Voting Open for the next Hall of Famer – VOTE NOW!

Racing fans have just ten days to choose which of five top-class staying horses should join recent inductees Sir Michael Stoute and Sea The Stars in the QIPCO British Champions Series Hall of Fame – the official Hall of Fame for British Flat racing.

The public vote includes five legendary horses from the stayers’ category of British Flat racing, in the shape of Ardross, Le Moss, Persian Punch, Stradivarius and Yeats.

The shortlist has been decided by the Hall of Fame’s eight-strong independent judging panel, which comprises of experts from across the horseracing industry. It is now up to the public to choose which of the shortlist will enter the QIPCO British Champions Series Hall of Fame.

Connections of the winning horse will receive a specially commissioned medal to mark their induction, which will be presented ahead of the Qatar Goodwood Cup at Glorious Goodwood on Tuesday 1^st August. All five horses won the notorious long-distance race during their spectacular careers – Le Moss in 1979 and 1980, Ardross (1981), Persian Punch (2001, 2003), Yeats (2006, 2008) and Stradivarius (2017, 2018, 2019, 2020).

Register your vote here.

Fans can also vote on interactive screens in the Hall of Fame exhibition within the Thompson Gallery at the National Horseracing Museum in Newmarket. The exhibition provides visitors with an opportunity to find out more about some of the most adored and important stars of British Flat racing and features a range of artefacts relating to the Hall of Fame, including riding boots belonging to inductee Frankie Dettori, and Lester Piggott’s Hall of Fame medal.

Rod Street, non-voting chair of the panel, said: “It was quite the task for the panel to agree upon the shortlist and this was the most engaged and animated debate we have had so far.

“This reflects the great affection in which stayers are held as well as how greatness this is measured – either in terms of performance or impact on the sport – both of which are part of the Hall of Fame voting criteria.”

Ardross dominated the staying scene in the early 1980s, winning the Gold Cup in 1981 and 1982. He was also a two-time winner of the Yorkshire Cup and Geoffrey Freer Stakes, with his other big victories including the Goodwood Cup and Prix Royal-Oak. He also twice contested the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, being beaten a head by Akiyda in the 1982 renewal. He won 14 of his 24 races, with 13 of his wins being at Pattern level.

Le Moss became the first horse to win the Stayers’ Triple crown – the Gold Cup, Goodwood Cup (when it was run over 2m5f) and Doncaster Cup – on two occasions, achieving the treble in both 1979 and 1980. He gained his first Gold Cup triumph by seven lengths, winning at Goodwood on his next start by the same margin. Ardross proved much sterner opposition the following year, but Le Moss memorably repelled him on three occasions. Overall, he won 11 of his 15 races.

Persian Punch was a supreme stayer in every sense, winning 20 of his 63 races (13 wins at Pattern level) and running some fabulous races in defeat, including when twice finishing third in the Melbourne Cup. He defied Father Time, winning the Goodwood Cup and Doncaster Cup as a ten-year-old in 2003. In between, he finished runner-up in the Gold Cup at Royal Ascot. He also thrilled his bulging fan club with three wins in the Henry II Stakes and Jockey Club Cup.

Stradivarius excelled as a stayer between 2017 and 2022. He retired having won a record 18 European Group races, not to mention the hearts of all racing fans. Highlights included three successive Gold Cup victories, plus a record four triumphs in the Goodwood Cup. He also won the Yorkshire Cup and Lonsdale Cup on three occasions, plus two Doncaster Cups and a British Champions Long Distance Cup. Gallant efforts in defeat included his third in the 2017 St Leger.

Yeats is the only four-time winner of the Gold Cup (2006-2009), with half of his 14 career wins being achieved at the highest level. He was hot favourite for The Derby in 2004, but a late setback ruled him out. A year later he scooped the Coronation Cup, at Epsom, before his connections took the staying route with spectacular dividends. In addition to his wonderful exploits at Ascot, he twice won the Goodwood Cup, plus an Irish St Leger and Prix Royal-Oak.

Christopher Tsui (owner of Sea The Stars) and Sir Michael Stoute were presented with their Hall of Fame medals earlier this year at Newmarket Racecourse on QIPCO 1000 Guineas day.

Launched in 2021, the Hall of Fame immortalises the Modern Greats of the sport, both human and equine, from 1970 onwards. Trainer Sir Michael Stoute and Sea The Stars became the first inductees of 2023, with both inductions officially recognised through a special presentation moment which took place at Newmarket Racecourse earlier this year.

While entries into the Hall of Fame are typically decided by an independent judging panel, each year, one equine entry is chosen by the public from a shortlist of horses provided by the panel. Although horses in the shortlist do not need to have been trained in Great Britain, they must have competed and won at a British racecourse and be retired from racing at the time of the judges’ decision.

The winner of the public vote will be inducted into the Hall of Fame during the QIPCO British Champions Series each year, which runs from the QIPCO 2000 Guineas (Saturday 6^th May) until QIPCO British Champions Day (Saturday 21^st October) this year.