2025 Winter Derby Stakes Tips

Royal Champion and Military Academy could be battling it out for favouritism when it comes to the BetUK Winter Derby Stakes, with the former having won at Lingfield on New Year’s Eve. Sent off as the 5/6 favourite in the Bet UK Quebec Stakes, the horse was able to win by nearly two lengths over one mile and two furlongs, with more to come here.

Military Academy landed three wins from his four outings last term, with the latest success coming at Kempton Park in early November. This came after finishing second to Burdett Road at Newmarket towards the end of September, with the horse winding up well behind the winner in the Dubai Godolphin Stakes.

Persica is another four-year-old with the potential to go well, with Richard Hannon training a horse who ran in esteemed company at Ascot last time out. Finishing eighth out of eleven horses in the Qipco Champion Stakes was no mean feat considering the horse was sent off at 50/1, with the horse previously winning at Ayr in a listed race.

Champagne Prince looks like a decent each-way contender and there was plenty to like about a victory at Southwell at the end of January. The four-year-old was previously successful at Kempton Park, with Jane Chapple-Hyam now looking for her charge to cap off a fine all-weather season with a victory here.

2024 Winter Derby Stakes Tips

The BetUK Winter Derby Stakes is a Group 3 encounter that takes place over one mile and three furlongs, with as many as fourteen runners and riders competing for major honours. Lord North landed back to back successes last season and has since had a lengthy lay-off, although the layers still afford this horse plenty of respect.

The eight-year-old was able to score at Meydan in the Dubai Turf when triumphing against thirteen other runners and this was a notable success which secured a huge amount of prize money. Preceding this victory was a win in the 2023 Winter Derby Stakes although the horse will be sent off at a much bigger price this time around.

Dubai Honour will also look to make an impression and William Haggas will rate this horse as his best chance of sealing a Winter Derby win. The six-year-old was unable to deliver the goods at Ascot last autumn when finishing sixth out of eight runners in the Champion Stakes, although there is definitely pedigree which will appeal to many punters.

Military Order finished second last time out and there could be more to come from the four-year-old, with the horse having been narrowly edged out of proceedings in the BetUK Winter Derby Trial Conditions Stakes back in January. Mujtaba and The Foxes are the other horses that could be one for the shortlist, although Lord North could be the warmest order.

2022 Winter Derby Betting Tips

Interestingly, the market leader when it comes to the 2022 Winter Derby betting odds won’t have run for over 150 days when lining up for this encounter. Alenquer is trained by William Haggas and the four-year-old hasn’t been seen since running on Sunday 3 October 2021.

However, that ninth-placed performance was in the Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe at Longchamp where Alenquer was in esteemed company, with the horse sent off at betting odds of 22/1 and the runner was previously second to Mishriff in the Juddmonte International Stakes. Therefore, we know that the horse has lots of class but this is an uncertain surface for a horse that hasn’t been seen for nearly half a year.

This is a race which clearly attracts a high calibre of horse and a popular selection in the Winter Derby betting tips will be Lord North. This is a runner trained by John Gosden who hasn’t been seen since 27 March 2021 when scooping the big prize in the Dubai Turf. Winning £1.75 million for connections was a dream and the horse was sent off as the 11/8 favourite on that occasion.

Who Are the Other Winter Derby Betting Favourites?

It’s far from certain as to whether Alenquer or Lord North will line up in this horse race, with lots of other potential betting options and the each-way betting market could be interesting. Fancy Man looks to be a likely Winter Derby runner and this charge has excellent recent form and his last two victories came on the all-weather surface of Lingfield.

Fancy Man won the Winter Derby Trial Stakes when being sent off at betting odds of 9/4 and Sean Levey is likely to be on board a runner that could be difficult to beat. Interestingly, he ran against Alenquer and narrowly beat his opponent in the Ascendant Stakes at Haydock Racecourse although that was on 5 September 2020.

Regal Reality is another interesting runner and the seven-year-old was a narrow second to Dubai Warrior in the Betway Quebec Stakes, with the horse beaten by a nose at Lingfield Park Racecourse, with Sir Michael Stoute expecting him to run a big race when it comes to the 2022 Winter Derby odds.

Felix ran in the same race and finished third, with the six-year-old being trained by the lesser-known Marco Botti and he has to have solid each-way claims. That’s particularly if a number of horses withdraw from the field and open things up. John Gosden has a couple of other interesting runners in the form of Harrovian and Forest Of Dean.

Harrovian finished second to Pyledriver in a fast-track qualifier for the Winter Derby and he was only half a length behind the 6/4 favourite, while Forest Of Dean having finished well down the pecking order at Royal Ascot during the 2021 meeting although this might see the horse bounce back from that disappointment in the Wolferton Stakes.

Can Dubai Warrior Land Back-to-Back Winter Derby Titles?

Dubai Warrior was not trainer John Gosden’s first Winter Derby winner considering that Wissahickon triumphed for the same handler in 2019, with Frankie Dettori in the saddle on both occasions and the legendary Italian jockey is likely to be on board for this clash.

Since winning the Winter Derby last year, the five-year-old had a disappointing run at Sandown in July before returning to the all-weather surface over the winter and there was a victory in the Betway Churchill Stakes before the horse finished third in the Betway Quebec Stakes despite being sent off as strong favourite.

Nevertheless, Gosden will have high hopes that his charge can frank the form shown in that previous race where the horse looked every inch the winner before being touched off narrowly before the winning post.

Will Sangarius Strike Again to Win at Lingfield?

Sangarius was the winner of the Quebec Stakes and the five-year-old really announced himself in a race where he was trading at betting odds of 5/1 when Ryan Moore steered him to victory and the horse is now the market favourite to win the Winter Derby.

Sir Michael Stoute’s runner could be the one to take all the beating and the bookies have made him the betting favourite to land victory in this one, while we shouldn’t forget that the same horse triumphed at the 2019 Royal Ascot meeting when obliging in the Hampton Court Stakes before undergoing wind surgery.

However, there was a horse called Bangkok who split the front two in the betting last time he raced and we shouldn’t disregard a runner that got pipped at the post, with trainer Andrew Balding hoping for slightly better fortune this time around.

Interestingly, Bangkok was sent off as the 8/13 favourite to win last year’s Winter Derby before being beaten into third place, although perhaps he represents the best each-way value in the race, with Extra Elusive and Felix among the front runners in the betting market also.