Horse Racing stats man, Andy has contributed to OLBG for 20 years - An Ipswich fan and F1 fanatic, he also contributes EFL football and Motor Sport opinion.
2026 John Smith's Cup Preview
Previously known as the Magnet Cup, the John Smith's Cup is a Class 2 handicap run at York in July of each year. The race is open to runners who are aged three years old or older and is run over one mile and two furlongs.
The race holds the record for longest-running commercial sponsorship in British racing, having been sponsored by John Smith's Brewery since the race was first created in 1960.
John Smith's Cup Information:
To see which runners the OLBG racing tipsters are tipping throughout the card that includes this race, head over to the York tips on the day of the race. Do they agree with the runners on the trend shortlist, or are they predicting other runners? You may also be interested in other preview blogs that we have packed full of information. Head down to the Other Principal Races at York Racecourse section for links to these.
Best Horse Racing Betting Sites 2025
How competitive is the John Smith's Cup market? When looking at the over-rounds for the last 20 renewals, the most competitive market was in 2012 when the race had an over-round of 119%. The race in 2019 was a race that was most in the bookie's favour with an over-round of 139%, whilst on average over the last 20 renewals of the John Smith's Cup, the over-round has been 131%, which means the bookie expects to pay out £100 for every £131 which is bet.
Below you will find the 2026 John Smith's Cup Trends. See which patterns have occurred over the recent renewals that you may be able to use for the next renewal. We also have a section that looks at the John Smith's Cup Trend Analysis.
These are the top three quickest-run John Smith's Cup races over the last 20 renewals:
- Charlie Tokyo (1:56.61) in 2007
- Sirvino (2:07.18) in 2009
- Educate (2:07.34) in 2016
Looking at the future form, is the winner worth following next time out? Over the past 20 renewals, if you had followed the winner of the John Smith's Cup next time out, then you would have backed a total of 3 winners. Backing all 19 runners who have been out since their win at SP next time out would have returned an LSP of -9.00. Whilst we wait for the 2026 John Smith's Cup, remember you can get daily racing predictions from the expert tipsters on the racing predictions page.
When looking over the past 20 renewals, a time of 1:56.61 was set by Charlie Tokyo in 2007, which is the quickest time over that period. The runner was trained by Richard Fahey and ridden by Jamie Moriarty. The slowest winning time was set in 2008 when Flying Clarets won in a time of 2:17.61, booked to ride was Frederik Tylicki by trainer Richard Fahey.
What the expert says...
Andy Powell - Horse Racing Betting Expert - OLBG.com
John Smith's Cup Past Winners
Here are the John Smith's Cup past winners for the last 10 renewals. Each row details the year of the race, the horse which won, along with the age & weight of the horse. Also detailed is the stall where the horse came from and the total number of runners in the race. The horse's trainer and the jockey at the time of winning the John Smith's Cup are also displayed, along with the starting price at which the horse was sent off.
| Year | Horse (Drawn) | Info |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 2:10.10 | Fox Legacy (GB) 4yo 9-4 (19 of 18) 10/1 | P J McDonald Andrew Balding (GB) |
| 2024 2:09.66 | Enfjaar (IRE) 4yo 9-1 (1 of 20) 15/2 | Jack Mitchell Roger Varian (GB) |
| 2023 2:09.18 | Pride Of America (FR) 6yo 9-5 (2 of 18) 18/1 | Frederick Larson (3lbs) Amy Murphy (GB) |
| 2022 2:08.37 | Anmaat (IRE) 4yo 9-8 (10 of 22) 5/1F | Kevin Stott Owen Burrows (GB) |
| 2021 2:11.82 | Johnny Drama (IRE) 6yo 8-13 (1 of 20) 22/1 | Joshua Bryan Andrew Balding (GB) |
| 2020 2:09.48 | Sinjaari (IRE) 4yo 8-11 (7 of 22) 11/1 | Stevie Donohoe William Haggas (GB) |
| 2019 2:10.38 | Pivoine (IRE) 5yo 9-8 (6 of 21) 14/1 | Rob Hornby Andrew Balding (GB) |
| 2018 2:09.50 | Euchen Glen (GB) 5yo 9-3 (3 of 19) 20/1 | Alistair Rawlinson Jim Goldie (GB) |
| 2017 2:10.16 | Ballet Concerto (GB) 4yo 9-3 (11 of 20) 8/1 | James Doyle Sir Michael Stoute (GB) |
| 2016 2:07.34 | Educate (GB) 7yo 9-8 (14 of 19) 18/1 | Thomas Brown Ismail Mohammed (GB) |
Where have the winning runners come from?
Here are the countries where the winning trainers of the John Smith's Cup have been based:
- GB: 20 winners with an additional 60 placings from 375 runners
- IRE: 0 winners with an additional 0 placings from 3 runners
John Smith's Cup Trainer Statistics
There are two leading trainers in the John Smith's Cup over the last 20 renewals, with both William Haggas and Andrew Balding, who have both won the race three times. William Haggas winners have been with Green Destiny (2011), Danchai (2013) and Sinjaari (2020). Andrew Balding winners have been with Pivoine (2019), Johnny Drama (2021) and Fox Legacy (2025). Other trainers who have recorded multiple wins in the John Smith's Cup are Richard Fahey (2 wins) and Roger Varian (2 wins). Multiple trainers have not had the best of times over the last 20 renewals in the John Smith's Cup. Saeed bin Suroor (0-19), David O'Meara (0-17) and Brian Ellison (0-12) have all failed to produce a single winner despite sending multiple runners to the race.
Here are some of the top John Smith's Cup trainer statistics over the last 20 renewals (R = Runners, W = Winners, P = Places including winners, Win LSP is based on 1pt Win and EW LSP is based on 0.5pt Win & 0.5pt Place):
| Trainer | R-W-P | Win | EW |
|---|---|---|---|
| William Haggas | 21-3-6 | +9.00 | +2.86 |
| Andrew Balding | 14-3-6 | +35.00 | +24.50 |
| Richard Fahey | 35-2-7 | -10.00 | -3.05 |
| Roger Varian | 12-2-5 | +3.50 | +2.06 |
| Jim Goldie | 14-1-2 | +7.00 | +6.25 |
| Sir Michael Stoute | 10-1-5 | -1.00 | +0.63 |
| David Barron | 5-1-3 | +12.00 | +11.75 |
| Ismail Mohammed | 4-1-2 | +15.00 | +11.25 |
| Peter Chapple-Hyam | 3-1-1 | +31.00 | +18.63 |
| Rod Millman | 3-1-1 | +12.00 | +6.75 |
John Smith's Cup Jockey Statistics
The leading jockey in the John Smith's Cup over the last 20 renewals is Andrea Atzeni, who has won the race two times, with those two winners coming from Danchai (2013) and Farraaj (2014). Multiple jockeys have not had the best of times over the last 20 renewals in the John Smith's Cup, Paul Mulrennan (0-11), Daniel Tudhope (0-11) and Tony Hamilton (0-10) have all failed to produce a single winner despite having multiple rides in the race.
Here are some of the top John Smith's Cup jockey statistics over the last 20 renewals (R = Runners, W = Winners, P = Places including winners, Win LSP is based on 1pt Win and EW LSP is based on 0.5pt Win & 0.5pt Place):
| Jockey | R-W-P | Win | EW |
|---|---|---|---|
| Andrea Atzeni | 8-2-3 | +10.00 | +5.31 |
| P J McDonald | 7-1-3 | +4.00 | +4.94 |
| Kevin Stott | 5-1-2 | +1.00 | +0.51 |
| Stevie Donohoe | 4-1-2 | +8.00 | +6.88 |
| Robert Havlin | 3-1-1 | +31.00 | +18.63 |
| Alistair Rawlinson | 3-1-1 | +18.00 | +10.50 |
| Rob Hornby | 3-1-1 | +12.00 | +6.75 |
| James Doyle | 3-1-2 | +6.00 | +5.00 |
| Jack Mitchell | 3-1-2 | +5.50 | +3.94 |
| Adam Kirby | 3-1-2 | +4.00 | +3.13 |
2026 John Smith's Cup Trends
Favourites finishing positions (oldest to latest): (1, 7), (4, 14), 11, (2, 16), 6, 15, 15, (14, 2), 3, 5, (9, 16), 7, 14, 2, (9, 11), (12, PU), (1, 22), 17, 2, 3
The percentage shown is the percentage of the total number of runners who fell under that factor. High percentages are less appealing than lower ones, as you would expect them to do well.
- 20 / 20 (78%) - Within the first 14 of the market
- 20 / 20 (80%) - Carried 121 - 135lbs (Last Win)
- 20 / 20 (81%) - Achieved a TS of 79+ (Last 5)
- 20 / 20 (82%) - Carried 121 - 135lbs (LTO)
- 20 / 20 (82%) - Ran in 1 - 23 races (Hcps)
- 20 / 20 (85%) - No bigger than 33/1
- 20 / 20 (86%) - Fewer than 6 races (Season)
- 20 / 20 (86%) - Ran in 3 - 12 races (1 Year)
- 20 / 20 (86%) - Not on HY/SFT/FM/FS (LTO)
- 20 / 20 (87%) - Achieved an RPR of 96+ (Last 3)
- 20 / 20 (87%) - Fewer than 6 races (180 Days)
- 20 / 20 (88%) - Ran in 5 - 37 races (Career)
- 19 / 20 (87%) - No older than a 6yo
- 18 / 20 (74%) - Achieved a TS of 85+ (Hcps)
- 18 / 20 (76%) - Won within last 6 starts
Remember to use the trends listed above, along with the York racing predictions, to see if you can find the winner of the John Smith's Cup. Did you know that we have an OLBG Betting School section on OLBG? It is a place to help you improve your betting experience with articles covering numerous topics.
Are you already a member? If not, then why not? With over £6,000 given away each month in the tipster competition, why not get involved? Remember, it is completely FREE! So, head over to the registration page to sign up today! If you are already a member, then share your thoughts on the John Smith's Cup by adding a tip on the race here.
101 Ways to find Winners in Horse Racing
John Smith's Cup Trend Analysis
✅ The trend factor, which has produced 10+ winners and shows the best LSP, an LSP of +72.50, is when runners had 1 career place on the going.
❌ The worst performing factor that has failed to produce a single winner is when runners had a furthest trip run of 1m2½f, when backing these, the trend shows a record of 0-65.
Here are the most recent winning draws, along with the further placings in brackets:
- 2025: Winner in 19 (10,6,14) [18 Runners]
- 2024: Winner in 1 (6,10,8) [20 Runners]
- 2023: Winner in 2 (11,6,3) [18 Runners]
- 2022: Winner in 10 (3,8,2) [22 Runners]
- 2021: Winner in 1 (3,10,19) [20 Runners]
The course which has produced the most winners of the John Smith's Cup is Ascot; there have been a total of 6 winners of this race who ran at Ascot last time out.
The race is open to both sexes, with the Male runners having produced a total of 19 winners from a total of 365 runners, whilst the Female runners have produced 1 winner from a total of 13 runners.
Looking over the past renewals, these are the stallions whose offspring have produced multiple winners of the John Smith's Cup:
- Authorized (2 Wins)
- Lope De Vega (2 Wins)
These are the stallions whose offspring have not produced a winner of the John Smith's Cup despite multiple attempts:
- Cape Cross (0 Wins from 13 runners)
- Danehill Dancer (0 Wins from 8 runners)
- Dubawi (0 Wins from 7 runners)
- Arcano (0 Wins from 6 runners)
- Dark Angel (0 Wins from 6 runners)
Looking at the winning odds over the last 20 renewals, the biggest-priced winner was Kings Warrior in 2012, winning for Peter Chapple-Hyam at odds of 33/1 under the guidance of Robert Havlin. Looking at the runners at the head of the market over the last 20 renewals, there have been 2 winning favourites in the race. Remember to bookmark the best racing tipsters page so you can get easy access to the best OLBG racing tipsters.
Route to the John Smith's Cup
Many trainers will target races to use as prep races before coming to the John Smith's Cup. These are the races which the recent winners ran in before coming here:
| Info | Last Race |
|---|---|
| 2025 - Fox Legacy Ascot - 6th of 30 (7/1) | Royal Hunt Cup |
| 2024 - Enfjaar Chelmsford (AW) - 1st of 8 (6/4) | biologybyclare.com Handicap |
| 2023 - Pride Of America Longchamp - 7th of 8 (27/1) | La Coupe - Fondation Claude Pompidou |
| 2022 - Anmaat Newmarket (Rowley) - 2nd of 26 (11/2) | Cambridgeshire Handicap |
| 2021 - Johnny Drama Lingfield (AW) - 5th of 5 (11/2) | Winter Derby |
| 2020 - Sinjaari Newmarket (Rowley) - 13th of 19 (8/1) | Old Rowley Cup |
| 2019 - Pivoine Ascot - 18th of 19 (33/1) | Duke of Edinburgh Stakes |
| 2018 - Euchen Glen Newcastle (AW) - 2nd of 19 (7/1) | Betfred Northumberland Vase Handicap |
| 2017 - Ballet Concerto Ascot - 4th of 29 (20/1) | Royal Hunt Cup |
| 2016 - Educate Ascot - 5th of 15 (16/1) | Wolferton Stakes |
Article Contributor Information
We are blessed with an excellent team of specialists and experts at OLBG. Contributing to creating and maintaining this John Smith's Cup Preview blog are at hand, Andy and Darren. They both work on the Horse racing tips team team looking after the tipsters and managing the tips settlement, whilst also creating and managing all of the horse racing event previews for Flat Racing.
Darren Brett
Tipster Competition Manager
Andy Powell
Content Editor
