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.
2026 Victoria Cup Preview
The Victoria Cup is a flat handicap that is scheduled to take place in May of each year at the Ascot racecourse.
The race is run over a straight seven furlongs and is open to runners aged four or older.
Victoria Cup Information:
If you are interested in other predictions at Ascot, then head over to the Ascot tips page to see which runners are being supported by the OLBG racing tipsters and also compare those predictions to the runners that make the trend shortlist when added below. You may also be interested in other preview blogs that we have packed full of information. Head down to the Other Principal Races at Ascot Racecourse section for links to these.
Best Horse Racing Betting Sites 2025
How competitive is the Victoria Cup market? When looking at the over-rounds for the last 20 renewals, the most competitive market was in 2005 when the race had an over-round of 127%. The race in 2014 was a race that was most in the bookie's favour with an over-round of 142%, whilst on average over the last 20 renewals of the Victoria Cup, the over-round has been 137%, which means the bookie expects to pay out £100 for every £137 which is bet.
Below you will find the 2026 Victoria Cup Trends. See which patterns have occurred over the recent renewals that you may be able to use for the next renewal. We also have a section that looks at the Victoria Cup Trend Analysis.
These are the top three quickest-run Victoria Cup races over the last 20 renewals:
- Iffraaj (1:22.97) in 2005
- Hickory (1:23.66) in 2025
- Flash Fire (1:25.35) in 2016
Looking at the future form, is the winner worth following next time out? Over the past 20 renewals, if you had followed the winner of the Victoria Cup next time out, then you would have backed a total of 3 winners. Backing all 19 runners who have been out since their win at SP next time out would have returned an LSP of -9.42. Whilst we wait for the 2026 Victoria Cup, remember you can get daily racing predictions from the expert tipsters on the racing predictions page.
When looking over the past 20 renewals, a time of 1:22.97 was set by Iffraaj in 2005, which is the quickest time over that period. The runner was trained by Michael Jarvis and ridden by Philip Robinson. The slowest winning time was set in 2021 when River Nymph won in a time of 1:30.95, booked to ride was Adam Kirby by the trainer Clive Cox.
What the expert says...
Andy Powell - Horse Racing Betting Expert - OLBG.com
Victoria Cup Past Winners
Here are the Victoria Cup 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 Victoria Cup are also displayed, along with the starting price at which the horse was sent off.
Race Notes: There was no renewal in 2020, and the 2005 renewal was held at Lingfield.
| Year | Horse (Drawn) | Info |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 (100k) 1:23.66 | Hickory (IRE) 7yo 8-5 (11 of 17) 22/1 | Saffie Osborne Jamie Osborne (GB) |
| 2024 (100k) 1:26.58 | The Wizard Of Eye (IRE) 5yo 9-2 (12 of 21) 7/1 | Tom Marquand Charlie Fellowes (GB) |
| 2023 (100k) 1:30.53 | Rebel Territory (GB) 5yo 9-1 (2 of 22) 11/1 | Jim Crowley Amanda Perrett (GB) |
| 2022 (100k) 1:27.18 | Vafortino (IRE) 4yo 8-7 (27 of 27) 16/1 | Benoit De La Sayette (7lbs) Kevin Philippart De Foy (GB) |
| 2021 (75k) 1:30.95 | River Nymph (GB) 4yo 9-0 (24 of 27) 11/1 | Adam Kirby Clive Cox (GB) |
| 2019 (105k) 1:27.35 | Cape Byron (GB) 5yo 9-3 (10 of 26) 8/1 | Andrea Atzeni Roger Varian (GB) |
| 2018 (105k) 1:25.40 | Ripp Orf (IRE) 4yo 8-1 (13 of 27) 20/1 | Hayley Turner David Elsworth (GB) |
| 2017 (105k) 1:27.14 | Fastnet Tempest (IRE) 4yo 8-5 (18 of 24) 5/1F | Josephine Gordon William Haggas (GB) |
| 2016 (105k) 1:25.35 | Flash Fire (IRE) 4yo 9-6 (29 of 26) 20/1 | Adam Kirby Charlie Appleby (GB) |
| 2015 (100k) 1:26.46 | Speculative Bid (IRE) 4yo 8-9 (23 of 26) 10/1 | Jamie Spencer David Elsworth (GB) |
Where have the winning runners come from?
Here are the countries where the winning trainers of the Victoria Cup have been based:
- GB: 19 winners with an additional 59 placings from 480 runners
- IRE: 1 winner with an additional 1 placing from 5 runners
- AUS: 0 winners with an additional 0 placings from 3 runners
- USA: 0 winners with an additional 0 placings from 1 runner
- FR: 0 winners with an additional 0 placings from 1 runner
Victoria Cup Trainer Statistics
The leading trainer in the Victoria Cup over the last 20 renewals is David Elsworth, who has won the race two times, with those two winners coming from Speculative Bid (2015) and Ripp Orf (2018). Multiple trainers have not had the best of times over the last 20 renewals in the Victoria Cup. Richard Fahey (0-23), David O'Meara (0-20), Kevin Ryan (0-15), Richard Hannon (0-11) and Andrew Balding (0-10) have all failed to produce a single winner despite sending multiple runners to the race.
Here are some of the top Victoria Cup trainer statistics over the last 20 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| David Elsworth | 5-2-3 | +27.00 | +17.63 |
| David Barron | 13-1-5 | -4.00 | +1.13 |
| Jim Goldie | 13-1-3 | -4.50 | +0.95 |
| William Haggas | 12-1-3 | -6.00 | -0.74 |
| George Margarson | 11-1-1 | +15.00 | +5.63 |
| Clive Cox | 9-1-2 | +3.00 | +2.51 |
| Amanda Perrett | 6-1-3 | +6.00 | +9.51 |
| Jamie Osborne | 5-1-2 | +18.00 | +12.25 |
| Roger Varian | 5-1-1 | +4.00 | +1.00 |
| Charlie Fellowes | 5-1-1 | +3.00 | +0.38 |
Victoria Cup Jockey Statistics
The leading jockey in the Victoria Cup over the last 20 renewals is Adam Kirby, who has won the race two times, with those two winners coming from Flash Fire (2016) and River Nymph (2021).
Here are some of the top Victoria Cup jockey statistics over the last 20 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adam Kirby | 8-2-2 | +25.00 | +13.38 |
| Andrea Atzeni | 9-1-2 | +0.00 | +3.75 |
| Hayley Turner | 8-1-2 | +13.00 | +7.75 |
| Jamie Spencer | 8-1-2 | +3.00 | +1.00 |
| Tom Queally | 7-1-1 | +19.00 | +9.63 |
| Jim Crowley | 7-1-1 | +5.00 | +0.88 |
| Ryan Moore | 5-1-3 | +4.00 | +4.01 |
| Saffie Osborne | 4-1-2 | +19.00 | +12.25 |
| Tadhg O'Shea | 4-1-1 | +6.00 | +2.63 |
| Tom Marquand | 4-1-2 | +4.00 | +3.88 |
2026 Victoria Cup Trends
Favourites finishing positions (oldest to latest): 1, 6, 21, (1, 2), 16, 2, 5, 9, 20, (4, 13), 7, 12, 1, 10, 2, 9, 6, 8, 10, 2
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.
- 20 / 20 (64%) - No bigger than 25/1
- 20 / 20 (65%) - Within the first 15 of the market
- 20 / 20 (71%) - Ran in 4 - 28 races (Career)
- 20 / 20 (76%) - Ran in 2 - 24 races (Hcps)
- 20 / 20 (80%) - Fewer than 16 races (Class)
- 20 / 20 (82%) - Achieved a TS of 78+ (Last 5)
- 20 / 20 (84%) - Ran over 6f - 1m (Debut)
- 20 / 20 (87%) - Highest Run is not LST/Cl4
- 20 / 20 (87%) - No more than +20lbs (Vs Min Weight)
- 20 / 20 (87%) - Had 3 - 15 placings (Career)
- 20 / 20 (88%) - No bigger than 20/1 (Career Win)
- 20 / 20 (89%) - Highest Placed is not G1-2/Cl4-5
- 18 / 20 (80%) - Won within last 9 starts
- 17 / 20 (63%) - Achieved a TS of 79+ (Last 3)
- 17 / 20 (65%) - No older than a 5yo
Remember to use the trends listed above, along with the Ascot racing predictions, to see if you can find the winner of the Victoria Cup. Did you know that we have an OLBG Betting School section on OLBG? It is a place to help you improve your betting experience with articles covering numerous topics.
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 Victoria Cup by adding a tip on the race here.
101 Ways to find Winners in Horse Racing
Victoria Cup Trend Analysis
✅ The trend factor, which has produced 10+ winners and shows the best LSP, an LSP of +44.00, is when runners had 3 career wins.
❌ The worst performing factor that has failed to produce a single winner is when runners were priced at 33/1, when backing these, the trend shows a record of 0-76.
Here are the most recent winning draws, along with the further placings in brackets:
- 2025: Winner in 11 (9,12,1) [17 Runners]
- 2024: Winner in 12 (18,13,6) [21 Runners]
- 2023: Winner in 2 (23,14,6) [22 Runners]
- 2022: Winner in 27 (26,28,13) [27 Runners]
- 2021: Winner in 24 (17,25,14) [27 Runners]
The course which has produced the most winners of the Victoria Cup is Newmarket (Rowley); there have been a total of 5 winners of this race who ran at Newmarket (Rowley) last time out. The next best course, which has produced the second most winners, is Newbury; there have been a total of 4 winners of this race who ran at Newbury last time out.
The race is open to both sexes, with the Male runners having produced a total of 20 winners from a total of 483 runners, whilst the Female runners have produced 0 winners from a total of 7 runners.
Looking over the past renewals, there is only one stallion whose offspring have produced multiple winners of the Victoria Cup; that stallion Shamardal, has produced 2 winners (2019,2016).
These are the stallions whose offspring have not produced a winner of the Victoria Cup despite multiple attempts:
- Oasis Dream (0 Wins from 14 runners)
- Cape Cross (0 Wins from 10 runners)
- Kyllachy (0 Wins from 10 runners)
- Invincible Spirit (0 Wins from 9 runners)
- Acclamation (0 Wins from 8 runners)
Looking at the winning odds over the last 20 renewals, the biggest-priced winner was Excellent Guest in 2013, winning for George Margarson at odds of 25/1 under the guidance of Tom Queally. Looking at the runners at the head of the market over the last 20 renewals, there have been 3 winning favourites in the race. Remember to bookmark the best racing tipsters page so you can get easy access to the best OLBG racing tipsters.
Route to the Victoria Cup
Many trainers will target races to use as prep races before coming to the Victoria Cup, these are the races which the recent winners ran in before coming here:
| Info | Last Race |
|---|---|
| 2025 - Hickory Wolverhampton (AW) - 2nd of 12 (8/1) | Stay At The Wolverhampton Holiday Inn Handicap |
| 2024 - The Wizard Of Eye Newbury - 7th of 7 (23/1) | Dubai Duty Free Cup Stakes |
| 2023 - Rebel Territory Newmarket (Rowley) - 1st of 9 (7/2) | National Stud Handicap |
| 2022 - Vafortino Newcastle (AW) - 2nd of 11 (19/2) | All Weather Championships Mile Handicap |
| 2021 - River Nymph Doncaster - 14th of 18 (12/1) | Lincoln Handicap |
| 2019 - Cape Byron Ascot - 7th of 15 (7/2) | Ascot Challenge Cup (LINK ERROR) |
| 2018 - Ripp Orf Yarmouth - 2nd of 7 (7/4) | Weatherbys Global Stallions App Handicap |
| 2017 - Fastnet Tempest Newbury - 3rd of 21 (10/1) | OLBG Spring Cup |
| 2016 - Flash Fire Newmarket (Rowley) - 5th of 15 (10/1) | Ben Burgess & Co Handicap |
| 2015 - Speculative Bid Kempton (AW) - 1st of 9 (4/1) | Betfred "Home of Goals Galore" Handicap |
Article Contributor Information
We are blessed with an excellent team of specialists and experts at OLBG. Contributing to creating and maintaining this Victoria Cup 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 Flat Racing.
Darren Brett
Tipster Competition Manager
Andy Powell
Content Editor
