As ever, the juveniles take centre stage at the appropriately named Future Champions Festival, with each of the two days lit up by a spectacular Group 1 affair. The fillies kick off the action in Friday’s bet365 mile, but the pick of the contests comes on Saturday afternoon with the latest edition of the Dewhurst Stakes.
There are many Group class events for the youngsters spread throughout the season, but few can compare to this £500,000 seven-furlong affair. Starting as it would mean to go on in 1875, the first four winners of this event would land at least one Classic in their three-year-old campaign, and that standard has remained remarkably consistent ever since.
A trawl through the Dewhurst Stakes history books reveals the names of Nijinsky, Mill Reef, Rock Of Gibraltar, Frankel, and more, but simply looking at the past six winners provides a fine illustration of the type of horse it takes to prevail.
2023 – City Of Troy
Labelled as the greatest horse he has ever trained by master handler Aidan O’Brien, this Justify colt rounded off his perfect juvenile campaign with a trailblazing demolition of the field in the Dewhurst. So far, in 2024, he has claimed the Epsom Derby, the Coral Eclipse, and the Juddmonte International.
Next stop is the Breeders’ Cup Classic at Del Mar: win that, and Horse of the Year Honours and racing immortality await.
2022 – Chaldean
Unlike City Of Troy, this Andrew Balding star won only one of five starts during his three-year-old season. However, this Frankel colt picked the right race to put his best hoof forward. Kicking off by introducing Frankie Dettori to the Newbury turf after approximately one yard of the Greenham Stakes, Chaldean rebounded to storm almost two lengths clear of the field in the 2,000 Guineas.
2021 – Native Trail
A two-length Dewhurst success confirmed Native Trail’s status as the 2021 Champion Juvenile. Extending his unbeaten record to five when landing odds of 1/4 in the Craven Stakes, he was sent off at just 5/4 for the 2,000 Guineas – only to find stablemate Coroebus just under a length too good. Compensation awaited at the Curragh as he recorded the final win of his career in the Irish 2,000 Guineas.
2020 – St Mark’s Basilica
The second Aidan O’Brien star on our list caused a minor upset when getting up close home to deny stablemate Wembley in 2020, but would go on to prove that result was no fluke. Sent to Longchamp for the Poule d’Essai des Poulains, he easily saw off the field and completed the French Classic double in the Prix du Jockey Club. Not done yet, he added Group 1 wins on the Coral Eclipse and the Irish Champion Stakes before retiring to a life at stud.
2019 – Pinatubo
Named after a volcano, this Shamardal colt exploded onto the scene in 2019, displaying a level of superiority of which even Frankel would be proud. Six two-year-old starts yielded six wins, two Group 1s (including the Dewhurst), with no horse getting to within a length and a half of him.
His rivals did catch up with him at three but didn’t prevent him from bagging the Group 1 Prix Jean Prat at Deauville. Now a promising stallion, his first offspring hit the track in 2024.
2018 – Too Darn Hot
Sired by Dubawi and out of the Singspiel mare, Dar Re Mi, this John Gosden colt is a full brother to the talented duo of Lah Ti Dar and So Mi Dar. Hopes were high when he made his debut in 2018, and he wasted no time delivering on that pedigree potential. Maiden, Group 3, and Group 2 romps preceded an effortless Dewhurst Victory, seeing Too Darn Hot rocked to the head of the 2,000 Guineas market. Defeat in the Dante Stakes saw him skip Newmarket, and defeats in the Irish 2,000 and the St James’s Palace Stakes suggested his bubble may have burst. However, as the old saying goes, form is temporary, class is permanent, and the talented colt rounded off his career with a Group 1 double in the Prix Jean Prat and the Sussex Stakes.
Who is Next in Line?
In total, the past six Dewhurst champs have won 13 further Group 1 victories, including five British, Irish, or French Classics. No surprise that the eyes of the racing world will be upon the 2024 edition on Saturday, with the field including the unbeaten colts The Lion In Winter and Ancient Truth from the yards of Aidan O’Brien and Charlie Appleby.