Sun Chariot Stakes Betting

The Rowley Mile at Newmarket Racecourse is widely known as the “Course of Champions.” It is also the scene of the historic Cambridgeshire Meeting, which is conducted towards the end of September or beginning of October each year, offering three days of great racing.

The main features here are three Group 1 flat racing events, among which is mile-long Sun Chariot Stakes for fillies and mares aged three years old and upwards. It is currently conducted on the final day of the meeting along with the six-furlong Group 1 Cheveley Park Stakes for two-year-old fillies and the much anticipated Cambridgeshire Handicap, making this one of the best race days of the year at Newmarket.

The three-year-olds in the sun Chariot Stakes carry eight stone thirteen pounds up the turf of the famous one-mile straightaway. Runners aged four and older carry nine stone two pounds. The event offers a total prize pool of £zero,000, of which about £113,000 goes to the winner.

Established in 1966, the event takes its name from the 1942 winner of the Fillies’ Triple crown, Sun Chariot. The race was originally open only to three-year-old fillies only and run at a distance of one mile and two furlongs. It was not opened to older fillies and mares until 1974.

One of the earliest entities to claim sponsorship here was Cheveley Park Stud, whose backing continued through 1992 when the race was still rated as a Group 2 event. For much the 1990s, runnings were held without a sponsor, although in 1997, Equity Financial Collections assumed the title spot for a year.

In 2000, the race distance was shortened to one mile and Peugeot signed a four-year contract to back the event. Then in 2004, when the sun Chariot Stakes was upgraded to Group 1 status, the current sponsor came on board—the Kingdom of Bahrain.

One of the most successful fillies to run and win in the Sun Chariot Stakes was the Henry Cecil-trained Indian Skimmer. Her victory here came in 1988, en route to a career record of ten wins, one place, and three shows in 16 total outings. Meanwhile, two horses were successful here twice over the years. Free Guest claimed the race’s first double in 1984-85, followed just recently by Sahpresa in 2009-10.

The event’s leading jockey is Lester Piggott with six wins. He got his first on Popkins in 1970, followed by Cheveley Princess in 1973. The champion rider then finished his riding here with a string of four consecutive winners: Swiss Maid in 1978, Topsy in 1979, Snow in 1980 and Home on the Range in 1981.

Among trainers, Luca Cumani holds the top spot at the Sun Chariot Stakes with half a dozen victories to his credit. Free Guest gave the Italian his first two wins. He then brought Infamy to a triumphant visit here in 1987, followed by Red Slippers in 1992, One So Wonderful in 1997 and Kissogram in 1998.

No four-year-old won the Sun Chariot Stakes during the first decade following its opening to older entrants. Free Guest became the first when she got her second win, and Indian Skimmer was the first to debut as a winning four-year-old. Since 1989, only three others have managed to break through the dominance of the three-year-olds. Lady in Waiting did so in 1999 and Peeress had her turn in 2005.

But the most recent four-year-old to win here was Sahpresa in her first outing, which made her the first ever five-year-old to succeed in the Sun Chariot Stakes when she completed her double in 2010.

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