Royal Ascot

Wokingham Stakes Trends & Best Bets For 2026

6 hours ago

| BY Steve Mullington

The Wokingham Stakes takes place on the fifth and final day of the Royal Ascot meeting and is always a popular horse racing betting heat with punters across the world.

Because of the sheer size of the field, the race is famously known as a “cavalry charge” because the horses are spread out across the entire width of Ascot’s straight six-furlong track.

Notable Winners

Back-to-back winners include Rohaan (2021, 2022), with the second win being impressive as he carried top-weight of 9st 12lb, plus Selhurstpark Flyer (1997, 1998) also achieved the feat in the late 90’s.
Laddies Poker Two (2010) scored comfortably despite the mare having been completely off a racecourse for 610 days.
Fayr Jag & Ratio (2003) are famous for finishing in a rare dead-heat for first place.

Overseas-Trained Winners

The Bug (1946) was an Irish-trained sprinter who took the 1946 Wokingham Stakes and then went on an incredible 10-race winning streak.
Trained in Ireland by Michael Halford, Ratio dead-heated for the race in 2003.

Starting Prices

The biggest modern days upsets in the Wokingham came from Dandy Boy (2012) and Bacchus (2018), both of whom landed the spoils at a rather tasty 33/1 starting price.
Between 1980 and 2025, the outright market favourite has taken the race just 8 times in 46 runnings.
The average starting price of a Wokingham Stakes winner is around the 14/1 mark, just proving what a wide-open value contest it is.

Most Successful Trainers In Wokingham Stakes

Paul Cole is the most successful modern-era trainer in the race’s history. He managed to saddle the winner three times in total with: Calibina (1977), Queen’s Pride (1980), and Bel Byou (1987).
William Haggas has taken this heritage handicap twice: High Standing (2009) and more recently with Unequal Love (2024).
Kevin Ryan has landed the silverware twice too, with York Glory (2013) and Hey Jonesy (2020).
David Evans masterminded Rohaan’s back-to-back victories in 2021 and 2022.

Significant Wokingham Stakes Trends

Age: 9 of the last 12 winners were aged either 4 or 5.
Sex: 8 of the last 12 winners were geldings
Weight: 9 of the last 12 winners carried between 9st 2lb and 9st 9lb.
Rating: 9 of the last 12 winners had an official rating of between 99 and 106.
Draw: 10 of the last 12 winners were drawn in stall 10 or higher.
Starting Price: Only one winner came from the top three in the sports betting. The typical price bracket for the last 12 years has been between 15/2 to 33/1.

Wokingham Stakes Antepost Tips 2026

Just like the Royal Hunt Cup, the Gosden’s have a very interesting Godolphin-owned contender in the shape of SPY CHIEF (16/1).

The four-year-old gelding has won one of nine starts, a novice at Yarmouth in June 2025 and placed in the Group 3 Jersey at Royal Ascot last season. This term, he was last seen finishing a neck second to Almeraq in the Listed Cathedral Stakes at Salisbury.

At a much bigger price, The Horse Watchers syndicate must be starting to like the chances of their five-year-old gelding ROYAL ZABEEL (20/1).

He ran a highly encouraging fourth in the Victora Cup here in May and his trainer is very astute in these big handicaps.

Wokingham Stakes Selections 2026

Spy Chief (16/1) & Royal Zabeel (20/1) E/W

Punters can find the latest future races odds and antepost betting markets for Royal Ascot at William Hill. With just a few days until the 2026 meeting gets underway, you can find plenty of information live at William Hill News.