When was the Winter Derby established?

Not to be confused with the historic Derby Stakes, which is, of course, run over a mile and a half at Epsom on the first Saturday in June, the Winter Derby Stakes is run over a mile and a quarter on the essentially sharp, left-handed all-weather track at Lingfield in February or March. Unlike the Derby proper, which is restricted to three-year-old colts and fillies, the Winter Derby is open to horses of both sexes, including geldings, aged four years and upwards. The all-weather track at Lingfield, which was originally Equitrack, but has been Polytrack since 2001, is not dissimilar to Epsom, insofar as it is undulating, with a downhill turn into the straight, reminiscent of the famous Tattenham Corner.

The Winter Derby was established, as a conditions stakes race, in 1998, but was promoted to Listed status the following year and, again, to Group 3 status in 2006, such that it is now the first Group race in the British Flat racing calendar and one of just four run on synthetic surfaces. The 2023 winner, Lord North, who justified odds-on favouritism with a ready, 3¼-length win, was the highest-rated horse ever to compete in the Winter Derby. Unsurprisingly, though, his winning prize money, of £56,710, was just a fraction of the £885,781 taken home by the Derby winner, Auguste Rodin.

The inuaugural winner of the Winter Derby was the four-year-old Running Stag, trained by Philip Mitchell, in Epsom, and ridden by Ray Cochrane. The son of Breeders' Cup Mile winner Cozzene won comfortably, by 3½ lengths, from Refuse To Lose and Mitchell later reflected on his success, saying, 'That was a serious coup. He was a Group horse racing against good handicappers.' Later that season, Running Stag competed in Germany, France and the United States, finishing seventh in the Breeders' Cup Classic at Churchill Downs.