The Jersey Stakes is named in honour of George Villiers, Fourth Earl of Jersey, who briefly served as Master of the Buckhounds, and His Majesty’s Representative at Ascot, during the reign of King George III. The race was established in 1919, when it replaced the second leg of the erstwhile Triennial Stakes and, like its predecessor, was run over seven furlongs and open to three-year-olds, as it still is. Nowadays, the Jersey Stakes is a Group 3 contest, worth £150,000 in prize money and currently scheduled as the third race on the fifth and final day Royal Ascot.
Befitting a race whose history stretches back to just after World War I, the roll of honour for the Jersey Stakes includes some legendary names. Two of the greatest Flat jockeys of all time, Sir Gordon Richards and Lester Piggott, jointly hold the record for the most winners of the Jersey Stakes, six apiece, while 10-time champion trainer Sir Michael Stoute also saddled six winners – the most recent of which was Expert Eye (2018) – and remains the leading trainer.
As a level-weights contest, albeit with penalties for previous Group 1, Group 2 and Group 3 winners, it is reasonable to expect that the Jersey Stakes throws up plenty of well-fancied winners. In fact, in the past decade, three favourites, including one joint-favourite, two second-favourites and one third-favourite have won, but winners at 25/1 (twice) and 22/1 in the same period suggest the race is not always plain sailing from a punting perspective.
Important trials for the Jersey Stakes include the 2,000 Guineas at Newmarket in early May and the Irish equivalent at the Curragh later the same month. Most recently, Haatem (2024) was previously placed in both those races, while Age Of Kings (2023) finished unplaced at the Curragh.