Cambridgeshire Meeting Races, Format & History

A Complete History of the Cambridgeshire Meeting at Newmarket

It is hard to dispute that the Cambridgeshire Meeting is up there as one of the most cherished meetings of the flat season. Both on and off the track, Newmarket, flat racing HQ, always puts on quite the show, treating hopeful punters to a high class offering throughout. Focussing on the track, all the action takes place on the Rowley Mile and features some fantastic contests such as the ultra-competitive Cambridgeshire Handicap, after which the whole three-day extravaganza takes its name.

Compared to some of the meetings hosted at Newmarket, the Cambridgeshire Meeting is a relatively new one. By 1840, the Suffolk course had seven annual meetings, several of which were a full week long. None of these can really be seen as the origin of what we know today as the Cambridgeshire Meeting though. Despite this, we are still able to examine the history of the major races that compromise this autumnal three-day racing event.

1839 – Cambridgeshire Handicap begins

One of the stars of the Cambridgeshire Meeting, the Cambridgeshire Handicap, makes its first ever appearance in 1839. Its debut came during the same year as the Cesarewitch Handicap with the pair of races dubbed the Autumn Double, scheduled just two weeks apart. Unlike the situation today though, the Cambridgeshire Handicap was initially the last race to feature, only later did organisers reverse the order.

1886 – Middle Park Stakes established

William Blenkiron creates the Middles Park Stakes, naming the race after his stud at Eltham. The inaugural running was won by a horse by the name of The Rake. Dating back this long, it is one of the most long-standing events that forms part of today’s Cambridgeshire Meeting.

1885 – Plaisanterie lands handicap double

The French-trained Plaisanterie becomes the last horse to complete the Cesarewitch – Cambridgeshire Handicap double. Having won the former, the then three-year-old was handed a huge 14-pound penalty during the Cambridgeshire a fortnight later. Due to the added weight, Plaisanterie set off at odds of 10/1 but won with some ease despite the handicap. No horse has managed to win both events since, although few have attempted to do so, especially in more recent times.

1899 – Cheveley Park Stakes introduced

Keen racehorse owner Harry McCalmont purchased the Cheveley Park estate in 1892. Seven years later, a race by the same name featured at Newmarket with the inaugural renewal won by a horse named Lutetia.

1966 – Sun Chariot Stakes makes first appearance

Spectators at Newmarket witness the first running of the Sun Chariot Stakes, a race named after the 1942 Fillies’ Triple Crown winner. Incidentally, each Triple Crown event that year took place at Newmarket due to World War II.

1987 – Oh So Sharp & Joel Stakes established

The Oh So Sharp Stakes becomes a new addition to the Cambridgeshire Meeting, named after the Newmarket-trained 1985 Fillies’ Triple Crown winner. It began as an ungraded affair but enjoyed a boost to listed status in 1993.

Also joining the Oh So Sharp Stakes is the Joel Stakes, originally known as the Main Reef Stakes. Main Reef was a successful horse bred and owned by Jim Joel but following Joel’s death in 1992, the race name changed in 1994 to honour him.

1999 – July Course steps in

The entire Cambridgeshire Meeting traditionally takes place on the Rowley Mile but this was not a possibility in 1999. Due to the construction of the Millennium Grandstand on the Rowley Mile, all of Newmarket’s racing that year took place on the July Course. This explains why winning times for this year across the Cambridgeshire festival were considerably slower than usual. The Cambridgeshire Handicap for instance was around 17 seconds slower than the two renewals either side of it.

2003 – Three Valleys stripped of title

As expected, Three Valleys got himself first past the line in the 2003 renewal of the Middle Park Stakes. A few months later however, news broke that the star juvenile was disqualified after testing positive for a substance called clenbuterol, often known as Ventipulmin.

This substance, while allowed for clearing up lung infections, was still present in the horse’s system. Roger Charlton disputed any wrongdoing and said that he had stopped giving the horse treatment nine days (rather than the recommended six and a half) before the race. None the less, this was one of the most high-profile cases since routine testing began and ultimately the handler accepted the £600 fine.

2004 – Spanish surprise

Spanish Don lands the biggest Cambridgeshire Handicap upset of the modern era. The unfancied 100/1 outsider put in a valiant display with Liam Keniry on the saddle to win the contest by a neck’s length. For a horse that had won four of his previous 10 races, a triple digit price was a generous one but most at the time failed to recognise the value for money. Trainer David Elsworth joked that it was his own popularity that saw Spanish Don trading at such a price.

2004 – Sun Chariot joins the elite

Four years after being cut in distance, down to one mile, the Sun Chariot Stakes enjoys promotion to Group 1 status. Since then the race has witnessed a number of top class winners such as Attraction and Halfway to Heaven, with the winner of the 2018 1,000 Guineas, Billesdon Brook, being victorious here in 2019.

2008 – Pride Stakes moves to Newmarket

The Group 3 Pride Stakes is transferred from Ascot to Newmarket. It remained at Newmarket for three years before returning to Ascot to become the British Champions Fillies’ and Mares’ Stakes. Moving in the other direction was the Princess Royal Stakes, which took the vacant spot the Pride Stakes left behind at Newmarket.

2011 – Royal Lodge & Fillies Mile rehoused

Frankel scooped his first major victory in the Royal Lodge Stakes in 2010, paving the way for a series of other first-class titles. The race had historically taken place at Ascot but in 2011 it permanently relocated to Newmarket. What a fine acquisition it was too, as the one mile race has been part of the Breeders’ Cup Challenge series since.

The same year, Newmarket also welcomes the Fillies’ Mile, by this time a highly valued contest boasting Group 1 status. Taking place on the second day of the three-day meet, the first permanent running at its new home was won by Lyric of Light. To make room for these two new additions, the Cambridge Meeting waved goodbye to the Middle Park Stakes.

2011 – Joel Stakes upgraded again

When first established, the Joel Stakes only held listed status but it enjoyed promotion to Group 3 in 2003. Eight years later, it became one of three pattern races upgraded by the BHA, the Sceptre Stakes and Hampton Court Stakes being the other two. As a result, the Cambridgeshire Meeting gained itself another Group 2 contest.

2011 – Sahpresa makes it a hat-trick

It is rare to see a horse win three consecutive times at the Cambridgeshire Meeting but this is exactly what Sahpresa managed in 2011. Having won the Sun Chariot Stakes the previous two years the American-bred and French-trained horse gave it one more crack. By securing gold yet again, Sahpresa became the first ever (and at the time of writing, only) three-time Sun Chariot champion.

2014 – Major races removed from schedule

Organisers at Newmarket opt to move the Oh So Sharp Stakes, now a Group 3 event, to a fixture in October. The following year it is pushed back another week further to become part of the Future Champions Festival. Also departing the Cambridgeshire Meeting is the Sun Chariot Stakes, a considerable loss given its Group 1 status.

The biggest loss from the schedule however is the Fillies’ Mile, also moved to Future Champions Day. To help soften the blow, the Rockfel Stakes, a leading race for two-year-old fillies, took its place. Lucida, trained by Kevin Manning won the first September running of the contest.

2017 – Princess Royal Stakes upgraded

Six years after the Princess Royal Stakes first appeared at Newmarket the race received a promotion, going from Listed level to Group 3. It proved to be a memorable renewal for Chain of Daisies who become the first two-time winner of the event, which had been established in 1998.