Founder & Editor · Last reviewed 2026-05-08
The 2026 edition has been run. The date of the next running is not in our racing calendar yet.
Chester racecourse guideThursday 7 May 2026, 3:05pm BST. Chester Roodee. Ladbrokes Ormonde Stakes, Group 3, 1m5f84y. Going: Good. Winning time: 2m 48.26s (fast by 2.74s).
Jan Brueghel (4/7F) wins the 2026 Ormonde Stakes for Aidan O'Brien under Ryan Moore -- a 2½-length defeat of Andrew Balding's Mount Atlas (10/1), with last year's winner Illinois (9/2) back in third for the same yard. The Galileo five-year-old now heads straight to Epsom on Friday 5 June to defend his 2025 Coronation Cup -- Coolmore have confirmed they will skip the Belmont Gold Cup berth that came with the win.
Result:
- 1st Jan Brueghel (4/7F) -- A P O'Brien / Ryan Moore
- 2nd Mount Atlas (10/1) -- A Balding / O Murphy -- 2½ L
- 3rd Illinois (9/2) -- A P O'Brien / W Lordan -- 2¾ L (5¼ L overall)
- 4th Sons And Lovers (16/1) -- J P O'Brien / D Browne McMonagle -- 2½ L (7¾ L overall)
- 5th Al Qareem (6/1) -- K R Burke / C Lee -- 9 L (16¾ L overall)
- 6th Beylerbeyi (50/1), 7th Real Dream (125/1)
Editorial reset, in plain English: the race-day-eve patch on our Ormonde preview (filed Wed 6 May night, sourced off intermediate declarations data) said Jan Brueghel and Illinois had not been declared and that Mount Atlas was out. All three claims were wrong -- the final 48-hour declarations had a different shape, and the original preview's headline framing of Jan Brueghel as Coolmore's Coronation Cup-bound prep horse was the correct read. We've corrected the preview at the top with a pointer to this result piece.
Aidan O'Brien post-race [Sky Sports / Racing Post]:
"He hadn't run long and plan was returning to Epsom after this. He enjoyed Epsom in the Coronation Cup and was very good there."
Ryan Moore: "He's a Leger winner and won a Coronation Cup. Things went wrong in King George, nice getting him back today in good form."
This piece covers the full result + race shape + market, and the Coronation Cup picture for Friday 5 June -- where Jan Brueghel is now odds-on with most major firms. Today's Cup Day card at Chester is also live: see our Huxley Stakes 2026 preview and Chester Cup 2026 preview for the 14:35 and 15:05 BST races.
Full result
| Pos | Horse | Trainer | Jockey | SP | Beaten | Cumulative |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jan Brueghel (IRE) (Galileo) | A P O'Brien | Ryan Moore | 4/7F | -- | -- |
| 2 | Mount Atlas (GB) | A Balding | Oisin Murphy | 10/1 | 2½ L | 2½ L |
| 3 | Illinois (IRE) | A P O'Brien | Wayne Lordan | 9/2 | 2¾ L | 5¼ L |
| 4 | Sons And Lovers (GB) | J P O'Brien | D Browne McMonagle | 16/1 | 2½ L | 7¾ L |
| 5 | Al Qareem (IRE) | K R Burke | Clifford Lee | 6/1 | 9 L | 16¾ L |
| 6 | Beylerbeyi (GB) | I Williams | B Loughnane | 50/1 | 15 L | 31¾ L |
| 7 | Real Dream (IRE) | I Williams | J Leavy | 125/1 | 6½ L | 38¼ L |
[Sources: Racing Post results 7 May 2026; TDN race report; racingbetter.co.uk results.]
Race details:
- Going: Good
- Winning time: 2m 48.26s (fast by 2.74s vs standard)
- Distance: 1m 5f 84y
- Field size: 7 runners (Highest Ground / Palmer and Forgotten Voice / Hannon were the late additions to the dec list that did not run; Multon Hall / Keatley and Phantom Tiger / Palmer also did not declare)
- Race grade: Class 1 Group 3
- Prize money: GBP 79,419 to winner
- Stewards' enquiry: none reported
Race shape and how the winner won
This was a Coolmore one-two-three-shaped Ormonde -- Jan Brueghel and Illinois ran for the same yard, plus Sons And Lovers for Joseph O'Brien giving the Ballydoyle family a clean sweep of the front four positions. Pace was modest in the early stages, with Jan Brueghel held up off a steady gallop under Moore.
Jan Brueghel's race:
- Settled in midfield through the early stages, content to wait
- Got a little caught in traffic two out -- per Coolmore's Paul Smith, the colt had to grab the bridle and quicken through horses
- Quickened decisively from two furlongs out to take the lead a furlong out
- Drew clear to a 2½-length winning margin without being asked for full effort
Paul Smith (Coolmore) post-race [TDN]:
"He's talented. Loved how he grabbed bridle two out and quickened through horses. Great horse to have around, beautiful individual, very talented."
The 2½ L winning margin is honest but not dominant. It's almost identical in shape to Jan Brueghel's 2025 Coronation Cup win (when he beat Continuous), and the fast-by-2.74s winning time confirms a genuine pace -- this wasn't a slow Group 3 padded by a tactical pacemaker. Illinois back in third (9/2) at 5¼ L overall is a meaningful result for the 2025 Ormonde winner -- he's fit and well, but Jan Brueghel is now clearly the senior horse in the Ballydoyle older middle-distance string.
Mount Atlas's strong second is the under-the-radar story. The Andrew Balding 5yo gelding had been our pre-race each-way pick on the trends-scorecard format (5/5 trends from the original Ormonde preview filed 26 April -- before the bad eve patch). 2½ L behind a Coronation Cup winner at 10/1 is exactly the form line Balding wanted heading into Royal Ascot's Hardwicke Stakes (1m4f, G2, Saturday 20 June).
Al Qareem (5th, 6/1) is the disappointing line. The 2025 Ormonde runner-up and 4 April Goliath Cup winner had been the eve-patch's wrongly-flagged 10/11F favourite -- in reality the SP was 6/1 and he finished 16¾ L behind the winner. A 9 L beating from 4th to 5th confirms he didn't fire. The Karl Burke yard will reset; the Doncaster Cup (Saturday 12 September, G2) is the obvious July-onwards target.
Market and SP trajectory
| Time | Jan Brueghel | Mount Atlas | Illinois | Al Qareem |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Antepost (1 May) | 11/4 | 10/1 | 9/2 | 7/2 |
| Race-day morning (7 May) | 8/13 | 11/1 | 9/2 | 6/1 |
| SP | 4/7F | 10/1 | 9/2 | 6/1 |
Coronation Cup market response (Betfred):
- Pre-Ormonde: 11/4
- Post-Ormonde: 8/11 (clear odds-on favourite)
General industry market: 4/5 to 8/11 with most major firms (Bet365, William Hill, Coral, Paddy Power). Mount Atlas drifted to 8/1 for the King George at Ascot (G1, Saturday 25 July) -- a meaningful market signal that the bookmakers respect his Ormonde 2nd. Illinois holds at 16/1 for the Coronation Cup -- the route looks more like the Goodwood Cup or Lonsdale Cup at York for him.
Where to Bet
Place your bets with a trusted, licensed bookmaker.
Promo code BETFRED50. New customers only. Register, deposit with a Debit Card, and place a first bet of £10+ at Evens (2.0)+ on Sports, to be settled within 7 days, to get £30 in Sports Free Bets and £20 in Bet Builder Free Bets within 24 hours of settlement. 7-day expiry. Eligibility & payment exclusions apply. Full T&Cs apply. Take Time to Think. BeGambleAware.org. 18+. Full T&Cs.
Promo code R30. New UK customers only, 18+. Register, deposit £10 or more, then place a £10 single cash bet at odds of 1/2 (1.5) or greater on any sports market (excluding Virtuals). Once the qualifying bet settles you get £30 in Free Bets (3 x £10) — the qualifying bet can win or lose. Free Bets are valid on any sports market excluding Virtuals, expire in 7 days, are non-withdrawable and must be used in full. Excluded deposit methods apply (including PayPal, Apple Pay, Skrill and NETELLER). Named bets such as Lucky 15 do not qualify. If you cash out the qualifying bet, or it is voided, you are no longer eligible for the offer. Ends 31.12.26. Full T&Cs apply. Please gamble responsibly. BeGambleAware.org. 18+. Full T&Cs.
Promo code BET40GET20. New UK customers, 18+. Register with the code and place a first bet of £40 or more at Evens (2.0) or greater. Receive 2 × £10 free bets: the first credited automatically once the qualifying bet settles, the second 24 hours later. Free bets must be placed at minimum odds of 4/1 (5.0), expire 24 hours after credit, and the free-bet stake is not returned with winnings. Debit card deposits only. Take Time to Think. BeGambleAware.org. 18+. T&Cs apply. Full T&Cs.
50% of your first-day net losses refunded as a free bet, capped at £25. New UK customers aged 18+ only. To qualify, deposit and place a first bet of £10 or more on any sport at minimum odds of evens (2.00), then place at least two further bets on different events, each worth at least 50% of your largest bet, all at evens (2.00) or greater. Losses are counted from your first settled bet until 23:59 the same day. Place a qualifying £10+ bet and you are guaranteed at least a £5 free bet. Bets placed at SP, void bets, cashed-out bets and bets struck with free bets do not count towards the offer. The free bet is credited the day after your qualifying bets settle and must be used within 7 days, after which it expires. It can be used at odds from 1/4 (1.25) up to 250/1 on singles and straight accumulators, but not on Trixie, Patent or Yankee style multiples. Free-bet stake is not returned with winnings. One offer per person, household, address, IP address and device. E-wallet deposits may not qualify, so check the cashier before depositing. Customers registered with GAMSTOP cannot claim. KYC identity verification must be completed before the free bet is credited. Take Time to Think. BeGambleAware.org. 18+. T&Cs apply. Full T&Cs.
New customers, 18+. Choose the sports bonus at sign-up, make a first deposit and receive a 100% bonus up to £50 in your Sports Bonus balance. To convert the bonus to cash, wager it 10x within 30 days. Single bets below Evens (2.00) do not qualify; accumulators do not qualify if any selection is below 1/2 (1.50). Virtual Sports, voided, cancelled, drawn, cashed-out and free-bet wagers do not count towards wagering. Only the first settled bet per event counts. Withdrawing before the wagering requirement is met forfeits the bonus balance including bonus winnings. Real-money funds are used before bonus funds. Deposits via Skrill or Neteller are not eligible. Not valid in conjunction with other promotions. Odds, bet and payment limits apply. 10bet general and promotion T&Cs apply. BeGambleAware.org. 18+. Full T&Cs.
New verified UK customers, 18+. One welcome offer only, sports or casino, not both. Opt in before the qualifying bet. Deposit a minimum of £10 in a single transaction by debit card only, and place a £10 qualifying bet, which must be your first bet, at minimum odds of 1/1 (2.0) on any sport within 7 days of registration; Bet Builder, Cash Out, Bet Boost, Enhanced Acca, Virtual and Special markets do not qualify. £30 is credited as three £10 KICK OFF TOKENS, each an accumulator needing 4+ selections at minimum combined odds of 4.0 with each leg at 1.30 or bigger. If a Kick Off Token wins you are credited a £10 Pro Token; if that wins, an Elite Token; if that wins, a Champion Token, taking the maximum to £60. HighBet's key terms say every free bet must be used on an accumulator (4+ legs, minimum total odds 4.0), so treat every token in the chain as accumulator-only. Maximum payout £60 per free bet. Tokens expire 7 days after being credited, free-bet stakes are not returned with winnings, and Cash Out is not available on bets placed with a free bet. One offer per person, household, IP address, email, physical address and device, and it cannot be combined with any other promotion. Promotion running from 3 August 2026. Take Time to Think. BeGambleAware.org. 18+. T&Cs apply. Full T&Cs.
New customers in Great Britain and Republic of Ireland, 18+. Place a £10 fixed-odds qualifying bet at minimum odds of 1/2 (1.50) — single or each-way (only the win part counts), pre-event or in-play, not cashed out early, within 28 days of opening the account. Receive up to £60 in bonuses credited over three days: 3 × £10 fixed-odds free bets (the first on settlement, then 24 and 48 hours later) plus 3 × £5 Total Goals FOOTBALL spread bets and 3 × £5 racing Winning Favourites spread bets, with a £1 racing Race Index spread bet as an extra on top. The spread bets need a full spread-betting account, opened within 28 days of the fixed-odds account and subject to Spreadex's eligibility and appropriateness checks. Free-bet stakes not returned with winnings; free bets valid 28 days from issue. IMPORTANT: the £5 credits are SPREAD bets — sports spread betting carries the risk that losses can exceed your stake. Sports spread-betting customers do not have Financial Ombudsman or FSCS recourse. Take Time to Think. BeGambleAware.org. 18+. T&Cs apply. Full T&Cs.
Promo code WELCOME15, entered under My Bonuses after registering. New UK customers, 18+. Place a first qualifying bet of at least £10 from your cash balance at odds of evens (2.0) or greater within 7 days of opening the account. Once the qualifying bet fully settles you receive £15 in free bets, credited as 3 x £5 tokens with set uses: one £5 accumulator free bet (minimum 4 legs, each leg at 2/5 or bigger), one £5 sports free bet (any market at evens or bigger) and one £5 Sub Cover free bet (selected football player markets at evens or bigger). Free-bet stakes are not returned with winnings. Free bets expire 7 days after they are credited. Void, cashed-out and partially cashed-out bets do not qualify. One offer per customer. Confirm the current terms on BetGoodwin's own welcome-offer page before claiming. Take Time to Think. BeGambleAware.org. 18+. T&Cs apply. Full T&Cs.
New UK customers, 18+. Minimum deposit £10. Place a £10 qualifying single on sports (excluding virtuals) at minimum odds of 1/2 (1.50), settled within 14 days. Deposit-method exclusions apply. Receive £30 in free bets (stake not returned), split £20 for sportsbook use (2 x £10) and £10 for Bet Builder only (2 x £5); Bet Builder does not cover horse racing. Free bets must be accepted within 7 days and expire 7 days after acceptance. No promo code required. Best Odds Guaranteed on UK & Irish racing, subject to having staked over £25 in the previous seven days. Operated by LiveScore Betting and Gaming (Gibraltar) Ltd, UKGC 56859. Confirm the current terms on LiveScore Bet's own promotions page before claiming. Take Time to Think. BeGambleAware.org. 18+. T&Cs apply. Full T&Cs.
New BetTom customers only, 18+, sportsbook bets only (casino bets do not count). Your first day starts when you make your first deposit and ends at 23:59 UK time. To qualify, place at least 3 bets of £10 or more with real money, each on a separate event at odds of evens (2.0) or bigger; bets placed with free bets or bonus funds, or towards the wagering of another offer, do not count. First-day losses are your settled stakes less your returns before 23:59; the minimum qualifying loss is £10, so you need to lose £50 to earn the full £25. 50% of your first-day net losses is refunded as a free bet, capped at £25, credited within 24 hours of qualifying and to be used in full within 7 days of crediting. The free bet cannot be withdrawn or transferred and its stake is not returned with winnings. No bonus code is needed: do not enter one on your first deposit. One free bet per person, family, household, email address, IP address, telephone number, payment account and shared environment. BetTom may amend, suspend or remove the offer at any time at its sole discretion, and may restrict or remove access where safer gambling tools are active on your account or where it considers participation unsuitable. Confirm the current terms on BetTom's own welcome-offer page before claiming. Take Time to Think. BeGambleAware.org. 18+. T&Cs apply. Full T&Cs.
New customers only, 18+. Register with Dabble (app only) and place a qualifying real-money bet of £10 or more at odds of 1/2 (1.5) or bigger within 7 days of registering. Bets placed with free bets, copy bet specials or rocket boosts do not count, nor do void, cashed-out or partially cashed-out bets, and the offer cannot be combined with any other. You receive £10 in free bets within 24 hours (Dabble's site says of the qualifying bet settling), used by selecting Bonus Cash in the bet slip. The free bets must be wagered once at odds of 1/2 (1.5) or bigger before any winnings can be withdrawn, the free-bet stake is not returned, and they expire 7 days after they are credited. One account per customer or device; a customer who has already had a no-deposit or any other welcome offer cannot claim it. Dabble's site shows the code B10G10 while its full terms do not mention one, so check the sign-up screen. Dabble may change, suspend or end the offer at any time. Confirm the current terms on Dabble's own help centre before claiming. 18+. T&Cs apply. BeGambleAware.org. Full T&Cs.
New GB customers only, 18+ and verified. Make a first deposit of £10 or more with promotion code 7BETWO, then place a £10 or more cash single on football, basketball, tennis, horse racing, greyhounds, cricket, baseball, E-Sports+, table tennis or rugby at odds of 1/1 (2.0) or bigger, with the Qualify for bonus toggle switched on in the bet slip. Boosted or enhanced odds, cash out and virtual sports do not count. You get three £10 bonus bets, each a different bet type: the first, credited once the qualifying bet is placed, is a single at 1/1 (2.0) or bigger on the same sports; the second and third arrive once the first has settled, and are a Bet Builder at total odds of 3/1 (4.0) or bigger and an accumulator at total odds of 2/1 (3.0) or bigger on the same sports. Only one bonus bet can be active at a time. Each must be used in full within 7 days of crediting, winnings are capped at £500 per bonus bet, and the bonus-bet stake is not returned. A bonus bet on a selection later voided is forfeited. One per customer and household; you can claim either the sports or the casino welcome offer, not both. 7bet may restrict accounts it suspects of arbitrage, late betting or syndicated betting, and pending bonuses are then withdrawn. 7bet may amend, suspend or withdraw the offer. Confirm the current terms on 7bet's own promotion page before claiming. 18+. T&Cs apply. BeGambleAware.org. Full T&Cs.
18+. BeGambleAware.org
Coronation Cup picture (Friday 5 June, Epsom)
Jan Brueghel: defending champion, now odds-on
Aidan O'Brien's Coronation Cup ladder is now the firmest of the spring. Jan Brueghel skips the Belmont Gold Cup berth that came with the Ormonde win -- the same Saratoga / Melbourne Cup Golden Ticket route that the NYRA partnership opens up -- and instead heads straight to Epsom on Friday 5 June for what would be a back-to-back Coronation Cup defence.
| Year | Coronation Cup winner | SP | Build-up |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Pyledriver (B Drylie) | 11/4 | (post-Stoute) |
| 2025 | Jan Brueghel (A O'Brien) | 9/4 | Direct from St Leger 2024 |
| 2026 | Jan Brueghel? | 8/11 ante-post | Ormonde Stakes 2026 winner |
The Coronation Cup win in 2025 came over the same Epsom 1m4f track, where Jan Brueghel beat Continuous by 1¼ L. The 2026 Ormonde 1m5f84y is a slightly stiffer test -- the 2½ L margin over Mount Atlas (a horse who finished 2½ L 2nd to a Group 3 trial winner) suggests the colt has progressed at five, not regressed.
The non-Coolmore Coronation Cup picture:
- Wahegine Sky (Owen Burrows / Jim Crowley) -- 5/1 antepost; Burrows-trained Hardwicke 2nd in 2025; this is his target
- Continuous (A O'Brien) -- 8/1 antepost; same yard, same route as last year. If he runs we're back to Coolmore one-two
- Eternal Hope (J Gosden / R Havlin) -- 12/1 antepost; lightly-raced 5yo; needs a prep
- Mount Atlas (A Balding / O Murphy) -- could supplement at the supplementary stage; Hardwicke Stakes (G2, Royal Ascot Saturday 20 June) more likely as a non-Coolmore winnable target
Editorial read: at 8/11 the Coronation Cup market is now the shortest ante-post Group 1 of the early summer Flat calendar. Jan Brueghel's win style today -- fluent, measured, with progression off the King George flop last summer -- is the form line the bookmakers wanted to see. 8/11 is short value. The trends-aligned Hardwicke each-way alternative for value seekers is Mount Atlas at 8/1 (Ascot) -- a 2nd in a Group 3 at Chester is a textbook Hardwicke prep.
For our Royal Ascot 2026 hub we'll refresh the Hardwicke trends-scorecard at the 5-day declarations stage on Sunday 14 June.
Coolmore older middle-distance dominance
The Ormonde is now the third Coolmore Group race in a row at Chester this week -- Cheshire Oaks (Amelia Earhart), Chester Vase (Benvenuto Cellini), Ormonde (Jan Brueghel). Aidan O'Brien is operating at near-100% strike-rate through the meeting and is single-handedly stepping into the gap left by Sir Michael Stoute's retirement at the end of 2024.
For our Chester Vase 2026 result, Cheshire Oaks 2026 result, and the broader Chester May Festival 2026 coverage.
What's running today (Friday 8 May -- Cup Day)
- Deepbridge Huxley Stakes (G2, 4yo+, 14:35 BST) -- 9 declared. Lambourn 11/8F for Aidan O'Brien (the 2025 Derby winner, returning to flat at 4yo). Bay City Roller 4/1, King's Gambit 6/1, Royal Rhyme 7/1. Minnie Hauk is NOT running -- gone to Tattersalls Gold Cup at the Curragh on Irish Guineas weekend instead. Race-day-eve patch on our Huxley Stakes 2026 preview now live.
- Ladbrokes Chester Cup (Heritage Handicap, 15:05 BST) -- 17 runners, max field. Tight market with Blindedbythelights (Sir Mark Prescott) the narrow market leader at 8/1, four-handed at the head. Joseph O'Brien three-handed including Galileo Dame (Ryan Moore). See our Chester Cup 2026 preview -- race-day-eve patch live now.
Trends-scorecard reset
Honesty note on the eve patch. On Wednesday night (6 May) we filed a race-day-eve update to the original Ormonde preview, sourced from intermediate declarations data on a third-party racecard supplier. That patch said Jan Brueghel and Illinois were not declared and that Al Qareem at 10/11F headed an 8-runner field. The actual final 48-hour declarations had a different shape -- Jan Brueghel + Illinois both in, Al Qareem 6/1 (not 10/11F), 7 runners (not 8). The original 26 April preview's editorial framing of Jan Brueghel as Coolmore's headline horse + Mount Atlas as the each-way upgrader was the correct read all along. We're documenting this transparently because part of what makes the trends-scorecard format useful is that we ship our reasoning publicly -- when the data layer underneath the format is wrong, the readers should see that and know we've corrected it.
The format itself held up. The trends-cleanest pre-meeting picks were Jan Brueghel (Coolmore + class + course form) and Mount Atlas (5yo upgrader profile, lightly raced, off a Listed 2nd). They finished one-two. As we've documented in our in-house AI horse racing model write-up, trends narrow the field -- they don't beat the bookies, and they don't replace good source data on declarations. Bet only money you can afford to lose, set limits, BeGambleAware.org.
Responsible note
This piece is a transparent application of the trends-scorecard format to the Ormonde result, plus a transparent correction on a race-day-eve patch that had bad declarations data. Bet only money you can afford to lose, set limits.
Where to bet on UK racing: see our bookmaker reviews and offers for the current welcome offers, Best Odds Guaranteed coverage, and each-way terms ahead of upcoming UK + Irish racing.
Share this article
Research the field with the AI Race Predictor
Our model publishes calibrated win-probability estimates for UK races — a second opinion to understand a race, not tips. It's open about its record: it doesn't beat the market, and we show exactly how it does.
Work it out & learn the basics
Gamble Responsibly
Gambling should be entertaining and not seen as a way to make money. Never bet more than you can afford to lose. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, help and support is available.