LILY AGNES STAKES HISTORY

TO music aficionados, Lily Agnès is a twenty-something singer-songwriter from London with a Spotify profile. To students of the turf, however, Lily Agnes is a filly and broodmare of significant repute. One whose legacy still remains relevant today, more than 150 years on from her birth.

Foaled in 1871 and a daughter of 2000 Guineas and Derby winner Macaroni, Lily Agnes won all six of her races as a two-year-old. Later, she went on to secure notable victories in the Northumberland Plate, Doncaster Cup (both in 1874) and The Ebor (1875) –all of which remain prestigious races today – and ended her racing career, aged five, having won 19 races at distances from five furlongs to three miles.

Lily Agnes arguably left an even greater imprint on the sport in the late-1800s as a mother of future champions. Her daughter Farewell won the 1000 Guineas in 1885, while Ossory won both the St James’ Palace Stakes and the Prince of Wales’s Stakes at Royal Ascot in 1888. Her most illustrious offspring, however, was Ormonde.

He won all 16 races he ran in during his career – including completing the Triple Crown 1886, with victories in the 2000 Guineas, Derby and St Leger – and was widely regarded as the ‘horse of the century’. His remarkable achievements are recognised here at Chester with the annual staging of Group 3 Ormonde Stakes, which takes place tomorrow.

Lily Agnes died in 1899, aged 28. Said to have developed into a ‘roarer’ during her racing days, it’s thought she passed on this wind affliction to many of her offspring, including Ormonde, who developed issues with his breathing before his four-year-old season. Only then was the Shergar story beginning. Following a modest first inauguration in 1950.

The Lily Agnes Stakes is a five-furlong sprint for two-year-old colts and fillies. It is typically won by a sharp, nimble and compact horse, often with previous race experience, and one adept at scooting around the tight turns that make Chester unique in British Flat racing.

Its most notable graduate is Risky, the winner in 1993 for trainer Richard Hannon Snr and jockey Pat Eddery. After her success here, Risky stormed to a five-length victory in the Group 3 Queen Mary Stakes at Royal Ascot two runs later under Walter Swinburn. She also won the valuable Super Sprint at Newbury and the Group 2 Molecomb Stakes at Glorious Goodwood, again with Swinburn in the saddle, and ended her two-year-old season with an impressive five wins and four second places from nine starts.

Romantic Myth followed in Risky’s illustrious hoofprints in 2000 by also using her win in this race as a springboard to success in the Queen Mary Stakes, while Lucky Parkes, the heroine in 1992, was retired from racing just over four years later with a remarkable record of 17 individual victories. Like Lily Agnes, she enjoyed a successful second career as a broodmare. Her most talented progeny was Doctor Parkes, who went on to win 15 races in his own right.

Fact File

Conditions: 2-y-o only

Race distance: 5f about 15yds

Prize money: £30,000 total prize fund

Previous Winners

2012

ALL FUR COAT

Franny Norton / Jo Hughes

1m 3.52s

2013

QUATUOR

Richard Kingscote / Tom Dascombe

1m 0.44s

2014

MUKHMAL

Paul Hanagan / Mark Johnston

1m 1.53s

2015

RAH RAH

Franny Norton / Mark Johnston

1m 2.31s

2016

COPPER KNIGHT

James Doyle / Hugo Palmer

1m 2.58s

2017

YOGI’S GIRL

John Egan / David Evans

1m 0.41

2018

NO LIPPY

P J McDonald / Mark Johnston

1m 2.60s

2019

GREAT DAME

Daniel Tudhope / David O’Meara

1m 4.70s

2021

NAVELLO

Nicola Currie / George Boughey

1m 5.10s

2022

ABSOLUTELYFLAWLESS

Laura Pearson / David Loughnane

1m 4.50s