Record-breaking racehorses on the Flat

Features | 24^th July 2020

Racehorses that rewrote history books. Take a look at the records broken by some of the greatest Flat racehorses.

You know how the old saying goes – records are meant to be broken. Over the next week or so we may see another two tumble as both Enable and Stradivarius are aiming for historic victories.

Enable is going for a record-breaking three King George victories at Ascot on Saturday. She’s currently level with Swain (1997, 1998) and Dahlia (1973, 1974).

Stradivarius is aiming to become the first horse to win four Goodwood Cups in the 208-year history of the race.

With history making moments potentially being created over the next week, we take a look back at the recent records broken in Flat racing.

Record-breaking racehorses

Winx

It’s not often a racehorse becomes a household name in their own country and a global equine icon.

The Aussie wondermare broke a world record by registering a 23rd Group 1 vicorty on 2^nd March 2019 in the Chipping Norton Stakes at Royal Randwick.

She didn’t stop there either; she extended her Group 1 tally to 25 later in the year before retiring to take up a career as a broodmare.

Winx has become a national treasure in Australia, had a race named after her and has countless domestic and international awards.

She certainly deserves it after 33 career wins, a record four Cox Plates and more than 26 million Australian dollars in prize money.

Frankel

Equine perfection. There’s little else that can describe Frankel.

14 races, 14 wins and 10 Group 1 wins. Not only did he simply do enough to win races, he blitzed almost every adversary he came up against.

The record that the mighty Frankel holds is winning two consecutive Sussex Stakes at Glorious Goodwood. Something that no horse has been able to achieve in its 142-race history.

Frankel is currently at stud at Juddmonte Farms and commands a stud fee of £175,000.

Battaash

Considered by many to be the fastest racehorse in the world. On his day, Battaash is unbeatable.

Charlie Hills’ stable star’s top speed is what sets him apart. He was recorded at a 48.63mph in last year’s King George Qatar Stakes at Glorious Goodwood.

However, he acheived his record on the Knavesmire. Battaash used his ferocious pace to break the five-furlong track record time in the 2019 Nunthrope Stakes. He beat Dayjur’s time by 0.26 seconds, a record which stood for 29 years.

Charlie Hills told the Racing Post, “to lower Dayjur’s record is pretty amazing. I thought there would never be a faster horse than him but there obviously is now”.

Battaash will take aim at his fourth King George Qatar Stakes win on Friday 31^st July. He loves Goodwood and he may well put on another spectacular performance.

Yeats

One of the greatest stayers to have ever lived. The Aidan O’Brien superstar won 15 races, six of them at the top level.

His most famous achievement was winning the Ascot Gold a record four times. The incredible achievement showed that he was not only the best of his generation but a dominant force across numerous generations.

Yeats’ fourth and final victory will remain of the most iconic moments in Royal Ascot history.

After Yeats’ fourth win, Aidan O’Brien told The Independent, “history is very hard to change, we knew we had a wonderful horse but usually fairytales don’t come true. Great things can happen.”

Many thought that winning the feature race at one of the world’s greatest race meetings for four years in succession would be a record that would stand for a very long time.

However, another great stayer has emerged in recent years in Stradivarius and if owners decide to keep Stradivarius in training next year, he could equal Yeats’ record.

Do you know anymore record-breaking racehorses in Flat racing? Let us know in the comments.