Andy Newton
No trainer has won more races at Royal Ascot than Aidan O’Brien, whose remarkable tally of 96 winners makes him the most successful handler in the history of the meeting.
Yet despite his dominance at the biggest fixture in the British Flat racing calendar, there are still a handful of races that have managed to elude the Ballydoyle maestro.
With that in mind, we’ve taken a look at Aidan O’Brien’s best and worst Royal Ascot races heading into the 2025 meeting – including one contest he has won an astonishing 11 times.
LISTEN: Aidan O’Brien Royal Ascot runners and stable guide
There Are 12 Royal Ascot Races Aidan O’Brien Still Hasn’t Won
Royal Ascot has evolved considerably over the years.
It wasn’t that long ago that the meeting was staged over four days, with Saturday known as ‘Heath Day’ and not officially part of the Royal meeting.
That changed in 2002 when Saturday was added to the Royal Ascot programme as part of Queen Elizabeth II’s Golden Jubilee celebrations.
The expansion led to a reshuffle of the schedule, and several new races have since been introduced to create the 35-race programme we know today.
Considering O’Brien has saddled a record 96 Royal Ascot winners, it’s no surprise that he has won the vast majority of those races.
Even so, there are still 12 of the current 35 contests that remain missing from his Ascot CV.
Aidan O’Brien Royal Ascot Races Yet To Win
- King Charles III Stakes (Group 1) – Tuesday
- Ascot Stakes Handicap – Tuesday
- Copper Horse Stakes Handicap – Tuesday
- Duke Of Cambridge Stakes (Group 2) – Wednesday
- Royal Hunt Cup Handicap – Wednesday
- Kensington Palace Stakes Handicap – Wednesday
- Buckingham Palace Stakes Handicap – Thursday
- Duke Of Edinburgh Stakes Handicap – Friday
- Sandringham Stakes Handicap – Friday
- Palace Of Holyroodhouse Stakes Handicap – Friday
- Wokingham Stakes Handicap – Saturday
- Golden Gates Stakes Handicap – Saturday
ONE Royal Ascot Group Race O’Brien Has Yet To Conquer
Of the 12 races still missing from O’Brien’s record, some are relatively recent additions to the programme, including the Copper Horse Stakes and Palace Of Holyroodhouse Stakes.
However, there are still just ONE Group race that has so far escaped him.
This is the Group 1 King Charles III Stakes, the five-furlong sprint that opens the championship-level action on day one. The second is the Group 2 Duke Of Cambridge Stakes.
With the King Charles III Stakes one of only four British Group One races O’Brien hasn’t won – wow!
O’Brien will be trying to break that duck with Mission Central.
Up until last year, the Queen Mary Stakes had also escaped him.
However, True Love finally broke the hoodoo and gave Ballydoyle its first success in the prestigious juvenile fillies’ contest.
The Coventry Stakes Has Been Aidan O’Brien’s Best Royal Ascot Race
At the opposite end of the scale are the races O’Brien has made his own.
Five Royal Ascot contests have produced seven or more winners for the Ballydoyle trainer, accounting for an incredible 44 of his 96 winners at the meeting.
Topping the list is the Coventry Stakes, a race O’Brien has won a record 11 times.
It also holds a special place in his Royal Ascot story, as it provided his very first winner at the meeting when Harbour Master struck under Christy Roche in 1997.
Almost three decades later, O’Brien added an 11th Coventry Stakes success when Gstaad, ridden by Ryan Moore, landed the prize in 2025.
WATCH: Harbour Master Winning The 1997 Coventry Stakes – Aidan O’Brien’s First Royal Ascot Winner
Just behind the Coventry Stakes sit the Ascot Gold Cup and the St James’s Palace Stakes, both of which O’Brien has won nine times.
The legendary Yeats was responsible for four of those Gold Cup victories, producing an extraordinary sequence of wins between 2006 and 2009.
In the St James’s Palace Stakes, O’Brien’s first success came courtesy of the brilliant Giant’s Causeway in 2000, while his most recent winner was Paddington in 2023.
Aidan O’Brien’s Most Successful Royal Ascot Races
Coventry Stakes (11 wins)
Harbour Master (1997), Fasliyev (1999), Landseer (2001), Statue Of Liberty (2002), Henrythenavigator (2007), Power (2011), War Command (2013), Caravaggio (2016), Arizona (2019), River Tiber (2023), Gstaad (2025)
Ascot Gold Cup (9 wins)
Yeats (2006, 2007, 2008, 2009), Fame And Glory (2011), Leading Light (2014), Order Of St George (2016), Kyprios (2022, 2024)
St James’s Palace Stakes (9 wins)
Giant’s Causeway (2000), Black Minnaloushe (2001), Rock Of Gibraltar (2002), Excellent Art (2007), Henrythenavigator (2008), Mastercraftsman (2009), Gleneagles (2015), Circus Maximus (2019), Paddington (2023)
Queen’s Vase (8 wins)
Mahler (2007), Mikhail Glinka (2010), Leading Light (2013), Aloft (2015), Sword Fighter (2016), Kew Gardens (2018), Santiago (2020), Illinois (2024)
Chesham Stakes (7 wins)
Bach (1999), Maybe (2011), Churchill (2016), September (2017), Battleground (2020), Point Lonsdale (2021), Bedtime Story (2024)
WATCH: Kyprios Winning The 2024 Ascot Gold Cup
How Many Royal Ascot Winners Did Aidan O’Brien Have Last Year?
12 months ago (2025), we saw five more Aidan O’Brien Royal Ascot winners.
These were True Love in the Queen Mary Stakes and Charles Darwin in the Norfolk Stakes.
Plus, Garden Of Eden in the Ribblesdale Stakes and Trinity College, who landed the Hampton Court Stakes.
And, of course, Gstaad won the Coventry Stakes – giving O’Brien win number 11 in that day one contest.
Aidan O’Brien’s Royal Ascot Record – Current Races
Below is a complete breakdown of Aidan O’Brien’s record across all 35 races staged at the current Royal Ascot meeting, highlighting just how thoroughly he has dominated the royal fixture throughout his career.
Tuesday 16th June 2026: Aidan O’Brien Royal Ascot Record
- 2.30pm – The Queen Anne Stakes (Group 1) 1m – 4 WINS
- 3.05pm – The Coventry Stakes (Group 2) 6f -11 WINS
- 3.40pm – The King Charles III Stakes (Group 1) 5f -NO WINS
- 4.20pm – The St James’s Palace Stakes (Group 1) 1m – 9 WINS
- 5.00pm – The Ascot Stakes (Handicap) (Class 2) 2m4f – NO WINS
- 5.35pm – The Wolferton Stakes (Listed) 1m2f – 1 WIN
- 6.10pm – The Copper Horse Stakes (Handicap) 1m6f – NO WINS
Wednesday 17th June 2026: Aidan O’Brien Royal Ascot Record
- 2.30pm – The Queen Mary Stakes (Group 2) 5f – 1 WIN
- 3.05pm – The Queen’s Vase (Group 2) 1m6f – 8 WINS
- 3.40pm – The Duke of Cambridge Stakes (Group 2) fillies & mares 1m – NO WINS
- 4.20pm – The Prince of Wales’s Stakes (Group 1) 1m2f – 5 WINS
- 5.00pm – The Royal Hunt Cup (Heritage Handicap) 1m – NO WINS
- 5.35pm – The Kensington Palace Stakes (Handicap) 1m – NO WINS
- 6.10pm – The Windsor Castle Stakes (Listed) 5f – 3 WINS
Thursday 18th June 2026: Aidan O’Brien Royal Ascot Record
- 2.30pm – The Norfolk Stakes (Group 2) 5f – 4 WINS
- 3.05pm- The King George V Stakes (Handicap) 1m4f – 1 WIN
- 3.40pm – The Ribblesdale Stakes (Group 2) 1m4f – 6 WINS
- 4.20pm – The Gold Cup (Group 1) 2m4f – 9 WINS
- 5.00pm – The Britannia Stakes (Heritage Handicap) 1m – 1 WIN
- 5.35pm – The Hampton Court Stakes (Group 3) 1m2f – 5 WINS
- 6.10pm – The Buckingham Palace Stakes (Handicap) 7f – NO WINS
Friday 19th June 2026: Aidan O’Brien Royal Ascot Record
- 2.30pm – The Albany Stakes (Group 3) 6f – 3 WINS
- 3.05pm – The Commonwealth Cup (Group 1) 6f – 1 WIN
- 3.40pm – The Duke of Edinburgh Stakes (Handicap) 1m4f – NO WINS
- 4.20pm – The Coronation Stakes (Group 1) 1m – 3 WINS
- 5.00pm – The Sandringham Stakes (Handicap) 1m – NO WINS
- 5.35pm – The King Edward VII Stakes (Group 2) 1m4f – 3 WINS
- 6.10pm – The Palace of Holyroodhouse Stakes (Handicap) 5f – NO WINS
Saturday 20th June 2026: Aidan O’Brien Royal Ascot Record
- 2.30pm – The Chesham Stakes (Listed) 7f – 7 WINS
- 3.05pm – The Hardwicke Stakes (Group 2) 1m4f – 4 WINS
- 3.40pm – The Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes (Group 1) 6f – 2 WINS
- 4.20pm – The Jersey Stakes (Group 3) 7f – 4 WINS
- 5.00pm – The Wokingham Stakes (Heritage Handicap) 6f – NO WINS
- 5.35pm – The Golden Gates Stakes (Handicap) 1m2f – NO WINS
- 6.10pm – The Queen Alexandra Stakes 2m6f – 1 WIN
