Newmarket Cambridgeshire Meeting: Race List & Meeting Info

Day One Races - Thursday

EBF Maiden Stakes

Class 4, 1m

This race is for horses that haven’t won before, so it’s limited to those aged two. It’s run over one mile and is a Class 4 offering. It’s a Plus 10 race, meaning that eligible horses will win an extra £10,000 if they are victorious. The prize money sits at around the £6,500 mark.

First Call Nursery Handicap

Class 2, 1m

A Class 2 race for horses aged two, the nursery event is run over one mile. Winners will take home a share of the pot that stands at around £11,500 at the time of asking. A decent event for inexperienced horses, the race normally welcomes decent-sized fields.

EBF Premier Fillies' Handicap

Class 2, 6f

Run in association with the British European Breeders’ Fund, the race is limited to top-class female horses. It’s a Class 2 race that is run over six furlongs, with the weight each horse carries decided by a handicapper. The winner of the race receives money at around the £31,000 mark.

Somerville Tattersall Stakes

Group 3, 7f

Named in honour of Edmund Somerville Tattersall, who was one of the senior partners of the Tattersalls bloodstock auctioneers, the race was open to horses of either gender and was classed as a Listed event when the current grading was introduced. It became a Group 3 offering in 2000 and horses that do well in it are often competitive in the Dewhurst Stakes and Racing Post Trophy.

The race is run on the straight over seven furlongs, with qualification open to colts and geldings that are two-years-old. The weight is nine stone, with Group 1 and Group 2 race winners receiving a penalty of five pounds, whilst Group 3 winners get a penalty of three pounds.

Rose Bowl Stakes

Listed, 2m

Sponsored by the Jockey Club at the time of writing, the Rose Bowl Stakes is run over a right-handed L and lasts for two miles. It’s a Listed Class 1 race that is open to horses aged three and over. First run with the moniker of the Fenwolf Stakes at Ascot in 2003, it was given its current name when it was moved to Newmarket in 2011. The following weight information is at play:

• 3-year-olds: 8 stone 7 pounds
• 4-year-olds+: 9 stone 1 pound
• Fillies and mares are given a 5 pound allowance
• There is a 7 pound penalty for horses that have won Group 1 and Group 2 races
• There is a 5 pound penalty for horses that have won Group 3 races
• There is a 3 pound penalty for horses that have won Listed races

As of 2020, Caucus is the only horse to have won the race twice, whist Frankie Dettori and Ryan Moore have done so as jockeys. William Buick holds the record in terms of wins as a jockey with three, helped by riding Caucus for two of them. John Gosden is the most successful trainer with four wins to date.

Weatherbys TBA Handicap

Class 2, 1m4f

The Weatherbys TBA Handicap is a Class 2 offering for horses aged 3 and over. It’s run over one mile and four furlongs and the winner takes home just shy of £13,000. If the Going is Good then you can expect the race to last for close to two and a half minutes.

Racing Welfare Handicap

Class 3, 1m2f

A Class 3 race for horses aged three and over, the Molson Coors Handicap is run over one mile. As you’ll no doubt have worked out from the name, the weight that is carried by the horses is decided by the handicapper. The prize money sits at about £9,000.

Newmarket Challenge Whip

Class 4, 1m2f

Run over one mile and two furlongs, this Class 1 race is for horses aged three and over. It’s a handicap race, so the handicapper assigns weights with the purpose of making it as even a race as is possible depending on the ability of the horses participating.

Day Two Races - Shadwell Day

EBF Rosemary Stakes

Listed, 1m

Run in association with the British European Breeders’ Fund, the Rosemary Stakes is a Listed event for fillies and mares aged three and over. Run over one mile, it was inaugurated in 1991 at Ascot, where it was run as a Listed Handicap until it received its transfer to Newmarket in 2010. Richard Hills has won the race four times as jockey.

Princess Royal Muhaarar Stakes

Group 3, 1m4f

This Group 3 race is run right-handed on on L over one mile and four furlongs, the Princess Royal Stakes is open to fillies and mares aged three and over. The following weight information applies:

• 3-year-olds: 8 stone 10 pounds
• 4-year-olds and over: 9 stone 3 pounds
• Group 1 race winners receive a 7 pound penalty
• Group 2 race winners receive a 5 pound penalty
• Group 3 race winners receive a 3 pound penalty

The Princess Stakes was originally a title given to a Group 3 race run at Ascot, but that was renamed as the Pride Stakes in 2008 and moved to Newmarket whilst the Listed Harvest Stakes was given the new name of the Princess Stakes. The Pride Stakes then moved back to Ascot and was retitled as the British Champions Fillies' and Mares' Stakes, with the Princess Royal Stakes heading to Newmarket in exchange. The race was given Group 3 status in 2017.

Shadwell Rockfel Stakes

Group 2, 7f

This Group 2 race is open to fillies aged two. It’s run over seven furlongs on the straight and the wright information is nine stone, with Group 1 and Group 2 race winners receiving a three pound penalty.

Named after the successful filly that won two of the Classics in 1938, it has been in existence since 1981. It was made a Listed race four years later, became a Group 3 race in 1986 and was promoted to Group 2 in 1998. Part of Champions Day at Newmarket until 2014, it’s part of the Breeders’ Cup and winners get automatic qualification to the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf.Horses that are competitive in the Rockfel Stakes are often put forward for the 1,000 Guineas the following season. At the time of writing, four fillies have been successful in both races, including Finsceal Beo who won this in 2006 and the 1,000 Guineas in 2007.

Shadwell Joel Stakes

Group 2, 1m

Established as the Main Reef Stakes in 1987 in honour of the horse Main Reef that was owned by Jim Joel, it was initially limited to three-year olds and was run over one mile two furlongs. In 1989 it was opened to older horses and classes as a Listed race, being renamed in honour of Jim Joel in 1994, two years after his death. The race became a Group 3 offering in 2003 and then joined Group 2 in 2011.

Nowadays the Joel Stakes is for horses aged three and over and is run on the straight over a mile. The weight information sees 3-year-olds at nine stone and horses aged four and up at nine stone four pounds, with fillies and mares given a three pound allowance. Horses that have won Group 1 races get a five pound penalty, whilst Group 2 winners get a penalty of three pound.

Irish EBF Maiden Stakes

Class 4, 7f

Sponsored by Derrinstown at the time of writing, the Irish European Breeders’ Fund Maiden Stakes is open to horses that haven’t won at this level before. It’s for two-year-olds and is run over seven furlongs, offering a prize fund of about £6,500 for the winner.

Godolphin Stakes

Listed, 1m4f

Open to horses aged three and over, the Godolphin Stakes is a Listed event that is run over one mile and four furlongs. No horse has ever won it twice or more, though jockeys such as Ryan Moore, William Buick and Richard Hills have done so.

It’s Frankie Dettori that holds the record with five wins to 2020. Trainers such as Henry Cecil and John Dunlop have trained more than one winner, though Barry Hills and Saeed bin Suroor lead the way. The prize money for the winner is in excess of £22,500.

Shadwell Farm Handicap

Class 2, 1m1f

This handicap race is sponsored by Shadwell Farms at the time of writing and is a Class 2 event. It’s open to horses aged three and over and is run over one mile and one furlong. There’s usually more than £30,000 in the pot for the successful horse to take home.

Day Three Races - Juddmonte Day

Royal Lodge Stakes

Group 2, 1m

Established at Ascot in 1946, the Royal Lodge Stakes is named in honour of the royal residence that can be found in Windsor Great Park. It was originally for horses of either gender and ran over five furlongs, being extended to a mile two years later and having the restriction to colts and geldings introduced in 1987. It was moved to Newmarket briefly in 2005 and then permanently in 2011.

Run on the straight over one mile, the race is limited to colts and geldings with a weight of nine stone. There’s a three pound penalty for horses that have won Group 1 and Group 2 races. The Royal Lodge Stakes is often part of the Breeders’ Cup Challenge, giving winners automatic qualification into the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf.

Cheveley Park Stakes

Group 1, 6f

Run over six furlongs on the straight, the Cheveley Park Stakes is a Group 1 race for two-year-old fillies with a weight of nine stone. It was created in 1899 and named after the estate of the same name that was bought by Harry McCalmont seven years earlier.

Horses that are successful in the Cheveley Park Stakes are often competitive in the 1,000 Guineas the following season, with Pretty Polly in 1903 to 1904 and Special Duty in 2009 to 2010 being two examples of horses that have won both. Sir Gordon Richards is the most successful jockey in the race, winning it nine times between 1928 and 1953.

Middle Park Stakes

Group 1, 6f

Another Group 1 offering, the Middle Park Stakes is competed on the straight over six furlongs. It’s open to two-year-old colts with a weight of nine stone. Created by William Blenkiron in 1866, it is named in honour of his stud at Eltham. When it was first run it was open to horses of any gender and known as the Middle Park Plate, with the restriction to colts coming into effect in 1987.

In 2011 the race was moved to Future Champions Day, but four years later it was returned to be part of the Cambridgeshire Meeting in order to avoid a clash with the Dewhurst Stakes, which is similar in nature. It was part of the Breeders’ Cup in 2012, with winners getting automatic entry to the Juvenile Sprint Stakes, but it was removed when that race stopped being run.

Horses that do well often compete in the 2,000 Guineas, with Prince Charlie and Rodrigo de Triano being examples of winners of the following season’s race.

Cambridgeshire Handicap

Class 2, 1m1f

This Heritage Handicap is run on the straight over one mile and one furlong. It’s open to horses aged three and over and, because it’s a handicap, it doesn’t have any specific weight information attached to it. Instead the handicapper decides what each horse should carry during the course of the race according to their rating.

The race was first run in 1839, which was also the year that the Cesarewitch handicap was also run for the first time. The pair of races soon became known as the Autumn Double, with the Cesarewitch first and the Cambridgeshire following. That was eventually changed and now this race comes about a fortnight before the Cesarewitch.

Maiden Fillies' Stakes

Class 4, 7f

Currently sponsored by Blandford Bloodstock, the Maiden Fillies' Stakes is, as the name suggests, limited to fillies that haven’t won at this level before. It’s for two-year-olds and is run over seven furlongs. A Class 4 event, it is also a Plus 10 offering, which means that eligible horse will win £10,000 in addition to the normal winnings if they finish first.

Jersey Lily Fillies' Nursery Handicap

Class 2, 7f

Run in association with the British Stallion Studs European Breeders’ Fund, the ‘Jersey Lilly’ Fillies’ Nursery is limited to female horses aged two. The Class 2 event is run over seven furlongs and the winner takes home in excess of £31,000. A popular race, the field is often large for this one.

Handicap

Class 2, 7f

The weights that horses will carry in this race are dictated by the handicapper, theoretically making it as fair as possible. It’s currently sponsored by Journal And Velvet Magazine, run over seven furlongs and open to horses aged three and over. The winner of the Class 2 race will take home about £13,000.