Great St Wilfrid Stakes Preview, Tips, Runners & Trends

One of the north's fiercest sprint handicaps, the Great St Wilfrid sends a big field six furlongs across Ripon's sharp track, where a clean getaway and the draw both shape the finish. Our trends guide covers the profile, the draw and the shortlist.
Great St Wilfrid Stakes Preview, Tips, Runners & Trends
Andy Powell
Andy Powell Content Editor

You know how punters get lost in too much data or bet blindly? I break down the stats and trends so you can feel confident you’re betting with more than just gut instinct.

2027 Great St Wilfrid Stakes Preview

The Great St Wilfrid Stakes is a class two handicap that takes place each August at Ripon Racecourse. The race is open to runners aged three or older and is run over a distance of six furlongs. The race is the most valuable race at Ripon and is named after the patron saint of Ripon, St Wilfred, with the winner of the race receiving a trophy of the saint on horseback.

What the expert says...
The Great St Wilfrid has a firm Goodwood connection, and the Stewards' Cup is the trail to follow. Five of the last twenty winners came here straight out of that famous sprint handicap, including Dare To Hope and Justanotherbottle, making it comfortably the strongest form line. Goodwood in total accounts for six of the last twenty winners' final prep runs, so a sprinter arriving off a good effort on the Sussex Downs deserves close attention before this year's renewal.

Andy Powell - Horse Racing Betting Expert - OLBG.com

Great St Wilfrid Stakes Information:

Why not use the trends shortlist below to help you narrow down the field and then head over to the dedicated Ripon tips page to see which runners are being supported by the OLBG expert racing tipsters to find yourself a bet? You may also be interested in other preview blogs that we have packed full of information. Head down to the Other Principal Races at Ripon Racecourse section for links to these.

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How competitive is the Great St Wilfrid Stakes market? When looking at the over-rounds for the last 20 renewals, the most competitive market was in 2015, when the race had an over-round of 122%. The race in 2012 was a race that was most in the bookie's favour with an over-round of 137%, whilst on average over the last 20 renewals of the Great St Wilfrid Stakes, the over-round has been 129%, which means the bookie expects to pay out £100 for every £129 which is bet.

Below you will find the 2027 Great St Wilfrid Stakes Trends. See which patterns have occurred over the recent renewals that you may be able to use for the next renewal. We also have a section that looks at the Great St Wilfrid Stakes Trend Analysis.

These are the top three quickest-run Great St Wilfrid Stakes races over the last 20 renewals:

  1. Intrinsic Bond (1:09.35) in 2022
  2. Dare To Hope (1:09.53) in 2024
  3. Baccarat (1:09.72) in 2013

Looking at the future form, is the winner worth following next time out? Over the past 20 renewals, if you had followed the winner of the Great St Wilfrid Stakes next time out, then you would have backed a total of 3 winners. Backing all 18 runners who have been out since their win at SP next time out would have returned an LSP of -0.50. Remember to use the racing predictions along with the information on this page to find a bet on the 2027 Great St Wilfrid Stakes.

Over the last 20 renewals, it was Intrinsic Bond, trained by Tracy Waggott and ridden by Connor Beasley, who set the fastest winning time in the Great St Wilfrid Stakes. That runner won the race in a time of 1:09.35 in 2022. At the other end of the scale, it was the combination of trainer Michael Dods and jockey Connor Beasley with Dakota Gold who set the slowest winning time; the race-winning time was 1:14.56 in the 2019 renewal.

Great St Wilfrid Stakes Past Winners

Here are the Great St Wilfrid Stakes' past winners for the last 10 renewals. Each row details the race year, the winning horse, and the horse's age & weight. Also detailed are the stall from which the horse came and the total number of runners in the race. The horse's trainer and the jockey at the time of winning the Great St Wilfrid Stakes are also displayed, along with the starting price at which the horse was sent off.

YearHorse (Drawn)Info
2026
1:10.35
Royal Zabeel (IRE)
5yo 9-7 (5 of 14) 17/2
Jason Watson
Michael Appleby (GB)
2025
1:10.77
Intervention (GB)
8yo 8-2 (1 of 17) 16/1
William Pyle (3lbs)
Michael Appleby (GB)
2024
1:09.53
Dare To Hope (IRE)
4yo 8-11 (16 of 17) 9/2F
Oisin Orr
Richard Fahey (GB)
2023
1:11.51
Sophias Starlight (FR)
3yo 8-7 (6 of 18) 7/1
Sam James
Grant Tuer (GB)
2022
1:09.35
Intrinsic Bond (GB)
5yo 8-7 (6 of 14) 11/1
Connor Beasley
Tracy Waggott (GB)
2021
1:09.72
Justanotherbottle (IRE)
7yo 8-12 (19 of 20) 18/1
Kevin Stott
Kevin Ryan (GB)
2020
1:11.71
Staxton (GB)
5yo 8-5 (17 of 19) 4/1F
Duran Fentiman
Tim Easterby (GB)
2019
1:14.56
Dakota Gold (GB)
5yo 9-7 (15 of 17) 5/1F
Connor Beasley
Michael Dods (GB)
2018
1:09.98
Gunmetal (IRE)
5yo 9-0 (19 of 20) 10/1
Joe Fanning
David Barron (GB)
2017
1:11.72
Mattmu (GB)
5yo 9-1 (10 of 19) 25/1
David Allan
Tim Easterby (GB)

Where have the winning runners come from?

Here are the countries where the winning trainers of the Great St Wilfrid Stakes have been based:

  • GB: 20 winners with an additional 57 placings from 361 runners
  • IRE: 0 winners with an additional 0 placings from 1 runner

Great St Wilfrid Stakes Trainer Statistics

There are two leading trainers in the Great St Wilfrid Stakes over the last 20 renewals, with both Richard Fahey and David O'Meara, who have both won the race three times. Richard Fahey's winners have been with Baccarat (2013), Dont Touch (2015) and Dare To Hope (2024). David O'Meara winners have been with Pepper Lane (2011 & 2012) and Out Do (2014). Other trainers who have recorded multiple wins in the Great St Wilfrid Stakes are Tim Easterby (2 wins) and Michael Appleby (2 wins). One trainer has not had the best of times in the Great St Wilfrid Stakes; Ruth Carr has sent a total of 10 runners to the race without recording a win.

Here are some of the top Great St Wilfrid Stakes trainer statistics over the last 20 renewals (R = Runners, W = Winners, P = Places including winners, Win LSP is based on 1pt Win and EW LSP is based on 0.5pt Win & 0.5pt Place):

TrainerR-W-PWinEW
Richard Fahey47-3-9-31.00-21.57
David O'Meara25-3-9+16.00+13.77
Tim Easterby36-2-6-5.00-4.74
Michael Appleby6-2-2+20.50+11.31
Kevin Ryan23-1-7-4.00+4.13
David Barron14-1-1-3.00-6.75
Michael Dods8-1-5-2.00+6.14
Bryan Smart6-1-2+11.00+8.25
Clive Cox6-1-2+5.00+3.13
Henry Candy4-1-2+0.50+1.69

Great St Wilfrid Stakes Jockey Statistics

There are two leading jockeys in the Great St Wilfrid Stakes over the last 20 renewals, with both Daniel Tudhope and Connor Beasley having won the race three times. Daniel Tudhope's winners have been with Pepper Lane (2011 & 2012) and Out Do (2014). Connor Beasley's winners have been with Nameitwhatyoulike (2016), Dakota Gold (2019) and Intrinsic Bond (2022). The only other jockey to have recorded multiple wins in the Great St Wilfrid Stakes is Tony Hamilton (2 wins). There is one jockey who has not had the best of times in the Great St Wilfrid Stakes; James Sullivan has ridden 10 runners in the race without recording any wins.

Here are some of the top Great St Wilfrid Stakes jockey statistics over the last 20 renewals (R = Runners, W = Winners, P = Places including winners, Win LSP is based on 1pt Win and EW LSP is based on 0.5pt Win & 0.5pt Place):

JockeyR-W-PWinEW
Daniel Tudhope12-3-5+29.00+17.26
Connor Beasley9-3-7+26.00+23.40
Tony Hamilton10-2-3+0.50+0.31
David Allan17-1-4+9.00+6.13
Duran Fentiman9-1-1-4.00-5.50
Kevin Stott5-1-2+14.00+10.25
Sam James5-1-1+3.00+0.38
William Pyle4-1-2+13.00+10.63
Jason Watson2-1-2+7.50+5.56
Pat Cosgrave2-1-2+2.50+4.19

2027 Great St Wilfrid Stakes Runners & Shortlist

The runners and the final trends shortlist for the 2027 renewal of the Great St Wilfrid Stakes will be added once the final declarations are confirmed, which are usually 48 hours before the race.

Great St Wilfrid Stakes Trend Analysis

✅ The trend factor, which has produced 10+ winners and shows the best LSP, an LSP of +30.00, is when runners had the same jockey as when last winning.

❌ The worst-performing factor that has failed to produce a single winner is when runners had a biggest odds run of 100/1; when backing these, the trend shows a record of 0-39.

Here are the most recent winning draws, along with the further placings in brackets:

  • 2026: Winner in 5 (10,6) [14 Runners]
  • 2025: Winner in 1 (10,13,17) [17 Runners]
  • 2024: Winner in 16 (6,5,18) [17 Runners]
  • 2023: Winner in 6 (7,12,16) [18 Runners]
  • 2022: Winner in 6 (9,12) [14 Runners]

The course which has produced the most winners of the Great St Wilfrid Stakes is Goodwood; there have been a total of 6 winners of this race who ran at Goodwood last time out. The next best course, which has produced the second most winners, is Ripon; there have been a total of 3 winners of this race who ran at Ripon last time out.

The race is open to both sexes, with male runners having produced a total of 17 winners from a total of 344 runners, while female runners have produced 3 winners from a total of 18 runners.

Looking over the past renewals, these are the stallions whose offspring have produced multiple winners of the Great St Wilfrid Stakes:

  • Exceed And Excel (3 Wins)
  • Dutch Art (2 Wins)
  • Equiano (2 Wins)

These are the stallions whose offspring have not produced a winner of the Great St Wilfrid Stakes despite multiple attempts:

  • Pivotal (0 Wins from 13 runners)
  • Kyllachy (0 Wins from 12 runners)
  • Piccolo (0 Wins from 11 runners)
  • Acclamation (0 Wins from 9 runners)
  • Invincible Spirit (0 Wins from 9 runners)

Looking at the winning odds over the last 20 renewals, the biggest-priced winner was Mattmu in 2017, winning for Tim Easterby at odds of 25/1 under the guidance of David Allan. Looking at the runners at the head of the market over the last 20 renewals, there have been 7 winning favourites in the race. Before placing your bet on the 2027 Great St Wilfrid Stakes, head over to see which runners the best racing tipsters are tipping today.

Route to the Great St Wilfrid Stakes

Many trainers target races as preparation for the Great St Wilfrid Stakes. These are the races which the recent winners ran in before coming here:

InfoLast Race
2026 - Royal Zabeel
Newmarket (July) - 10th of 13 (7/1)
Bunbury Cup
2025 - Intervention
Chepstow - 3rd of 13 (18/1)
Racing League 18 Handicap
2024 - Dare To Hope
Goodwood - 10th of 25 (29/1)
Stewards Cup
2023 - Sophias Starlight
Goodwood - 2nd of 13 (11/2)
World Pool British EBF Fillies Handicap
2022 - Intrinsic Bond
Thirsk - 1st of 10 (4/1)
Tomahawk Steakhouses Handicap
2021 - Justanotherbottle
Goodwood - 22nd of 24 (41/1)
Stewards Cup
2020 - Staxton
Ripon - 1st of 11 (5/1)
David Chapman Memorial Handicap
2019 - Dakota Gold
York - 1st of 15 (10/1)
Sky Bet Dash
2018 - Gunmetal
Goodwood - 11th of 26 (11/1)
Stewards Cup
2017 - Mattmu
Doncaster - 4th of 4 (9/2)
Unison Essential Cover Wherever You Work Conditions Stakes

Article Contributor Information

We are fortunate to have an excellent team of specialists and experts at OLBG. Contributing to the creation and maintenance of this Great St Wilfrid Stakes Preview are Andy and James. They both work on the Horse Racing Tips team, overseeing the tipsters and managing the tip settlement, while also creating and managing all the horse racing event previews for Flat racing.

James Banting

James Banting

Content Editor

James Banting, a passionate horse racing enthusiast and aficionado, brings a wealth of experience to OLBG, having attended numerous race meetings over the years. His background working with the Jockey Association provides him with a unique insider's perspective on the industry.
Andy Powell

Andy Powell

Content Editor

Andy, a seasoned horse racing expert with over 15 years of experience, possesses a comprehensive understanding of the sport, from delving into complex statistical data for flat racing in the UK and Ireland to crafting insightful flat racing blogs for OLBG.

Other Principal races at Ripon Racecourse

Here are some other notable races at the Ripon racecourse throughout the racing season that you may be interested in.

Races in August

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