Mill Reef Stakes

Mill Reef Stakes

Class	Group 2
Location	Newbury Racecourse Newbury, England
Inaugurated	1972
Race type	Flat / Thoroughbred
Sponsor	Dubai Duty Free
Website	Newbury
Race information
Distance	6f (1,207 metres)
Surface	Turf
Track	Straight
Qualification	Two-year-olds
Weight	9 st 3 lb Allowances 3 lb for fillies Penalties 3 lb for G1 / G2 winners
Purse	£125,000 (2025) 1st: £73,723

Mill Reef Stakes

2025
	black, white spot, black sleeves, white stripes, black cap, white stripes	Red, white striped sleeves and cap
Words Of Truth	Into The Sky	Flying Comet

The Mill Reef Stakes is a Group 2 flat horse race in Great Britain open to two-year-olds. It is run at Newbury over a distance of 6 furlongs (1,207 metres), and it is scheduled to take place each year in September.

History

The event is named after Mill Reef, a highly successful racehorse in the early 1970s. He was trained at Kingsclere, located several miles from Newbury.

The Mill Reef Stakes replaced a similar race, the Crookham Stakes, in 1972. The winner of the inaugural running, Mon Fils, went on to win the following year's 2,000 Guineas.

The leading horses from the Mill Reef Stakes sometimes race next in the Middle Park Stakes or the Dewhurst Stakes.

Records

Leading jockey (5 wins):

• Pat Eddery – Habat (1973), Red Cross (1974), Formidable (1977), Lord Seymour (1979), Magic of Life (1987)

Leading trainer (4 wins):

• Richard Hannon Sr. – Mon Fils (1972), Showbrook (1991), Galeota (2004), Cool Creek (2005)
• Peter Walwyn – Habat (1973), Red Cross (1974), Formidable (1977), Luqman (1985)

Winners

Year	Winner	Jockey	Trainer	Time
1972	Mon Fils	Ron Hutchinson	Richard Hannon Sr.	1:18.40
1973	Habat	Pat Eddery	Peter Walwyn	1:13.36
1974	Red Cross	Pat Eddery	Peter Walwyn	1:18.88
1975	Royal Boy	Bruce Raymond	Michael Jarvis	1:16.80
1976	Anax	Geoff Lewis	Bruce Hobbs	1:16.40
1977	Formidable	Pat Eddery	Peter Walwyn	1:12.52
1978	King of Spain	Paul Cook	Peter Cundell	1:14.83
1979	Lord Seymour	Pat Eddery	Michael Stoute	1:12.82
1980	Sweet Monday	Philip Waldron	Jack Holt	1:13.16
1981	Hays	Bruce Raymond	Guy Harwood	1:16.51
1982	Salieri	Lester Piggott	Henry Cecil	1:15.12
1983	Vacarme	Lester Piggott	Henry Cecil	1:15.49
1984	Local Suitor	Willie Carson	Dick Hern	1:17.69
1985	Luqman	Nicky Howe	Peter Walwyn	1:14.58
1986	Forest Flower	Tony Ives	Ian Balding	1:14.03
1987	Magic of Life	Pat Eddery	Jeremy Tree	1:16.51
1988	Russian Bond	Willie Ryan	Henry Cecil	1:14.07
1989	Welney	Gary Carter	Geoff Wragg	1:12.11
1990	Time Gentlemen	Willie Carson	John Dunlop	1:15.21
1991	Showbrook	Willie Carson	Richard Hannon Sr.	1:13.95
1992	Forest Wind	Frankie Dettori	Mohammed Moubarak	1:14.80
1993	Polish Laughter	Walter Swinburn	Ben Hanbury	1:15.59
1994	Princely Hush	Micky Fenton	Michael Bell	1:17.23
1995	Kahir Almaydan	Willie Carson	John Dunlop	1:16.28
1996	Indian Rocket	Richard Hills	John Dunlop	1:11.52
1997	Arkadian Hero	Kieren Fallon	Luca Cumani	1:15.05
1998	Golden Silca	Seb Sanders	Mick Channon	1:12.85
1999	Primo Valentino	Michael Roberts	Peter Harris	1:11.52
2000	Bouncing Bowdler	Richard Hills	Mark Johnston	1:13.56
2001	Firebreak	Martin Dwyer	Ian Balding	1:11.79
2002	Zafeen	Steve Drowne	Mick Channon	1:12.91
2003	Byron	Jamie Spencer	David Loder	1:12.68
2004	Galeota	Ryan Moore	Richard Hannon Sr.	1:13.84
2005	Cool Creek	Ryan Moore	Richard Hannon Sr.	1:11.85
2006	Excellent Art	Kerrin McEvoy	Neville Callaghan	1:11.68
2007	Dark Angel	Michael Hills	Barry Hills	1:11.68
2008	Lord Shanakill	Jim Crowley	Karl Burke	1:11.82
2009	Awzaan	Richard Hills	Mark Johnston	1:12.40
2010	Temple Meads	Richard Mullen	Ed McMahon	1:11.73
2011	Caspar Netscher	Kieren Fallon	Alan McCabe	1:13.49
2012	Moohaajim	Adam Kirby	Marco Botti	1:11.19
2013	Supplicant	Tony Hamilton	Richard Fahey	1:13.59
2014	Toocoolforschool	Silvestre de Sousa	Karl Burke	1:14.35
2015	Ribchester	James Doyle	Richard Fahey	1:14.39
2016	Harry Angel	Adam Kirby	Clive Cox	1:13.18
2017	James Garfield	Frankie Dettori	George Scott	1:10.64
2018	Kessaar	Frankie Dettori	John Gosden	1:14.23
2019	Pierre Lapin	Andrea Atzeni	Roger Varian	1:10.90
2020	Alkumait	Jim Crowley	Marcus Tregoning	1:09.70
2021	Wings Of War	Adam Kirby	Clive Cox	1:12.40
2022	Sakheer	David Egan	Roger Varian	1:13.53
2023	Array	Oisin Murphy	Andrew Balding	1:17.29
2024	Powerful Glory	Oisin Orr	Richard Fahey	1:13.89
2025	Words Of Truth	William Buick	Charlie Appleby	1:14.41

Crookham Stakes

The Crookham Stakes, named after the village of Crookham, was the precursor of the Mill Reef Stakes (although run over a distance of 7 furlongs and 60 yards (1,463 metres)).

• 1960: Colour Blind
• 1961: All a Gogg
• 1962: My Myosotis
• 1963: Soderini
• 1964: Audience
• 1965: Fontex
• 1966: Karpathos
• 1967: Hurry Hurry
• 1968: Full Dress
• 1969: Hazy Idea
• 1970: Revellarie
• 1971: Alonso

See also

• Horse racing in Great Britain
• List of British flat horse races

References

• Paris-Turf:
  • "1982"., "1983"., "1984"., "1986"., "1987".
• Racing Post:
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External links

• Race Recordings (1979-2003) youtube.com
• galopp-sieger.de – Mill Reef Stakes (ex Crookham Stakes).
• horseracingintfed.com – International Federation of Horseracing Authorities – Mill Reef Stakes (2018).
• pedigreequery.com – Mill Reef Stakes – Newbury.
• Abelson, Edward; John Tyrrel (1993). The Breedon Book of Horse Racing Records. Breedon Books. pp. 185–186. ISBN 1-873626-15-0.