The St James's Palace Stakes is a Group 1 contest run over a mile. It takes place at 16:25 on Tuesday 18th June, which is the first day of Royal Ascot 2024. View the runners here, and also make sure to check out the odds and tips on offer for this race.

NO.DRAW
FORM

HORSE

ODDS

JOCKEY& TRAINER

AGE

WGT

RPR

7⁽¹⁾

131-21

Rosallion

J: Sean Levey

T: Richard Hannon

9-2

118

131

Below form on soft ground once and has excelled on good/faster; very smart juvenile last term; second to Notable Speech in the 2,000 Guineas on reappearance having perhaps got to the front sooner than ideal given the strong pace, then played his cards late in the Irish equivalent where he got up in the final strides; likely has even more to offer; major contender.

8⁽³⁾

2421-4

Unquestionable

J: Wayne Lordan

T: Richard Hannon

9-2

113

124

Juvenile campaign ended with a success at the Breeders' Cup; only 1l behind Rosallion in French Group 1 the time before but was about 6l behind that rival in Irish 2,000 Guineas on reappearance and needs to have come on plenty for that run; yard also runs Henry Longfellow.

3⁽⁴⁾

3-1111

Darlinghurst

J: Christophe Soumillon

T: J Reynier

9-2

111

122

Improving French colt who is 4-4 this year, the latest performance in Group 3 at Chantilly (1m1f, good to soft) where he cosily beat a rival who subsequently performed well (finished second) in the French Derby; very much in the winning groove and is climbing the grade ladder with no difficulty; interesting on first attempt away from home soil.

2⁽⁶⁾

1412-5

Alyanaabi

J: Jim Crowley

T: Owen Burrows

9-2

114

124

Acts on soft and good to firm; progressive 2yo campaign culminated in a good second behind City Of Troy in the Dewhurst; creditable fifth in the 2,000 Guineas but that was the second time he has finished behind Rosallion; judged on ratings, he looks set for another supporting role.

4⁽⁷⁾

111-8

Henry Longfellow

J: Ryan Moore

T: A P O'Brien

9-2

118

131

Superbly bred colt whose unbeaten 2yo campaign (3-3) culminated in a 5l success in the National Stakes at the Curragh (good to yielding); best to forgive his reappearance defeat (behind Metropolitan) in the French 2,000 Guineas, as he met some trouble and couldn't get into a challenging position; still open to further progress and remains of major interest.

5⁽²⁾

11-51

Metropolitan

J: Alexis Pouchin

T: Mario Baratti

9-2

114

126

Supplemented for this contest at a cost of £46,000; yet to race on good/firmer; French colt who didn't have much to spare in a blanket finish for the Poulains at Longchamp most recently, taking record to 3-4; has something to find with the other Guineas winners on ratings but brings the promise of better still, having improved with each start.

1⁽⁸⁾

4-11

Almaqam

J: Tom Marquand

T: Ed Walker

9-2

112

126

Impressive in notable Listed contest at Sandown (1m, soft; got loose beforehand) last month, taking record to 2-3 and entering the picture for this prize; won on good ground the time before; promising contender upped further in class, as he's improving at a sizeable rate.

6⁽⁵⁾

1111

Notable Speech

J: William Buick

T: Charlie Appleby

9-2

122

135

Fast-improving colt who has a smart turn of foot and remains unbeaten (4-4); unraced at two; justified favouritism in 1m AW contests at Kempton between January and April, then belied a market drift in the 2,000 Guineas at Newmarket (good) where he came off a strong pace to beat Rosallion; form is working out well; top rated, with the potential to go even higher.

RACING POST TIP

Rosallion

A cracking St James's Palace Stakes which, not for the first time, features a fascinating clash of Guineas winners and other improving colts. Notable Speech has the strongest claims going into this race, being top rated and still unbeaten, so he's not easy to oppose. However, ROSALLION hit the front sooner than ideal when beaten by that rival at Newmarket and, with a delayed challenge on the cards, he could well reverse the placings in this exciting rematch. Additionally, it augurs well that the selection is a very similar type to the Hannon yard's two winners of this contest. Henry Longfellow (third choice) remains of strong interest and his trainer has won this event nine times. French raiders Metropolitan and Darlinghurst are progressing well, as is Almaqam.

Verdict

Past 10 Winners

Year	Horse [Draw]	Age	Weight	SP	Trainer	Jockey
2023	Paddington [8]	3	9-2	11/5	A P O’Brien	Ryan Moore
2022	Coroebus [2]	3	9-2	10/11	William Buick	Charlie Appleby
2021	Poetic Flair [7]	3	9-0	7/2F	J S Bolger	Kevin Manning
2020	Palace Pier [6]	3	9-0	4/1	John Gosden	Frankie Dettori
2019	Circus Maximus [1]	3	9-0	10/1	A P O’Brien	Ryan Moore
2018	Without Parole [2]	3	9-0	9/4F	John Gosden	Frankie Dettori
2017	Barney Roy [4]	3	9-0	5/2	Richard Hannon	James Doyle
2016	Galileo Gold [7]	3	9-0	6/1	Hugo Palmer	Frankie Dettori
2015	Gleneagles [5]	3	9-0	8/15F	A P O’Brien	Ryan Moore
2014	Kingman [7]	3	9-0	8/11F	John Gosden	James Doyle

Key race stats 2024

Key trends

From the first three in the market, 9/10
Rated within 7lb of RPR top rated, 8/10 (six were top-rated)
Had won or placed in a Group 1, 7/10
Adjusted RPR of at least 132, 7/10
Had finished in the first three in a 2,000 Guineas, 7/10

Other factors

Winners who had run in a Guineas finished 211211 at Newmarket and 11221 at the Curragh. The 2021 winner Poetic Flare also ran in the French Guineas (sixth) – the first since Excellent Art in 2007 (fourth).

Four winners had run in the British and Irish Guineas, with all making the frame in both.

Without Parole in 2018 and Palace Pier in 2020 (both trained by John Gosden) are the only two winners not to have run in a Group 1 that season since Shavian in 1990.

Aidan O’Brien has won nine of the last 24 runnings.

What happened in the St. James's Palace Stakes last year?

A clash of the English and Irish Guineas winners, and in a race in which they went a good early gallop but few got involved. PADDINGTON won despite racing three wide on the bend, while runner-up Chaldean hugged the rail in front, and the way he picked up to close him down and draw clear was impressive. Charyn, held up towards the back, stayed on down the outside to take third. He went one place better than in the Irish Guineas.

St James's Palace Stakes

16:25 Royal Ascot

RACING POST TIP

Verdict

Past 10 Winners

Key race stats 2024

What happened in the St. James's Palace Stakes last year?

All Races