The Boyle Sports Lockinge Stakes serves up one of the first truly defining mile tests of the Flat season, and this year’s renewal at Newbury looks like another fantastic renewal.
Run on the straight mile for horses aged four and up, it offers £400,000 in total prize-money, with £226,840 to the winner and strict entry conditions ensuring only proven performers make the cut, so there are no hiding places once the gates open.
The Lockinge’s status as a straight‑mile Group 1 means it often acts as a launchpad to the Queen Anne at Royal Ascot and major summer miles in Britain, France, and the US.
Restricted to horses with a BHA mark of 80 or higher (or a provisional equivalent), the race is run on good ground, with colts and geldings carrying 9st 2lb and fillies 8st 13lb, though I should point out that there are no fillies running here in 2026.
Top Three In The Betting
The betting is headed by Damysus, Notable Speech, and Zeus Olympios, three horses who bring strong Group 1 credentials and who are vying for favouritism with little separating them in the odds.
Damysus, representing John and Thady Gosden, has the look of a horse just coming into his own, having not had the greatest of runs last season.
However, he ended with a Deauville Listed win before returning to land a Newmarket Group 3 over nine furlongs.
On his latest start, he beat King’s Gambit in another Newmarket Group 3, and his connections have long talked about him as a top‑level performer who can be equally effective at a mile or ten furlongs.
Notable Speech, for Charlie Appleby and Godolphin, is the former 2,000 Guineas hero (2024), and is the standard‑setter after a globe‑trotting campaign that included Group 1 wins and placed efforts in Canada, North America, and France.
He was an authoritative winner of the Woodbine Mile and then Del Mar’s Breeders’ Cup Mile trial, and has consistently shown the electric change of pace that marks out elite milers.
Zeus Olympios is the least exposed of the trio but arguably the most exciting, having gone from maiden winner to unbeaten performer before his run was finally halted at Sandown last month.
He advertised his Lockinge claims when running a close third in the Sandown Mile on his seasonal return, having previously powered through the ranks with an impressive Haydock Group 3 win and a dominant Newmarket Group 2, prompting trainer Karl Burke to describe him as a horse with a big future at this level.
Lockinge Stakes 2026 Odds
*Odds from Betfred correct at time of publishing
| No. | Horse | Trainer | Odds |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | Notable Speech | C Appleby | 7/2 |
| 2 | Damysus | J & T Gosden | 4/1 |
| 10 | Zeus Olympios | K R Burke | 4/1 |
| 6 | More Thunder | W J Haggas | 15/2 |
| 8 | Sahlan | F Graffard | 17/2 |
| 9 | The Lion In Winter | A P O’Brien | 17/2 |
| 4 | Jonquil | A M Balding | 14/1 |
| 1 | Cicero’s Gift | C Hills | 25/1 |
| 3 | Dancing Gemini | R A Teal | 40/1 |
| 5 | Mississippi River | A P O’Brien | 125/1 |
Others With Leading Chances
Behind the front three in the betting sit several with very live chances if things fall their way, including international Group 1 performers and proven Newbury specialists.
Dancing Gemini, last year’s Lockinge second-place finisher, returns to try again, and while he finished only sixth behind Opera Ballo on his comeback in the Sandown Mile, that was a notably stronger renewal.
Jonquil, from Juddemonte, has blossomed since joining Andrew Balding and arrives on the back of a sharp Listed success over this trip at Ascot, where he ran down Holloway Boy late to take victory.
Balding has long flagged the Lockinge as his natural target, believing faster ground and a solid pace will show him to best effect, but his record in Group 1 races is not great, and that is irrespective of where he runs in them.
French raider Sahlan adds further intrigue, having run Rosallion to a short head in the Prix du Moulin in September.
He also finished a fast‑closing fifth behind Notable Speech in last year’s Del Mar Grade 1 over this trip. His trainer, Francis‑Henri Graffard, has repeatedly emphasised his abilities when conditions are genuinely good, which he is likely to get at Newbury.
Who Will Win the 2026 Lockinge Stakes?
This Lockinge Stakes brings together a field stacked with Group 1 winners and nearly‑horses, and much will depend on how strongly they go early and which side of the track offers the better strip of ground.
Notable Speech has the best single piece of form and will be a huge danger if he gets the strong, even pace and clean passage he arguably lacked in a couple of his defeats, while Zeus Olympios is open to significant further improvement and could easily take another step forward from his Sandown return.
However, the one who looks primed to put it all together over a straight mile on good ground is Damysus, who combines a high cruising speed with an explosive turn of foot that his connections have seen sharpen with maturity.
He already has a Newmarket Group 3 over nine furlongs in the book, shaped like a Group 1 performer on his return when chasing home King’s Gambit, and crucially has the tactical versatility needed for this race.
Leaning towards Damysus as the most likely winner, with Notable Speech and Zeus Olympios feared most, and Dancing Gemini, Jonquil, and Sahlan all respected as live dangers, feels the right call for a race that should tell xus plenty about this season’s older‑horse mile hierarchy.
BETFRED
