Royal Ascot: King's Stand Stakes

The King's Stand Stakes was created as a result of bad weather at Royal Ascot in 1860. Heavy rain made it impossible to run the Royal Stand Plate over its usual distance of 2 miles, so it was shortened to 5 furlongs on the only raceable part of the course. The amended version was called the Queen's Stand Plate, and it subsequently became the most important sprint at the Royal meeting. For a time it was open to horses aged two or older. It was renamed the King's Stand Stakes following the death of Queen Victoria and the accession of King Edward VII in 1901. The present system of race grading was introduced in 1971, and the King's Stand Stakes was given Group 1 status in 1973, although it was downgraded to Group 2 level in 1988, but regained its Group 1 status in 2008 and is contested on the opening day of the Royal meeting.
Early history:-The inaugural running of the Queen's Stand Plate for 300 sovereigns, on Tuesday 5th June 1860, saw a large field of superior quality headed by Baron Rothschild's Queen of the Vale (100/6) ridden by John Daley in a canter by 3 lengths from Brown Duchess (5/1), with two lengths back to Satellite (7/1) in third, and 14 others further adrift.

Queen's Stand Plate 1880 Group 1 5 furlongs
Pos. Horse Jockey Age/weight Owner
1 CHARIBERT Fred Webb Mathew Dawson 4-10st 5lbs Mr R C Vyner 11/8 fav
2 PHENIX Jem Goater Tom Jennings 5-10st 7lbs Count F De Lagrange 4/1
3 QUEENFISHER Constable Robert Peck 3-8st 2lbs Lord Rosebery 8/1
4 ALPHA Cannon C Archer 4-9st 2lbs Lord Ellesmere 20/1
5 CENTENARY John Osborne Osborne 5-9st 11lbs Lord Lascelles 4/1
6 FETTERLESS Greaves Joseph Hayhoe 2-7st 1lb Leopold De Rothschild 8/1
The Queen's Stand Plate took place on Friday 11th June 1880 and the winner, a chesnut horse by Thormanby out of Gertrude, won a first prize of a piece of plate valued at 300 sovereigns, and stakes of 120 sovereigns from 9 subscribers (equivalent to £51,000 in 2020). Over round 109%
King's Stand Stakes Group 1 5 furlongs 1860
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1880