The Hardwicke Stakes (Saturday 23 June) is a Group 2 Race that horses aged four and older can run in. It was established in 1879 and is run over a trip of 1 mile 3 furlongs and 211 yards. Famous winners of the Hardwicke Stakes include Harbinger and Telescope, whilst Dartmouth was a royal winner for the Queen in 2016.
Hardwicke Stakes 2018 10-Year-Trends
- The last 10 winners have all been four-year-olds
- Sir Michael Stoute has trained five of the last eight winners
- Aidan O’Brien has trained three of the last ten winners
- Ryan Moore has ridden four of the last eight winners
- Five of the last 10 favourites have won
- SP’s have ranged from 4/6 to 12/1
- Winners have been rated between 111 and 121
Hardwicke Stakes 2018 Main Contenders
Crystal Ocean
Sir Michael Stoute’s four-year-old comes into this race rated 1lb higher than any of the last 10 winners and is a rated a few pounds higher than his rivals. He also has the best form having finished second in last year’s St Leger. Typically, like many of the horses trained by Stoute, he appears to have improved again as a four-year-old and looked to put up his best performance ever last time.
Barsanti
Six-year-old who is rated 7lbs inferior to Crystal Ocean, but he has put up two of his best performances at Ascot. On his first visit, he finished second to Idaho in last year’s renewal of this race. On his second visit, he beat an inferior stablemate of Crystal Ocean who let the form down on the first day of this year’s Royal Ascot Meeting.
Idaho
Five-year-old that is trained by Aidan O’Brien. Would have probably won the 2016 St Leger but for unseating his rider, but has been inconsistent since. However, he put up two of his best performances at Ascot last season. He won last year’s renewal of the Hardwicke Stakes and was then third to Enabled in the King George. Each-way player at least.
Defoe
Four-year-old who has won seven of his 11 starts including being two from two at this distance. He was also sent off at just 6/1 for last year’s St Leger (Crystal Ocean 5/1) but flopped there. However, he has won a Group 2 since and the market could underestimate his chances after he was only third over a shorter trip in Ireland last time.
Hardwicke Stakes 2018 Summary, Betting Tip & Prediction
Barsanti and Idaho can’t be ruled out after they finished first and second in the race last year, but the fact four-year-olds have won the last 10 renewals is a negative. Therefore, the two to concentrate on could be the four-year-olds Defoe and Crystal Ocean. Defoe could be the value-bet as he was sent-off just a point longer than Crystal Ocean in last year’s St Leger but is now a significantly bigger price. However, it’s hard to ignore Sir Michael Stoute’s brilliant record with older horses and his record in this race. Therefore, Crystal Ocean must be the tip. Hardwicke Stakes 2018 Tip: Crystal Ocean