The Geoffrey Freer Stakes is a
Group 3 Group 3 may refer to:
*Group 3 element, chemical element classification
*Group 3 (racing), FIA classification for auto racing
* Group 3, the third tier of races in worldwide Thoroughbred horse racing
* Group 3 image format, Group 3 & Group 4 are ...
flat
Flat or flats may refer to:
Architecture
* Flat (housing), an apartment in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia and other Commonwealth countries
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horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at
Newbury over a distance of 1 mile, 5 furlongs and 61 yards (2,671 metres), and it is scheduled to take place each year in August.
History
The event was established in 1949, and it was originally called the Oxfordshire Stakes. It was founded by Geoffrey Freer, a
Jockey Club handicapper who served as the manager of Newbury Racecourse. The venue had been used as an American military supply depot during World War II, and Freer restored the course in the post-war period. The race was renamed in his honour in 1969, the year after his death.
For a period the Geoffrey Freer Stakes was classed at Group 2 level. It was relegated to its current status, Group 3, in 2006.
The leading three-year-olds from the race sometimes go on to compete in the following month's
St. Leger Stakes
The St Leger Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Doncaster over a ...
.
Records
Most successful horse (3 wins):
* Mubtaker – ''2002, 2003, 2004''
Leading
jockey (4 wins):
*
Lester Piggott
Lester Keith Piggott (5 November 1935 – 29 May 2022) was an English professional jockey and trainer. With 4,493 career flat racing wins in Britain, including a record nine Epsom Derby victories, he is widely regarded as one of the greatest ...
– ''Court Command (1956), Valinsky (1977), Ardross (1981, 1982)''
*
Pat Eddery
Patrick James John Eddery (18 March 1952 – 10 November 2015) was an Irish flat racing jockey and trainer. He rode three winners of the Derby and was Champion Jockey on eleven occasions. He rode the winners of 4,632 British flat races, a f ...
– ''Realistic (1974), Consol (1975), Moon Madness (1987), Silver Patriarch (1999)''
*
Frankie Dettori
Lanfranco Dettori (; born 15 December 1970), better known as Frankie Dettori, is an Italian horse racing jockey based in the United Kingdom. Dettori has been British flat racing Champion Jockey three times and has ...
– ''Charmer (1990), Drum Taps (1991), Phantom Gold (1996), Kite Wood (2009)''
Leading
trainer (5 wins):
*
Noel Murless
Sir Charles Francis Noel Murless (24 March 19109 May 1987) was an English racehorse trainer who one of the most successful of the twentieth century. Murless began his career as a trainer in 1935 at Hambleton Lodge in Yorkshire before moving to H ...
– ''Ridge Wood (1949), Court Command (1956), Hopeful Venture (1967), Rangong (1969), Attica Meli (1973)''
Winners since 1979
Earlier winners
* 1949:
Ridge Wood
* 1950: Tilloy
* 1951: Le Sage
* 1952: Westinform
* 1953: Harwin
* 1954: Umberto
* 1955: True Cavalier
* 1956: Court Command
* 1957: Court Harwell
* 1958: Owen Glendower
* 1959: Kalydon
* 1960: High Hat
* 1961: Sagacity
* 1962: Sovrango
* 1963: Sovrango
* 1964: Sunseeker
* 1965: Court Gift
* 1966:
Charlottown
* 1967: Hopeful Venture
* 1968:
Levmoss
Levmoss (1965–1977) was an Irish Thoroughbred racehorse whose career lasted from 1967 to 1969. He was the leading stayer in Europe in 1969, when he won the premier long-distance races in England ( Ascot Gold Cup) and France (Prix du Cadra ...
* 1969: Rangong
* 1970: High Line
* 1971: High Line
* 1972: Sol'Argent
* 1973:
Attica Meli
Attica Meli (1969 – after 1988) was an Irish-bred British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse and broodmare. Owned by Louis Freedman and trained by Noel Murless she won seven of her fifteen races and was regarded as the best British filly of h ...
* 1974: Realistic
* 1975: Consol
* 1976: Swell Fellow
* 1977: Valinsky
* 1978:
Ile de Bourbon
See also
*
Horse racing in Great Britain
Horse racing is the second largest spectator sport in Great Britain, and one of the longest established, with a history dating back many centuries. According to a report by the British Horseracing Authority it generates £3.39 billion total d ...
*
List of British flat horse races
A list of notable flat horse races which take place annually in Great Britain, under the authority of the British Horseracing Authority (BHA), including all conditions races which currently hold Group 1 Group 1 may refer to:
* Alkali metal, a chem ...
*
Recurring sporting events established in 1949
Recurring means occurring repeatedly and can refer to several different things:
Mathematics and finance
*Recurring expense, an ongoing (continual) expenditure
*Repeating decimal, or recurring decimal, a real number in the decimal numeral syste ...
''– this race is included under its original title, Oxfordshire Stakes.''
References
*
Racing Post:
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galopp-sieger.de– ''Geoffrey Freer Stakes (ex Oxfordshire Stakes).''
horseracingintfed.com– ''International Federation of Horseracing Authorities – Geoffrey Freer Stakes (2018).''
pedigreequery.com– ''Geoffrey Freer Stakes – Newbury.''
* {{cite book, last=Abelson, first=Edward, author2=John Tyrrel, title=The Breedon Book of Horse Racing Records, publisher=Breedon Books, year=1993, isbn=1-873626-15-0, pages=147–148
Flat races in Great Britain
Newbury Racecourse
Open long distance horse races