# British Champions Fillies and Mares Stakes

The British Champions Fillies & Mares Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to fillies and mares aged three years or older. It is run over a distance of 1 mile 3 furlongs and 211 yards (2,406 metres) as part of British Champions Day at Ascot in October.

## History

The event was established in 1946 and was originally called the Princess Royal Stakes. It was named after the Princess Royal at that time, Princess Mary. For a period it took place in September, and it later moved to October.
The current system of race grading was introduced in 1971, and the Princess Royal Stakes subsequently held Group 3 status.
The race was run at Newmarket in 2000, after being called off at Ascot due to a security alert. It was switched to Ascot's late September fixture in 2004. It took place at Newmarket again in 2005, as its usual home was closed for redevelopment. It reverted to October in 2007.
The event was promoted to Group 2 level, transferred to Newmarket and renamed the Pride Stakes in 2008. It was named after Pride, a recent winner of the Champion Stakes. From this point it was staged during the venue's Champions' Meeting in mid-October. The title "Princess Royal Stakes" was assigned to a different race at Ascot, an event previously called the Harvest Stakes. The Pride Stakes had a purse of £100,000 in 2010.
The race returned to Ascot and was given its present name in 2011. Its prize fund was now £250,000. Part of the newly created British Champions Day, it became the final race in the fillies & mares division of the British Champions Series.
The British Champions Fillies & Mares Stakes was upgraded to Group 1 in 2013. Its total prize money was doubled to £500,000. The title Pride Stakes was given to a Listed race at Newmarket formerly known as the Severals Stakes.

## Records

Most successful horse (2 wins):
* Shebeen – 1974, 1975
* Crystal Capella – 2008, 2010
Leading jockey (8 wins):
* Lester Piggott – Rose of Medina (1959), Green Opal (1960), Vhairi (1963), Bracey Bridge (1965), Bamboozle (1967), Mandera (1973), Karamita (1980), One Way Street (1984)
Leading trainer (9 wins):
* John Dunlop – Predicament (1966), Trillionaire (1978), Flighting (1981), Believer (1982), Banket (1988), Labibeh (1995), Signorina Cattiva (1999), Head in the Clouds (2001), Acts of Grace (2006)
Leading owner (4 wins):
* HH Aga Khan IV – Karamita (1980), Tashtiya (1986), Narwala (1990), Ashalanda (2009)

## Winners since 1973

| Year | Winner | Age | Jockey | Trainer | Owner | Time |
| 1973 | Mandera | 3 | Lester Piggott | Jeremy Tree | Mrs C Engelhard | 2:42.46 |
| 1974 | Shebeen | 3 | Geoff Baxter | Bruce Hobbs | Sir Kenneth Butt | 2:50.98 |
| 1975 | Shebeen | 4 | Geoff Baxter | Bruce Hobbs | Sir Kenneth Butt | 2:34.84 |
| 1976 | Abandoned due to waterlogging | Abandoned due to waterlogging | Abandoned due to waterlogging | Abandoned due to waterlogging | Abandoned due to waterlogging | Abandoned due to waterlogging |
| 1977 | Aloft | 3 | Greville Starkey | Barry Hills | Mrs J Buckhardt | 2:43.76 |
| 1978 | Trillionaire | 3 | Pat Eddery | John Dunlop | Nelson Bunker Hunt | 2:35.61 |
| 1979 | Alia | 3 | Steve Raymont | Jeremy Tree | Khalid Abdullah | 2:40.28 |
| 1980 | Karamita | 3 | Lester Piggott | Michael Stoute | HH Aga Khan IV | 2:41.85 |
| 1981 | Flighting | 3 | Brian Rouse | John Dunlop | Sandy Struthers | 2:44.79 |
| 1982 | Believer | 3 | Brian Rouse | John Dunlop | Arthur Budgett | 2:44.22 |
| 1983 | Sylph | 3 | Tony Ives | Jeremy Tree | Khalid Abdullah | 2:33.25 |
| 1984 | One Way Street | 3 | Lester Piggott | Henry Cecil | Louis Freedman | 2:38.59 |
| 1985 | Free Guest | 4 | Rae Guest | Luca Cumani | Fittocks Stud | 2:31.76 |
| 1986 | Tashtiya | 3 | Walter Swinburn | Michael Stoute | HH Aga Khan IV | 2:34.35 |
| 1987 | no race | | | | | |
| 1988 | Banket | 3 | Brian Rouse | John Dunlop | 3rd Earl of Halifax | 2:40.66 |
| 1989 | Snow Bride | 3 | Steve Cauthen | Henry Cecil | Saeed bin M. Al Maktoum | 2:30.73 |
| 1990 | Narwala | 3 | Pat Eddery | Luca Cumani | HH Aga Khan IV | 2:30.36 |
| 1991 | Always Friendly | 3 | Alan Munro | Henry Candy | Fahd Salman | 2:38.78 |
| 1992 | Cunning | 3 | Frankie Dettori | Luca Cumani | Fittocks Stud | 2:36.19 |
| 1993 | no race | | | | | |
| 1994 | Dancing Bloom | 4 | Walter Swinburn | Michael Stoute | Lord Weinstock | 2:34.15 |
| 1995 | Labibeh | 3 | Willie Carson | John Dunlop | Hamdan Al Maktoum | 2:41.86 |
| 1996 | Time Allowed | 3 | John Reid | Michael Stoute | Robert Barnett | 2:33.44 |
| 1997 | Delilah | 3 | Olivier Peslier | Michael Stoute | Highclere Racing Ltd | 2:45.33 |
| 1998 | Silver Rhapsody | 3 | Kieren Fallon | Henry Cecil | Lordship Stud | 2:43.68 |
| 1999 | Signorina Cattiva | 3 | Frankie Dettori | John Dunlop | Maria Mai Goransson | 2:35.40 |
| 2000 | Sacred Song | 3 | Richard Quinn | Henry Cecil | Niarchos Family | 2:31.86 |
| 2001 | Head in the Clouds | 3 | Pat Eddery | John Dunlop | Neil Jones | 2:35.73 |
| 2002 | Love Everlasting | 4 | Kevin Darley | Mark Johnston | G. & L. Middlebrook | 2:33.55 |
| 2003 | Itnab | 3 | Richard Hills | Ben Hanbury | Hamdan Al Maktoum | 2:34.16 |
| 2004 | Mazuna | 3 | Ryan Moore | Clive Brittain | Saeed Manana | 2:30.24 |
| 2005 | Ouija Board | 4 | Frankie Dettori | Ed Dunlop | 19th Earl of Derby | 2:32.45 |
| 2006 | Acts of Grace | 3 | Kerrin McEvoy | John Dunlop | Prince A. A. Faisal | 2:35.64 |
| 2007 | Trick or Treat | 4 | Tom Queally | James Given | Onslow / Henderson | 2:36.93 |
| 2008 | Crystal Capella | 3 | Ryan Moore | Sir Michael Stoute | Sir Evelyn de Rothschild | 2:31.48 |
| 2009 | Ashalanda | 3 | Christophe Lemaire | Alain de Royer-Dupré | HH Aga Khan IV | 2:31.55 |
| 2010 | Crystal Capella | 5 | Ryan Moore | Sir Michael Stoute | Sir Evelyn de Rothschild | 2:34.73 |
| 2011 | Dancing Rain | 3 | Johnny Murtagh | William Haggas | Martin and Lee Taylor | 2:27.29 |
| 2012 | Sapphire | 4 | Pat Smullen | Dermot Weld | Moyglare Stud Farm | 2:37.32 |
| 2013 | Seal of Approval | 4 | George Baker | James Fanshawe | T R G Vestey | 2:39.09 |
| 2014 | Madame Chiang | 3 | Jim Crowley | David Simcock | Kirsten Rausing | 2:38.76 |
| 2015 | Simple Verse | 3 | Andrea Atzeni | Ralph Beckett | QRL / Al Thani / Al Kubaisi | 2:32.01 |
| 2016 | Journey | 4 | Frankie Dettori | John Gosden | George Strawbridge | 2:28.41 |
| 2017 | Hydrangea | 3 | Ryan Moore | Aidan O'Brien | Smith / Magnier / Tabor | 2:40.82 |
| 2018 | Magical | 3 | Ryan Moore | Aidan O'Brien | Smith / Magnier / Tabor | 2:33.28 |
| 2019 | Star Catcher | 3 | Frankie Dettori | John Gosden | Anthony Oppenheimer | 2:28.48 |
| 2020 | Wonderful Tonight | 3 | William Buick | David Menuisier | Christopher Wright | 2:37.84 |
| 2021 | Eshaada | 3 | Jim Crowley | Roger Varian | Shadwell Estate | 2:34.05 |
| 2022 | Emily Upjohn | 3 | Frankie Dettori | John and Thady Gosden | Lloyd Webber, Tactful Finance & S Roden | 2:33.76 |
| 2023 | Poptronic | 4 | Sam James | Kevin Burke | David & Yvonne Blunt | 2:28.29 |
| 2024 | Kalpana | 3 | William Buick | Andrew Balding | Juddmonte | 2:29.57 |
* 1 2 The 1987 and 1993 runnings were abandoned because of a waterlogged course
* 1 2 3 The 2019, 2023 and 2024 editions were held on Ascot's inner course over 1 mile, 3 furlongs and 133 yards

## Earlier winners

* 1946: Mehmany
* 1947: Mombasa
* 1948: Angelola
* 1949: Jet Plane
* 1950: Divinalh
* 1951: Verse
* 1952: Nicky Nook
* 1953: Skye
* 1954: Dust Storm
* 1955: Nemora
* 1956: Carezza
* 1957: Nagaika
* 1958: Mother Goose
* 1959: Rose of Medina
* 1960: Green Opal
* 1961: Tenacity
* 1962: Romantica
* 1963: Vhairi
* 1964: French Possession
* 1965: Bracey Bridge
* 1966: Predicament
* 1967: Bamboozle
* 1968: no race
* 1969: Seventh Bride
* 1970: Heavenly Thought
* 1971: Hill Circus
* 1972: Attica Meli
* 1 2 The 1960 and 1963 runnings took place at Newbury