History of the Race
The JLT Lockinge Stakes, run at Newbury, is the second of the British Champions Series mile (1,600 metres) races. The event, established in 1958, was upgraded to Group 1 status in 1995 and is open to four-year-olds and over.
Winning meant so much to Richard Hannon on his way to the 2010 Champion Trainer title that he could not hold back the tears after Richard Hughes rode Paco Boy into the winner’s enclosure (apparently his emotional outburst was sparked for the horse, one of his favourites and who retired at the end of that season, rather than the rider… who has very much not retired).
If in doubt, though, back any JLT Lockinge Stakes horse trained by Sir Michael Stoute. He can boast an unrivalled seven victories, including two by Soviet Line, one of only three horses to have won the race twice in a row.
Another of Sir Michael’s winners was the brilliant filly, Russian Rhythm, who triumphed in the 1000 Guineas, Coronation Stakes and Nassau Stakes – all races in the British Champions Series Fillies & Mares category - in 2003. The following year she rounded off her career with victory in the Lockinge Stakes before retiring.
Current leading jockeys: Frankie Dettori, 3 wins (1994, 2000, 2008)
Kieren Fallon, 3 wins (2001, 2004, 2006)
Current leading trainer: Sir Michael Stoute, 7 wins (1986, 1990, 1995-6, 2001, 2004, 2006)
Previous Winners
| Year | Horse | Jockey | Trainer | Owner |
| 2012 | Frankel | Tom Queally | Sir Henry Cecil | Khalid Abdulla |
| 2011 | Canford Cliffs | Richard Hughes | Richard Hannon | The Heffer Synidicate, Tabor, Smith |
| 2010 | Paco Boy | Richard Hughes | Richard Hannon | The Calvera Partnership No 2 |
| 2009 | Virtual | Jimmy Fortune | John Gosden | Cheveley Park Stud |
| 2008 | Creachadoir | Frankie Dettori | Saeed bin Suroor | Godolphin |
| 2007 | Red Evie | Jamie Spencer | Michael Bell | Terry Neill |
| 2006 | Peeress | Kieren Fallon | Sir Michael Stoute | Cheveley Park Stud |
| 2005 | Rakti | Philip Robinson | Michael Jarvis | Gary A. Tanaka |
| 2004 | Russian Rhythm | Kieren Fallon | Sir Michael Stoute | Cheveley Park Stud |
| 2003 | Hawk Wing | Michael Kinane | Aidan O’Brien | Sue Magnier |
| 2002 | Keltos | Olivier Peslier | Carlos Laffon-Parias | Tanaka/Marinopoulos |
| 2001 | Medicean | Kieren Fallon | Sir Michael Stoute | Cheveley Park Stud |
| 2000 | Aljabr | Frankie Dettori | Saeed bin Suroor | Godolphin |
About the Course
Newbury may have a slightly shorter history than some of Britain’s other leading racecourses – give or take a few hundred years – but the Berkshire venue, which celebrated its centenary in 2005, has its own unique character.
How many racecourses, for instance, can claim to have been used as prisoner-of-war camps in World War I? The racecourse also boasts its own light-aircraft runway and a dedicated railway station, and was once a neighbour of the Greenham Common airbase, the home of US Air Force bombers, before it closed down at the end of the Cold War.
Newbury was founded shortly after the Norman conquest in the 11th century. Its racecourse, which also hosts celebrated jump races such as the Hennessy Gold Cup, earns its place in the QIPCO British Champions Series by staging the JLT Lockinge Stakes in May.
