Cesarewitch Handicap

Handicap race
Cesarewitch Handicap

Location	Rowley Mile Newmarket, England
Inaugurated	1839
Race type	Flat / Thoroughbred
Sponsor	Betfred
Website	Newmarket
Race information
Distance	2m 2f (3,621 metres)
Track	Turf, right-hand "L"
Qualification	Three-years-old and up
Weight	Handicap
Purse	£160,000 (2011) 1st: £99,600

The Cesarewitch Handicap is a flat horse race in Great Britain which is open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Newmarket over a distance of 2 miles and 2 furlongs (3,621 metres), and the latter part is on the Rowley Mile. It is scheduled to take place each year in October.

The event was established in 1839, and the inaugural running was won by Cruiskeen. The name "Cesarewitch" is an anglicised version of Tsesarevich, the title of the heir to the throne in Imperial Russia. The race was named in honour of Tsesarevich Alexander (later Tsar Alexander II), after he had donated £300 to the Jockey Club. It was founded in the same year as another major handicap at Newmarket, the Cambridgeshire. The two events came to be known as the "Autumn Double".

The Cesarewitch initially took place before the Cambridgeshire, but the schedule was later reversed and it is now held two weeks after the other race. Three horses completed the double in the 19th century — Rosebery (1876), Foxhall (1881) and Plaisanterie (1885) — but since then the feat has been rarely attempted.

The Cesarewitch Handicap is usually contested by a large field, and the maximum number of runners is currently 34. From 2011 it will be staged on Future Champions Day along with the Dewhurst Stakes and Middle Park Stakes.

Contents 1 Records 2 Winners since 1974 3 Earlier winners 4 References 5 See also

Records

Most successful horse:

• no horse has won this race more than once

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Leading jockey (6 wins):

• Doug Smith – Canatrice (1939), French Design (1954), Sandiacre (1957), Come to Daddy (1959), Alcove (1960), Persian Lancer (1966)

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Leading trainer (4 wins):

• William Day – Haco (1853), Dulcibella (1860), Thalestris (1864), Foxhall (1881)
• Mathew Dawson – Lioness (1863), Julius (1867), Salvanos (1872), Stone Clink (1886)

Winners since 1974

• Weights given in stones and pounds.

Year	Winner	Age	Weight	Jockey	Trainer	SP	Time
1974	Ocean King	8	7-07	Tommy Carter	Arthur Pitt	025.0025/1
1975	Shantallah	3	8-10	Brian Taylor	Harry Wragg	007.007/1
1976	John Cherry	5	9-13	Lester Piggott	Jeremy Tree	006.5013/2
1977	Assured	4	8-04	Philip Waldron	Henry Candy	010.0010/1
1978	Centurion	3	9-08	John Matthias	Ian Balding	004.509/2 F
1979	Sir Michael	3	7-08	Mark Rimmer	Geoff Huffer	010.0010/1
1980	Popsi's Joy	4	8-06	Lester Piggott	Michael Haynes	010.0010/1
1981	Halsbury	3	8-04	Joe Mercer	Peter Walwyn	014.0014/1
1982	Mountain Lodge	3	7-10	Willie Carson	John Dunlop	009.009/1
1983	Bajan Sunshine	4	8-08	Brian Rouse	Rod Simpson	007.007/1 JF
1984	Tom Sharp	4	7-05	Steve Dawson	Walter Wharton	040.0040/1	3:48.27
1985	Kayudee	5	8-01	Tony Murray	Jimmy FitzGerald	007.007/1
1986	Orange Hill [1]	4	7-09	Richard Fox	Jeremy Tree	020.0020/1
1987	Private Audition	5	7-09	Gary Carter	Mark Tompkins	050.0050/1	3:59.05
1988	Nomadic Way	3	7-09	Willie Carson	Barry Hills	006.006/1 JF	4:00.61
1989	Double Dutch	5	9-10	Billy Newnes	Brooke Sanders	007.5015/2	3:51.32
1990	Trainglot	3	7-12	Willie Carson	Jimmy FitzGerald	006.5013/2	3:50.90
1991	Go South	7	7-11	Nicky Carlisle	John Jenkins	033.0033/1	3:52.76
1992	Vintage Crop	5	9-06	Walter Swinburn	Dermot Weld	005.005/1 F	3:49.16
1993	Aahsaylad	7	8-12	John Williams	John White	012.0012/1	3:59.52
1994	Captain's Guest	4	9-09	Tony Clark	Guy Harwood	025.0025/1	3:56.79
1995	Old Red	5	7-11	Lindsay Charnock	Mary Reveley	011.0011/1	3:52.62
1996	Inchcailloch	7	7-03	Royston Ffrench	Jeff King	020.0020/1	3:51.17
1997	Turnpole	6	7-10	Lindsay Charnock	Mary Reveley	016.0016/1	3:53.56
1998	Spirit of Love	3	8-08	Olivier Peslier	Mark Johnston	011.0011/1	3:51.23
1999	Top Cees [1]	9	8-10	Kieren Fallon	Ian Balding	007.007/1	3:40.30
2000	Heros Fatal	6	8-01	Gary Carter	Martin Pipe	011.0011/1	3:54.91
2001	Distant Prospect	4	8-08	Martin Dwyer	Ian Balding	014.0014/1	4:00.27
2002	Miss Fara	7	8-00	Ryan Moore	Martin Pipe	012.0012/1	3:51.22
2003	Landing Light	8	9-04	Pat Eddery	Nicky Henderson	012.0012/1	3:52.33
2004	Contact Dancer	5	8-02	Royston Ffrench	Mark Johnston	016.0016/1	3:58.52
2005	Sergeant Cecil	6	9-08	Alan Munro	Rod Millman	010.0010/1	3:54.79
2006	Detroit City	4	9-01	Jamie Spencer	Philip Hobbs	004.509/2 F	3:57.84
2007	Leg Spinner	6	8-11	Johnny Murtagh	Tony Martin	014.0014/1	3:54.13
2008	Caracciola	11	9-06	Eddie Ahern	Nicky Henderson	050.0050/1	3:48.30
2009	Darley Sun	3	8-06	Andrea Atzeni	David Simcock	004.509/2 F	3:50.27
2010	Aaim to Prosper	6	7-13	Louis-Philippe Beuzelin	Brian Meehan	016.0016/1	3:59.10
2011	Never can Tell	4	8-11	Frankie Dettori	Jamie Osborne	025.0025/1	3:48.04

¹ The 1986 and 1999 editions were held on Newmarket's July Course over a slightly shorter distance.

Earlier winners

* The 1857 running finished as a three-way dead-heat, but it was decided by a run-off.
* The 1893 race was a dead-heat and has joint winners.

References

• Racing Post:
  • 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997
  • 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007
  • 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011

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• galopp-sieger.de – Cesarewitch Handicap.
• pedigreequery.com – Cesarewitch Handicap – Newmarket.
• tbheritage.com – Cesarewitch Stakes (Handicap).
• The Breedon Book of Horse Racing Records. Breedon Books. 1993. p. 215. ISBN 1-873626-15-0. 

See also

• Horseracing in Great Britain
• List of British flat horse races