Royal Ascot, the crown jewel of British horse racing, has long been steeped in tradition and prestige. Since its maiden race in the 1700s, the race has become one of the most long-awaited events on the flat racing calendar. While the summer months may not garner the same attention as National Hunt season, there’s something about the atmosphere at Ascot that makes it so special. It showcases the incredible athleticism of horses and jockeys as they vie for victory on a level surface.
Indeed, last year saw a full-capacity crowd return to Berkshire and as the summer hats and good weather are rolled out again, this year’s race looks to be just as thrilling. It’s always hard to tell who will reign supreme in the showpiece event, with the likes of Coltrane and Haskoy amongst the favourites in the Royal Ascot betting for the Gold Cup, but a shock can always be on the cards.
To win at Royal Ascot is to write your name in the flat racing history books, and over the last few years we’ve some special horses define their legacy in the South East. With that in mind, let’s review some of the best horses to win at Ascot in recent history. Read on to find out more.
Frankel
Having been hailed as the greatest ever flat horse before, it’s only fitting we get things started with Sir Henry Cecil’s Frankel. Son of the 2001 Epsom Derby winner Galileo, he was always destined for greatness, and with 102 career wins he lived up to expectation. Perhaps his best ever performance came at Ascot when he won the 2012 edition of the Queen Anne Stakes in marauding style. Frankel won by a whopping 11 lengths to send the crowd into raptures and earn his reputation as a modern legend.
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“The facts are that Frankel’s performance is likely to surpass anything witnessed in Timeform’s 64-year history,” David Johnson said after. “A point worth emphasising is the consistency with which Frankel has produced such performances. This is the fifth time he has produced a 140-plus rating.”
Estimate
Just one year later at Ascot 2013, we witnessed a truly historic moment as Estimate, a talented bay mare owned by the Queen herself, stormed to victory in the prestigious Gold Cup. She became the first horse owned by a reigning member of the Royal Family to win the race in its 207-year history. The Michael Stoute-trained horse snatched victory from Top Trip and Simenon, and considering Estimate was just a four-year-old at the time of the win, it’s all the more impressive.
Stradivarius
Of course, there’s room for three-time Gold Cup winner Stradivarius, who made it a hat-trick across an inspired few years before relinquishing his title to Kyprios in 2022. Undoubtedly one of the most dominant and celebrated horses of recent times, Stradivarius secured his place in racing folklore and had it been for different conditions on the day we perhaps would have seen him in the record books. Jockey Frankie Dettori and Stradivarius were forced widest throughout the majority of the race and despite their best efforts could only settle for a third-place finish for the Gosdens.
