Victoria Cup Preview, Tips, Runners & Trends

If you are a fan of horse racing trends, then this preview of the Victoria Cup will be perfect for you! Not only do we look at the trends, but we look at past winners as well as trainer and jockey records for the Victoria Cup, a race run over 7f at Ascot.
Victoria Cup Preview, Tips, Runners & Trends
Andy Powell
Andy Powell Expert Guide

You know how punters get lost in too much data or bet blindly? I break down the stats and trends so you can feel confident you’re betting with more than just gut instinct.

2027 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.

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How competitive is the Victoria Cup market? When looking at the over-rounds for the last 20 renewals, the most competitive market was in 2006, when the race had an over-round of 127%. The race in 2026 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 138%, which means the bookie expects to pay out £100 for every £138 which is bet.

Below you will find the 2027 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:

  1. Hickory (1:23.66) in 2025
  2. The Wizard Of Eye (1:24.81) in 2026
  3. 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 2 winners. Backing all 19 runners who have been out since their win at SP next time out would have returned an LSP of -12.67. Whilst we wait for the 2027 Victoria Cup, remember you can get daily racing predictions from the expert tipsters on the racing predictions page.

Over the last 20 renewals, it was Hickory, trained by Jamie Osborne and ridden by Saffie Osborne, who set the fastest winning time in the Victoria Cup. That runner won the race in a time of 1:23.66 in 2025. At the other end of the scale, it was the combination of trainer Clive Cox and jockey Adam Kirby with River Nymph who set the slowest winning time; the race-winning time was 1:30.95 in the 2021 renewal.

What the expert says...
Nine of the sixteen winners between 2009 and 2025 went on to run at Royal Ascot next time out; however, from those, only Cape Byron (2019) went on to be successful, which was in the Wokingham Stakes.

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 race year, the winning horse, and the horse's age & weight. Also detailed is the stall from which the horse came 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.

YearHorse (Drawn)Info
2026
1:24.81
The Wizard Of Eye (IRE)
7yo 9-8 (26 of 28) 20/1
Neil Callan
Tom Clover (GB)
2025
1:23.66
Hickory (IRE)
7yo 8-5 (11 of 17) 22/1
Saffie Osborne
Jamie Osborne (GB)
2024
1:26.58
The Wizard Of Eye (IRE)
5yo 9-2 (12 of 21) 7/1
Tom Marquand
Charlie Fellowes (GB)
2023
1:30.53
Rebel Territory (GB)
5yo 9-1 (2 of 22) 11/1
Jim Crowley
Amanda Perrett (GB)
2022
1:27.18
Vafortino (IRE)
4yo 8-7 (27 of 27) 16/1
Benoit De La Sayette (7lbs)
Kevin Philippart De Foy (GB)
2021
1:30.95
River Nymph (GB)
4yo 9-0 (24 of 27) 11/1
Adam Kirby
Clive Cox (GB)
2019
1:27.35
Cape Byron (GB)
5yo 9-3 (10 of 26) 8/1
Andrea Atzeni
Roger Varian (GB)
2018
1:25.40
Ripp Orf (IRE)
4yo 8-1 (13 of 27) 20/1
Hayley Turner
David Elsworth (GB)
2017
1:27.14
Fastnet Tempest (IRE)
4yo 8-5 (18 of 24) 5/1F
Josephine Gordon
William Haggas (GB)
2016
1:25.35
Flash Fire (IRE)
4yo 9-6 (29 of 26) 20/1
Adam Kirby
Charlie Appleby (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 489 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
  • SAF: 0 winners with an additional 0 placings from 1 runner
  • FR: 0 winners with an additional 0 placings from 1 runner

2026 Victoria Cup Replay


Victoria Cup Trainer Statistics

The leading trainer in the Victoria Cup over the last 20 renewals is David Elsworth, who has won the race twice, 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 (0-21), Kevin Ryan (0-14), Richard Hannon (0-12), Stuart Williams (0-10) and Eve Johnson Houghton (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):

TrainerR-W-PWinEW
David Elsworth5-2-3+27.00+17.63
Jim Goldie14-1-3-5.50-0.05
David Barron13-1-5-4.00+1.13
George Margarson11-1-1+15.00+5.63
William Haggas11-1-2-5.00-4.37
Clive Cox9-1-2+3.00+2.51
Jamie Osborne6-1-2+17.00+11.25
Amanda Perrett6-1-3+6.00+9.51
Roger Varian5-1-1+4.00+1.00
Charlie Fellowes5-1-1+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 twice, 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):

JockeyR-W-PWinEW
Adam Kirby8-2-2+25.00+13.38
Andrea Atzeni9-1-2+0.00+3.75
Hayley Turner8-1-2+13.00+7.75
Jamie Spencer8-1-2+3.00+1.00
Tom Queally7-1-1+19.00+9.63
Jim Crowley7-1-1+5.00+0.88
Saffie Osborne5-1-2+18.00+11.25
Tadhg O'Shea4-1-1+6.00+2.63
Ryan Moore4-1-3+5.00+5.01
Tom Marquand4-1-2+4.00+3.88

Victoria Cup Trend Analysis

✅ The trend factor, which has produced 10+ winners and shows the best LSP, an LSP of +61.00, 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 0-73.

Here are the most recent winning draws, along with the further placings in brackets:

  • 2026: Winner in 26 (12,22,23) [28 Runners]
  • 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]

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 male runners having produced a total of 20 winners from a total of 493 runners, while female runners have produced 0 winners from a total of 7 runners.

Looking over the past renewals, these are the stallions whose offspring have produced multiple winners of the Victoria Cup:

  • Galileo Gold (2 Wins)
  • Shamardal (2 Wins)

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 2 winning favourites in the race. Whilst we wait for the 2027 Victoria Cup, remember you can get daily racing predictions from the top racing tipsters on the best racing tipsters page.

Route to the Victoria Cup

Many trainers target races as preparation for the Victoria Cup. These are the races which the recent winners ran in before coming here:

InfoLast Race
2026 - The Wizard Of Eye
Kempton (AW) - 9th of 12 (18/1)
Bet £20 Get £20 With Unibet Handicap
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
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

Article Contributor Information

We are fortunate to have an excellent team of specialists and experts at OLBG. Contributing to the creation and maintenance of this Victoria Cup Preview are Andy and James. They both work on the Horse Racing Tips team, overseeing the tipsters and managing the tip settlement, while also creating and managing all the horse racing event previews for Flat racing.

James Banting

James Banting

Expert Guide

James Banting, a passionate horse racing enthusiast and aficionado, brings a wealth of experience to OLBG, having attended numerous race meetings over the years. His background working with the Jockey Association provides him with a unique insider's perspective on the industry.
Andy Powell

Andy Powell

Expert Guide

Andy, a seasoned horse racing expert with over 15 years of experience, possesses a comprehensive understanding of the sport, from delving into complex statistical data for flat racing in the UK and Ireland to crafting insightful flat racing blogs for OLBG.

Other Principal races at Ascot racecourse

Here are some other notable races at the Ascot racecourse throughout the racing season that you may be interested in.

Races in January

Races in February

Races in June (Royal Ascot)

Races in July

Races in August (Shergar Cup)

Races in September

Races in October

Races in October (Champions Day)

Races in November

Races in December

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