Horse Racing stats man, Andy has contributed to OLBG for 18 years - An Ipswich fan and F1 fanatic, he also contributes EFL football and Motor Sport opinion.
2025 Mercury Stakes Preview
Scheduled to take place in October of each year at the Dundalk racecourse is the Mercury Stakes, a Group 3 race open to runners who are aged two or older which is run over a trip of five furlongs. The race was first run back in 2008 and was originally a listed race but was upgraded to a Group 3 in 2018.
Mercury Stakes Information:
We also have a dedicated Dundalk tips page that will cover this race as well as all of the other races on the day of the race, see which runners the OLBG racing tipsters are predicting to win this race and the others on the cards.
How competitive is the Mercury Stakes market? When looking at the over-rounds for the last 17 renewals, the most competitive market was in 2014 when the race had an over-round of 116%. The race in 2019 was a race that was most in the bookie's favour with an over-round of 139%, whilst on average over the last 17 renewals of the Mercury Stakes, the over-round has been 125%, which means the bookie expects to pay out £100 for every £125 which is bet.
Mercury Stakes Trends:
Looking at the future form, is the winner worth following next time out? From the past 17 if you had followed the winner of the Mercury Stakes next time out then you would have backed a total of 0 winners. Backing all 16 runners who have been out since to win at SP next time out, would have returned an LSP of -16.00. Remember to bookmark the racing tips page to access the OLBG racing picks easily daily.
Over the last 17 renewals, it was Caspian Prince, trained by Roger Fell and ridden by Declan McDonogh who set the fastest winning time in the Mercury Stakes, the runner won the race in a time of 57.10 when winning the race in 2016. At the other end of the scale, it was the combination of trainer Robin Bastiman and jockey Pat Cosgrave with Borderlescott who set the slowest winning time, the race-winning time was 59.10 in the 2008 renewal.
These are the top three quickest-run Mercury Stakes over the last 17 renewals:
- Caspian Prince (57.10) in 2016
- Balmont Mast (57.35) in 2012
- Nocturnal Affair (57.70) in 2011
Mercury Stakes Past Winners
Here are the Mercury Stakes' past winners for the last 10 renewals. Each row details the year of the race, the horse which won along with the age & weight of the horse. Also detailed is the stall where the horse came from and the total number of runners in the race. The horse's trainer and the jockey at the time of winning the Mercury Stakes are also displayed, along with the starting price at which the horse was sent off.
| Year | Horse (Drawn) | Info |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 58.60 | Ostraka (IRE) 4yo 9-11 (3 of 13) 66/1 | James Ryan Daniel James Murphy (IRE) |
| 2023 58.25 | Dun Na Sead (IRE) 4yo 9-11 (3 of 12) 25/1 | Oisin McSweeney Daniel James Murphy (IRE) |
| 2022 58.05 | Manaccan (GB) 3yo 10-0 (2 of 9) 1/1F | Stevie Donohoe John Ryan (GB) |
| 2021 58.28 | The Highway Rat (IRE) 3yo 9-13 (4 of 9) 18/5 | Ronan Whelan A Oliver (IRE) |
| 2020 57.78 | Urban Beat (IRE) 5yo 9-13 (9 of 14) 11/2 | Ben Coen J P Murtagh (IRE) |
| 2019 58.36 | Dr Simpson (FR) 2yo 8-4 (6 of 13) 16/1 | Rory Cleary Tom Dascombe (GB) |
| 2018 57.83 | Hit The Bid (GB) 4yo 9-11 (6 of 9) 4/1 | Chris Hayes D J Bunyan (IRE) |
| 2017 58.55 | Take Cover (GB) 10yo 10-2 (1 of 13) 8/11F | David Allan David C Griffiths (GB) |
| 2016 57.10 | Caspian Prince (IRE) 7yo 9-13 (4 of 14) 6/1 | Declan McDonogh Roger Fell (GB) |
| 2015 58.00 | Take Cover (GB) 8yo 9-13 (7 of 11) 3/1 | Fran Berry David C Griffiths (GB) |
Where have the winning runners come from?
Here are the countries where the winning trainers of the Mercury Stakes have been based:
- IRE: 9 winners with an additional 18 placings from 134 runners
- GB: 8 winners with an additional 12 placings from 55 runners
- AUS: 0 winners with an additional 1 placing from 1 runner
- FR: 0 winners with an additional 1 placing from 1 runner
Mercury Stakes Trainer Statistics
There are two leading trainers in the Mercury Stakes over the last 17 renewals with both Daniel James Murphy and David C Griffiths who have both won the race two times. Daniel James Murphy winners have been with Dun Na Sead (2023) and Ostraka (2024). David C Griffiths winners have been with Take Cover (2015 & 2017). There is one trainer who has not had the best of times in the Mercury Stakes, A P O'Brien has sent a total of 10 runners to the race without recording any wins.
Here are some of the top Mercury Stakes trainer statistics over the last 17 renewals (R = Runners, W = Winners, P = Places including winners, Win LSP is based on 1pt Win and EW LSP is based on 0.5pt Win & 0.5pt Place):
| Trainer | R-W-P | Win | EW |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daniel James Murphy | 2-2-2 | +91.00 | +54.60 |
| David C Griffiths | 2-2-2 | +3.73 | +2.24 |
| David Marnane | 9-1-2 | -5.50 | -5.35 |
| M Halford | 8-1-2 | -0.50 | -1.20 |
| Kevin Ryan | 7-1-2 | -1.00 | -0.50 |
| Edward Lynam | 6-1-3 | -1.50 | -0.25 |
| D J Bunyan | 5-1-2 | +0.00 | +0.50 |
| Reginald Roberts | 3-1-2 | +4.00 | +4.25 |
| A Oliver | 3-1-2 | +1.60 | +0.99 |
| Tom Dascombe | 2-1-1 | +15.00 | +8.60 |
Mercury Stakes Jockey Statistics
The leading jockey in the Mercury Stakes over the last 17 renewals is Stevie Donohoe who has won the race two times with those two winners coming from Sir Maximilian (2014) and Manaccan (2022). Two jockeys have not had the best of times over the last 17 renewals in the Mercury Stakes, Wayne Lordan has ridden 11 runners to the race without recording any wins whilst Colin Keane has ridden 11 without a winner.
Here are some of the top Mercury Stakes jockey statistics over the last 17 renewals (R = Runners, W = Winners, P = Places including winners, Win LSP is based on 1pt Win and EW LSP is based on 0.5pt Win & 0.5pt Place):
| Jockey | R-W-P | Win | EW |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stevie Donohoe | 2-2-2 | +2.75 | +1.69 |
| Chris Hayes | 13-1-5 | -8.00 | -4.45 |
| Declan McDonogh | 10-1-3 | -3.00 | -1.95 |
| Gary Carroll | 5-1-1 | +2.50 | -0.10 |
| Ronan Whelan | 5-1-2 | -0.40 | -0.14 |
| Ben Coen | 4-1-2 | +2.50 | +1.13 |
| Rory Cleary | 3-1-2 | +14.00 | +9.50 |
| James Ryan | 1-1-1 | +66.00 | +39.60 |
| Oisin McSweeney | 1-1-1 | +25.00 | +15.00 |
| Pat Cosgrave | 1-1-1 | +0.80 | +0.48 |
2025 Mercury Stakes Trends
Favourites finishing positions (oldest to latest): 1, 2, (2, 3), 6, 4, 3, 1, 3, 6, 1, 3, 4, 3, 4, 1, 6, (3, 5)
The percentage shown is the percentage of the total number of runners who fell under that factor. High percentages are less appealing than lower ones as you would expect them to do well.
- 17 / 17 (63%) - Achieved an RPR of 87+ (LTO)
- 17 / 17 (69%) - Break of 10 - 77 days (Last Place)
- 17 / 17 (72%) - Achieved an RPR of 93+ (Last 3)
- 17 / 17 (73%) - Ran in 5 - 13 races (Season)
- 17 / 17 (73%) - Had 1 - 5 placings (90 Days)
- 17 / 17 (73%) - Held an OR of 89+ (Trip)
- 17 / 17 (74%) - Had 2 - 7 placings (Season)
- 17 / 17 (74%) - Had 2 - 15 placings (Trip)
- 17 / 17 (75%) - Beaten no more -7l (LTO)
- 17 / 17 (76%) - Ran in 5 - 14 races (1 Year)
- 17 / 17 (77%) - Ran in 3 - 8 races (180 Days)
- 17 / 17 (78%) - Held an OR of 89+ (Last 3)
- 17 / 17 (81%) - Achieved a TS of 71+ (Last 3)
- 17 / 17 (83%) - Not on HY/GF/STD-SLW (LTO)
- 17 / 17 (84%) - Carried 118 - 137lbs (Last Win)
Remember to use the trends listed above along with the Dundalk racing predictions to see if you can find the winner of the Mercury Stakes. How well do you know your horse racing? Are there certain types of races that you are unsure of? Why not take a look at this Types Of Horse Race article to familiarise yourself with the different types of racing, that is just one of many helpful horse racing articles in the OLBG Betting School.
Are you already a member? If not, then why not? With over £6,000 given away each month in the tipster competition, why not get involved? Remember, It is completely FREE! So, head over to the registration page to sign up today! If you are already a member, then share your thoughts on the Mercury Stakes by adding a tip on the race here.
Mercury Stakes Trend Analysis
The trend factor which had produced 9+ winners and shows the best LSP, an LSP of +71.48 is when runners ran on Good ground last time out. The worst performing factor that has failed to produce a single winner is when runners had 0 places in the past 90 days, when backing these the trend shows a record of 0-51.
Here are the most recent winning draws along with the further placings in brackets:
- 2024: Winner in 3 (11,4) [13 Runners]
- 2023: Winner in 3 (4,5) [12 Runners]
- 2022: Winner in 2 (4,11) [9 Runners]
- 2021: Winner in 4 (2,8) [9 Runners]
- 2020: Winner in 9 (7,5) [14 Runners]
The course which has produced the most winners of the Mercury Stakes is Longchamp, there has been a total number of 4 winners of this race who ran at Longchamp last time out. The next best courses which have produced the second most winners are Curragh and Dundalk (AW), there has been a total number of 3 winners from each of those courses.
The race is open to both sexes with the Male runners having produced a total of 12 winners from a total of 111 runners whilst the Female runners have produced 5 winners from a total of 80 runners.
Looking over the past renewals, these are the stallions whose offspring have produced multiple winners of the Mercury Stakes:
- Dandy Man (2 Wins)
- Exceed And Excel (2 Wins)
- Singspiel (2 Wins)
These are the stallions whose offspring have not produced a winner of the Mercury Stakes despite multiple attempts:
- Acclamation (0 Wins from 6 runners)
- Choisir (0 Wins from 5 runners)
- Oasis Dream (0 Wins from 5 runners)
- Shamardal (0 Wins from 5 runners)
Looking at the winning odds over the last 17 renewals, the biggest-priced winner was Ostraka in 2024, winning for Daniel James Murphy at odds of 66/1 under the guidance of James Ryan. Looking at the runners at the head of the market over the last 17 renewals there have been 4 winning favourites in the race. Ahead of the 2025 Mercury Stakes why not head over to the best racing tipster page to see what the tipsters are backing today?
Article Contributor Information
We are blessed with an excellent team of specialists and experts at OLBG. Contributing to creating and maintaining this Mercury Stakes Preview are at hand, Andy and Darren. They both work on the Horse racing tips team team looking after the tipsters and managing the tips settlement, whilst also creating and managing all of the horse racing event previews for International racing.
Darren Brett
Tipster Competition Manager
Andy Powell
Content Editor
