Cambridgeshire Handicap 2026: result
Pierre Royal, a 33/1 shot, denied Crest Of Fire by a short head to win the Cambridgeshire, becoming the first Irish-trained winner of the race this century.
Trained by Adrian McGuinness and ridden by Mikey Sheehy, Pierre Royal came from off the pace. He caught the front-running Crest Of Fire in the final strides. Altareq was a further three and three-quarter lengths back in third.
Favourite Gavriel, sent off at 4/1, could only finish fourth. The race, as ever, drew one of the sport’s biggest handicap fields, one of the reasons our beginner’s guide to big-field handicaps uses it as a reference point.
How the race was run
Both the winner and the runner-up emerged from the same group, racing down the far side. Favourite Gavriel, sent off at 4/1 on the back of our pre-race preview, led the rival group on the near side.
Crest Of Fire kicked for home first under Tom Marquand. Pierre Royal, held up in rear on his trainer’s orders, found extra in the final strides. It took a photo to separate the two at the line.
A last-minute decision that paid off
McGuinness only committed to running Pierre Royal on the Monday before the race. The four-year-old had been well beaten in the Irish Cambridgeshire on soft ground, and the switch to firmer Newmarket turf proved the turning point.
“He ran very well in the Irish Cambridgeshire, then we ran him back over a mile and two and the ground was soft, and he didn’t handle it,” McGuinness said. “This was our only chance of getting another good run into him.”
The trainer, who bought the horse for just 48,000 guineas at Newmarket last year, had told Sheehy to hold him up. “I told Mikey to sit out the back as he had plenty of boot,” he said.
Did the draw bias hold?
Between 2016 and 2023, every Cambridgeshire winner came from stall 21 or higher. The last two renewals broke that pattern entirely, with low-drawn winners in both 2024 and 2025. This year split the difference. Pierre Royal started from stall 17, neither high enough to extend the old streak nor low enough to fit the recent reversal.
Our full trends breakdown has the detail on both patterns.
Eyes on the Cesarewitch
No plans have yet been confirmed for Pierre Royal’s next start. The Cesarewitch, the second leg of the Autumn Double, runs on the same course in two weeks. Completing the double remains one of racing’s rarest feats, last achieved in 1885.
Key facts
- Result: 1st Pierre Royal (33/1), 2nd Crest Of Fire (25/1, beaten a short head), 3rd Altareq (100/1, beaten 3¾l)
- SP / going: Good to Firm
- Trainer / jockey: Adrian McGuinness / Mikey Sheehy
- Winning stall: 17
- Of note: first Irish-trained winner of the race this century
