Key stats in Coral’s review of the 2023 Flat season

Meanwhile, Chaldean was the only horse to back up a Classic victory with another top-three finish in a Group One, with the 2000 Guineas winner having later finished second behind Paddington in the St James’s Palace Stakes.

Emily Upjohn, Inspiral and Bradsell complete the list of horses who achieved a win and a podium in this year’s top-tier races.

How have favourites performed?

More than half of Group One races in 2023 (19 out of 36) were won by one of the top-two favourites.

The shortest priced horse triumphed on 10 occasions, most notably in the Sussex (Paddington), Dewhurst (City Of Troy), Coronation (Tahiyra), Eclipse (Paddington) and Sun Chariot Stakes (Inspiral) where the winners were backed at less than even money.

Meanwhile, the second favourite rode to victory nine times, including in four of the five Classics. The 1000 Guineas was the sole exception, with Mawj topping the rostrum as fifth favourite.

Six Group One winners came from outside the top-five favourites, with Ascot seeing most of these unexpected victories.

Khaadem provided the biggest shock of the season by winning the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes as an 80/1 outsider, while Art Power (40/1), Triple Time (33/1) and Poptronic (22/1) upset the pre-race odds in the British Champions Sprint, Queen Anne, and British Champions Fillies’ and Mares’ Stakes respectively.

Which jockeys and trainers have been most successful?

Ryan Moore and Dettori were tied for the most Group One wins in 2023 with seven. Moore rode in all but two of the 36 top-tier races and placed in half of his starts, while Dettori marked his final year on the British Flat circuit with 12 podiums from 25 entries.

That said, Hollie Doyle posted the highest success rate of any rider with at least six starts this season, having achieved two wins – in the King’s Stand and Falmouth Stakes – and three further top threes from her eight outings.

Father-son combination John and Thady Gosden led the way among trainers, with 15 of their 31 runners having finished on the podium.

Their tally of seven Group One victories – five of which came in partnership with Dettori – was bettered only by Aidan O’Brien, who trained eight winners across Britain’s biggest Flat races.

However, the legendary Irish trainer saw 30 of his 48 entries finish outside the top three and subsequently ended the year with a lower podium percentage than the Gosdens.

How has Frankie Dettori fared in his final year?

Dettori enjoyed something of a fairytale ending to his British racing career in 2023.

The charismatic Italian saved his best for the biggest races, having finished the season with two Classic victories for only the sixth time in his illustrious career.

His wins in the 2000 Guineas aboard Chaldean and the Oaks on Soul Sister were backed up by a runner-up showing in the St Leger. He also finished eighth and 10th in the 1000 Guineas and Derby respectively.

All in all, 2023 was his best year in the five Classics since his peak in the mid-1990s.

Dettori finished in the top three in every one of the nine Classics in which he started in 1995 and 1996. That run included back-to-back wins in the St Leger as well as victory in the Oaks and 2000 Guineas.

Which stables have had the edge?

Twenty-five out of 36 Group One races this year were won by horses trained in Great Britain. Ten of the remaining 11 saw Irish-trained runners triumph, with Christopher Head’s Big Rock earning a solitary victory for French stables.

Despite topping the rostrum on fewer occasions than their British counterparts, Irish trainers enjoyed the highest success rate with 38 per cent of entries having finished on the podium, compared with 27 per cent of horses trained domestically.

Five of the 20 Group One runners from the rest of the world managed to finish in the top three, all of which were trained in France. None of the competitors from elsewhere – Germany, Spain, USA, Hong Kong or Australia – finished higher than fourth.