The Futurity Trophy is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to two-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Doncaster over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 metres), and it is scheduled to take place each year in late October.
History
The event was established in 1961 and was originally called the Timeform Gold Cup. It was founded by Phil Bull, the creator of Timeform, and was backed by this organisation until 1964.
The Observer started to support the event in 1965. The present grading system was introduced in 1971 and the Observer Gold Cup was classed at Group-1 level.
The bookmaker William Hill took over the sponsorship in 1976, and from this point the event was known as the Futurity Stakes. From 1989 to 2017 the race was sponsored by the Racing Post and run as the Racing Post Trophy. William Hill reestablished their race partnership in 2024 with the official title now the William Hill Futurity Trophy Stakes.
Up to 2000 the race was run on the round mile from 2001 it was run on the Straight Mile
The Futurity Trophy is now the last Group 1 event of the British flat racing season. The 2019 race was run on Newcastle's Tapeta track, after the Doncaster meeting was abandoned because of waterlogging, thereby becoming the first British Group 1 race to be run on an artificial surface.
Six winners have subsequently achieved victory in the following year's Derby: Reference Point (1986); High Chaparral (2001); Motivator (2004); Authorized (2006); Camelot (2011); Auguste Rodin (2022).
Records
Winners
See also
- Horse racing in Great Britain
- List of British flat horse races
- Recurring sporting events established in 1961 – this race is included under its original title, Timeform Gold Cup.
References
- Paris-Turf:
- "1979"., "1981"., "1982"., "1983"., "1984"., "1985"., "1986"., "1987".
- 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, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017
- 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024
External links
- Race Recordings (1969, 1971, 1973, 1980-2004) youtube.com
- galopp-sieger.de – Racing Post Trophy.
- ifhaonline.org – International Federation of Horseracing Authorities – Racing Post Trophy (2019).
- pedigreequery.com – Futurity Stakes – Doncaster.
- pedigreequery.com – Racing Post Trophy – Doncaster.
- Abelson, Edward; Tyrrel, John (1993). The Breedon Book of Horse Racing Records. Breedon Books. p. 221. ISBN 1-873626-15-0.
