001, paying 7/4. The Irish bay went on to capture the Group 1 July Cup and the Group 1 Nunthorpe Stakes that year before retiring to stud.

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