A Preview of the 2022 Newmarket Day 2 Tattersalls Falmouth Stakes

Newmarket Racecourse

The racecourse venue is situated in Newmarket, Suffolk and is often referred to as the headquarters of British horse racing. This is further underpinned by the surroundings, which include Tattersalls, the National Horse Racing Museum and the largest agglomeration of horse training stables and yards in the country. The venue itself has two individual racecourses, the Rowley Mile and the July Course.

There are 36 Group one flat races every calendar season and Newmarket proudly hosts nine of these including the 1,000 and 2,000 guineas. These races are certainly complemented at the Newmarket July Festival with the Tattersalls Falmouth Stakes and the Darley July Cup.

The Tattersalls Falmouth Stakes Day 2 Newmarket July Festival

At 15:35 on Friday 8 July the only Group One race of the day at the Newmarket July Festival will be ready for the off. The Falmouth Stakes had a great prize pot of £215,000 in 2021 and it is a race where mares and fillies get the chance to claim their share over a one-mile (1,609m) race. The classic three-year-olds get the chance to take on their older and more experienced rivals.  

The history of the race goes all the way back to 1911 when the inaugural race was won by Alice. The race was named after leading racehorse owner and breeder Evelyn Boscawen who was the 6th Viscount of Falmouth. Originally open to only three-year-old fillies, there have been some more recent changes to the format of the race. When race grading was introduced, the race had a Grade Three classification in 1971. In 1974 older fillies and mares were allowed to enter the race and by 1987 the Falmouth Stakes was upgraded to Grade Two. Finally. In 2004 the race made another step up and became a Grade One flat race.

No horse in the history of the Falmouth Stakes has managed to win three times. In fact, only two horses have ever managed to win it on two occasions. The first horse to romp home in two consecutive years was Sonic Lady in 1986 and 1987 and she was the top rated European three-year-old filly in 1986. The second horse to achieve the Falmouth Stakes double was Soviet Song in 2004 and 2005 and was the highest rated older filly in the world at that time. In 2005 Soviet Song was five years old and no other horse of this age has won the Falmouth Stakes since. Three-year-old Snow Lantern won this race in 2021 and her form dropped thereafter up until her last run in October 2021. It's not known if she will race this year to give the filly the chance of matching the record held by Sonic Lady and Soviet Song?

There are many records held by Lester Piggott and the Falmouth Stakes is no exception when it comes to the leading jockey with the most wins. Over an amazing career, his Falmouth Stakes wins were spread across no fewer than 37 years. His first win came in 1957 riding Sylphide, thereafter Green Opal in 1960, Chrona in 1966, Vital Match in 1969, Chalon in 1982, Niche in 1993 and his final win was ridden on Lemon Souffle in 1994. Another great effort Lester!

Apart from the jockeys let’s take a look at the leading trainers and number of wins in the Falmouth Stakes. Two trainers have managed to prime their horses and win the Falmouth Stakes on six occasions. The first trainer to reach this accolade was Alec Taylor. Jr. during a period starting with his first win in 1914 training First Spear until his sixth win with Maid of Bath in 1924. Known as the Wizard of Manton he won the title of British flat racing Champion Trainer on no fewer than twelve occasions. There is only one other trainer to meet six wins and that is Sir Michael Stoute. Two of those wins came with Sonic Lady and the last success was in 2019 with Veracious. Just like the Eclipse Stakes, Sir Michael Stoute has a season to look forward to where he can break trainer’s winner’s records, providing he has the fillies to enter this year’s race. This can be something to look out for as the Falmouth Stakes approach and entries for the event are disclosed.

The leading owner at the Falmouth Stakes was American born politician and newspaper proprietor, Waldorf Astor, 2nd Viscount Astor. One of his horses won in each decade from the 1910’s through to the 1940’s providing him with a total of four wins. His record remains unblemished although it is one that can surely be matched in the future. For example, the owner of the winner Nazeef in 2020 was Hamdan Al Maktoum and this was his third success as an owner in the Falmouth Stakes.

Fun Facts and Things to Consider for the 2022 Newmarket July Festival and Falmouth Stakes

Since 1980, 67% of horses that have won the Falmouth Stakes are three-year-olds. As mentioned, Soviet Song was the last five-year-old to win in 2005 winning the race for a second time. The last four-year-old to win the race was Nazeef in 2020. On the flip side 7 out of the last 10 winners have been four-year-olds. Due to their lesser maturity, three-year-olds have a seven-pound weight advantage for this race.  

Sir Michaela Stoute will be gunning to become the all-time winning trainer this year but in the last 20 starts of this race he has won just twice. So too has John Godsen and A P O’Brien but James Fanshawe has trained three winning horses. It may be worthwhile checking if these trainers are active in the Falmouth Stakes this year.

Lester Piggott holds many records and as a jockey is a few lengths ahead of the chasing pack when looking at his record in the Falmouth Stakes. Lester can rest assured his record will continue to stand for a few years with Ryan Moore the next most successful jockey with three wins. These wins all came within a rich vein of form between 2014 and 2017. Sean Levey, Jim Crowley, William Buick, James Doyle and Frankie Dettori could be jockeys to look out for seeking their second win in the Falmouth Stakes at the Newmarket July Festival 2022.

If you are interested in the Falmouth Stakes don’t forget there are six other exciting races at the Newmarket Festival 8 July 2022, including the Duchess of Cambridge Stakes. The Duchess of Cambridge Stakes is a group 2 race for two-year-old fillies and is run over 6 furlongs (1,207m).

At mr.play we provide you with all the betting markets you could need to bet on the Newmarket July Festival and some extremely competitive odds. While we believe that horseracing betting is a lot of fun, we are also firm believers in responsible gambling. If you need any help or advice, then you can turn to organisations such as gambleaware.co.uk for free support.