The Last Five Winners of the Lockinge Stakes
- 6 days ago
- 2 min read
The Lockinge Stakes is the first open-age Group 1 of the British Flat season, run over a straight mile at Newbury each May. First staged in 1958, it has been won by some of the finest milers in the sport, from Brigadier Gerard to Frankel, and now sits within the British Champions Series as a key trial for the Queen Anne at Royal Ascot. Notable Speech took the 2026 renewal for Charlie Appleby, the latest top-class name on the roll of honour.
The race lands in one of the busiest stretches of the Flat season, a period that dominates selections across UK and Irish meetings. It is also one of the most popular early-season races for horse racing bets.
In this article, we look back at the last five winners of the Lockinge Stakes.
2026: Notable Speech
Notable Speech confirmed himself one of the best milers in training with a two-length win in 2026. The Godolphin colt, a son of Dubawi, had taken the 2,000 Guineas two years earlier and added the Breeders' Cup Mile the previous autumn. William Buick held him up before quickening clear of More Thunder to seal a fifth Group 1. It gave Charlie Appleby a second Lockinge in four years, and connections pointed the horse towards the Queen Anne at Royal Ascot.
2025: Lead Artist
12 months earlier, John and Thady Gosden had taken the race with Lead Artist. The Juddmonte-owned colt, returning from almost a year off, produced a late surge under Oisin Murphy to land his first Group 1 by a neck from Dancing Gemini. It continued a strong run for the Gosden stable in the Lockinge, and for Murphy it added to a fine season at the top level.
2024: Audience
Audience was the surprise of the five. Also trained by the Gosdens, he was well down the betting yet finished best under Robert Havlin to win at a big price. He gave the stable the first of two straight Lockinge winners, and remains one of the longest-priced horses to have taken the race. It was a reminder that the Lockinge does not always go to the obvious names.
2023: Modern Games
Modern Games landed the 2023 running for Appleby and Godolphin. A widely travelled miler, also by Dubawi, he had already won the Breeders' Cup Mile in America before taking the Lockinge as the favourite under William Buick. He was the last horse in the famous royal blue silks to win the race before Notable Speech followed three years on. Few milers of the period raced as far and wide with such success.
2022: Baaeed
The run of five begins with Baaeed in 2022, one of the best milers of recent times. Trained by William Haggas and ridden by Jim Crowley, he was unbeaten when he won the Lockinge as a heavily backed favourite. He went on to add the Queen Anne and the Juddmonte International before retiring to stud. Baaeed sits comfortably among the high-class names on the Lockinge roll of honour.
Two things stand out across these five years. Dubawi sired both Modern Games and Notable Speech, and the race has become a near-private contest between Godolphin and the Gosden stable, with Baaeed the standout exception.