How many Group 1 races are run over 5 furlongs in Britain?

It may, or may not, come as a surprise to learn that, for five-furlong sprinters, races at the highest, Group 1 level are few and far between in the British Flat racing calendar. As a matter of fact, there just two such contests, but – notwithstanding the fact that the European Pattern race system was not introduced until 1971 – they have histories dating back to the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries respectively.

The older of the pair is the King's Stand Stakes, inaugurated as, the Queen's Stand Plate, in 1860 and renamed in 1901, following the accession of King Edward VII. Indeed, the race is due to be re-titled the King Charles III Stakes from 2024 onwards. Run on the stiff straight course at Ascot, currently on the first day of the Royal Meeting in June, the King's Stand Stakes is open to horses aged three years and upwards and, nowadays, worth £600,000, making it the most valuable race of its kind run in Britain. The King's Stand Stakes was first designated a Group 1 contest in 1973 and, although demoted to Group 2 status 15 years later, was promoted back to the highest level in 2008.

 

The Nunthorpe Stakes, currently scheduled for the third day of the four-day Ebor Festival at York in August, is a more recent addition to the racing programme, having first been run, in its current guise, in 1922. The five-furlong course on the Knavesmire is flat, fair and considerably faster – two and a half seconds faster, according to standard times – than that at Ascot and, as such, plays to the strengths of out-and-out speedsters. By contrast to the King's Stand Stakes, the Nunthorpe Stakes is open to horses aged two years and upwards, including geldings, which makes it unique in the upper echelon of Flat racing in Britain. The race has been a Group 1 contest since 1984 and currently offers £350,000 in total prize money.

Kentucky Derby Festival

A Grade 1 contest, run over 2,000 metres, or approximately a mile and a quarter, on dirt at Churchill Downs Racetrack in Louisville, Kentucky and open to three-year-old colts, fillies and geldings, the Kentucky Derby represents the first leg of the North American Triple Crown. Known colloquially as the 'Run for the Roses' and billed as 'the most exciting two minutes in sport', the Kentucky Derby is run on the first Saturday in May, where it forms the highlight of a 14-race card.

However, the Kentucky Derby Festival stretches far beyond the confines of Churchill Downs into the wider Kentucky community, where it celebrates not only the Kentucky Derby, but also the coming of spring to the 'Bluegrass State'. Indeed, the Festival is the largest single annual event in the Kentucky calendar and, in the two weeks preceding the Kentucky Derby, attracts 1.5 million people to a series of playful, tongue-in-cheek events suitable for the whole family. All told, over 70 special events, many of which are free of charge, are laid on for entertainment purposes and to bolster the local economy.

Highlights include the opening fireworks display, known as 'Thunder Over Louisville', which is one of the largest events of its kind anywhere in the United States, the 'Great Steamboat Race' on the Ohio River, and the founding event, the 'Pegasus Parade'. Sports, including basketball, golf and volleyball, are very much in evidence and so, too, is music, with concerts running almost non-stop throughout the fortnight.

Which horse was beaten favourite in the 2009 World Hurdle?

By way of clarification, the three-mile hurdling championship, previously and subsequently known as the Stayers' Hurdle was, between 2005 and 2016, sponsored by Ladbrokes and Ryanair and renamed the World Hurdle. Nevertheless, the Grade 1 contest was still run over 2 miles, 7 furlongs and 213 yards on the New Course at Cheltenham, where, alongside the Ryanair Chase, it formed one of the feature races on the third day of the Cheltenham Festival, staged annually in March.

The 2009 renewal of the World Hurdle was significant insofar as it featured the first appearance of Big Buck's, trained by Paul Nicholls, who would not only win at the first time of asking, but again in 2010, 2011 and 2012, during a then-record winning streak of 18 races. Originally campaigned over fences, Big Buck's unseated his rider, Sam Thomas, at the final fence in the Hennessy Gold Cup at Newbury on his seasonal debut in 2008/09 and the decision to send him on a retrieval mission, back over hurdles, ultimately proved to be a stroke of genius.

Favourite for the 2009 World Hurdle, though, was the Kasbah Bliss, trained by Francois Doumen, who was making his third appearance in the race, having finished fifth behind Inglis Drever in 2007 and second, beaten just a length, behind Iris's Gift in 2008. Fresh from an impressive, 8-length victory in the Rendlesham Hurdle at Haydock Park the previous month, the 7-year-old was sent off at 10/11 to follow up at the Festival.

However, having been held up at the rear of the field, Kasbah Bliss made headway to challenge at the second-last flight, but was outpaced on the run to the last and weakened on the run-in, eventually finishing fourth, 20½ lengths behind Big Buck's. That provded to be his last appearance at the Cheltenham Festival and, indeed, over hurdles anywhere. 

Hong Kong International Races

The Hong Kong International Races meeting is staged, under the auspices of the Hong Kong Jockey Club, at Sha Tin Racecourse, in the New Territories region of Hong Kong, in December each year. Currently sponsored by Swiss watchmaker Longines and billed as the 'Turf World Championships', Hong Kong International Races comprises the four most prestigious races run in the region, namely the Hong Kong Cup, Hong Kong Mile, Hong Kong Sprint and Hong Kong Vase.

Unsurprisingly, all four races are nowadays Group 1 contests but, while all four are open to horses aged three years and upwards, they did not come into existence at the same time. The Hong Kong Cup, which is run over 2,000 metres, or approximately a mile and a quarter, was first run in its current guise in 1999. So, too, was the Hong Kong Mile, which is run over 1,600 metres, or approximately one mile, although it was not upgraded to Group 1 status until the following year. The Hong Kong Sprint, nowadays run over 1,200 metres, or approximately six furlongs, was also inaugurated in 1999, albeit over 1,000 metres, or approximately five furlongs, but did not achieve Group 1 status until 2002 and was not lengthened to its current distance until 2006. The Hong Kong Vase, run over 2,400 metres, or approximately a mile and a half, was first staged in 1994, but similarly did not achieve Group 1 status until 2000.

What Is A Long Furlong?

One of my racing friends is called Seamus Furlong.

Understanding horse racing and all its terminology and intricacies isn’t a test in the sense of a competition. However, I do like to test those who ‘know’ something about the Sport of Kings. I ask: ‘How many metres are there in a furlong?’

Send your answers on a postcard, as they used to say about 40-years ago.

In realistic terms my thoughts of questioning may suggest some kind of shortcoming in my own self concept. As when someone uses a fancy word instead of something bog standard. My in depth knowledge of subjects is limited. I know my niche of two-year-old horse racing and birds. That’s the feathered variety as my next door neighbour Eric Alterton would say.

For those who have no idea how long a furlong is or care to wonder I will detail it’s 201 metres.

Don’t ask me how long that is in feet and inches.

It just proves the point that we can all be exceptionally intelligent and dumb a the same time.

Horse racing is one of those subjects where it makes the best of people, even trainers, look like they’d struggle to spoon feed themselves cornflakes each morning.

I’ve had occasions when that final furlong has felt like a long furlong. I know what your are saying: ‘How can 201 metres be anything other than that basic number? It’s a scale, theory, method or whatever you want to call it.’ However, and this sounds like a joke: ‘When is a furlong not a furlong?’

It’s akin to the story penned by George Orwell’s - Animal Farm: ‘All animals are equal but some are more equal than others.’

Only a pig could say those words.

But it’s true for furlongs too. And when a punter says a horse is running over 6-furlongs there is often a marked difference between the time of the same distance. It’s the same for the humble furlong. At Epsom a furlong may be run in 10 seconds while at Pontefract 13. Then consider the variable of the going it can be even more marked. On the firm ground at Bath to the heavy going at Leicester the time difference may be 8 seconds (for a furlong). In fact, over a longer trip of 1m 6f, the final furlong on testing ground may take 22 seconds to run. So one furlong takes the same time as another horse on faster ground could run two furlongs.

I hope you’re keeping up!

The longest furlong may have nothing to do with time but everything to do with perception. I’m sure a few readers will know what I am talking about.

When you have a potential big win and your horse is two or three lengths clear leading into the final furlong. It’s called a long furlong because with each stride the lead is being reduced. You’re not sure whether to watch your horse, the chaser, tongue lolling out like it’s blowing a raspberry, or the finishing line. Your eyes dart from the three like it’s the holy trinity. At times, it must be an optical illusion, I could swear the finishing line (lollipop) is moving further away. The reality of the furlong comes to being with the win, loss or draw.

How many times I wished that furlong took one second faster or slower to run.

However, sometimes it’s just the right distance and time.

Winner.