Newbury Racecourse Introduce £50,000 Mill Reef Bonus Alongside Prize Money Boost For Both Of Newbury’s Group 2 Races

The National Hunt season has drawn to a close at Newbury Racecourse and attention turned to the Flat with the Dubai Duty Free Spring Trials meeting a matter of weeks away on Friday 11 and Saturday 12 May. Newbury Racecourse Executive announced today the introduction of a new £50,000 bonus for any horse who wins a two-year-old race throughout the Flat season at Newbury and subsequently triumphs in the Group 2 Dubai Duty Free Mill Reef Stakes on Saturday, September 20.

The new initiative is designed to incentivise connections to target Newbury’s two-year-old races throughout the year and then the Mill Reef Stakes at the latter end of the season with their winning juveniles. Any horse that wins any two-year-old only race at the Berkshire track in 2025 (prior to the Mill Reef Stakes) and is then successful in the Dubai Duty Free Mill Reef Stakes will claim the £50,000 bonus, in addition to the total prize fund. Of the total bonus amount, £40,000 will be paid to the winning owner and £10,000 to the racing staff of the yard at which the horse is trained. The first two-year-old race of the season at Newbury, The Dubai Duty Free Golf World Cup EBF Maiden Stakes, is the opening race on the card for the Dubai Duty Free Spring Trials fixture.

Alongside the introduction of the Mill Reef Bonus, Newbury Racecourse Executive have also increased the total prize fund of both the Group 2 Hungerford Stakes and Group 2 Dubai Duty Free Mill Reef Stakes by £25,000.

The Hungerford Stakes, a Group 2 contest run over seven furlongs on Saturday, August 16, will be worth an increased total prize fund of £150,000 in 2025. Entries for the Hungerford Stakes, won last year by the William Haggas trained Tiber Flow, close on Tuesday, July 22 with international entries closing the day prior.

Newbury’s other Group 2 race of the Flat season, the Dubai Duty Free Mill Reef Stakes, has also received a prize money boost of £25,000. The six-furlong contest will be run for a total prize fund of £125,000 in 2025. Entries for this year’s renewal of the Group 2 two-year-old contest close on Tuesday, July 29 with international entries closing the day prior.

Andrew Balding, winning trainer of 2023 Mill Reef Stakes winner, Array, and son of Ian Balding who trained Mill Reef, commented on the new initiative: “It is very positive news to hear of the additional prize money on offer in both of Newbury’s Group 2 races this season.

“The new incentive of the Mill Reef Bonus will definitely be influential in deciding where to run for any owners who are fortunate to have an exciting two-year-old prospect. Our family owes a lot to Mill Reef so it is nice to see the race named in his honour receive this additional support. It is also pleasing to see Newbury further supporting the stable staff who work so hard behind the scenes with a proportion of the bonus going directly to them.”

Local trainer Richard Hannon commented: “The Hungerford has always been one of the go to races for me, we always have plenty of good milers and some of those are better over seven furlongs. It comes at a great time of the year, and I will probably have a lot of entries, the fact it is worth more prize money is fantastic. Newbury are obviously making every effort to avoid races being downgraded by putting in prize money, it will attract more good horses and that’s what you want. It is good to see them doing that.

“The Mill Reef comes at a time where there are a lot of very good two-year-old races, but you can’t get a nicer track than Newbury. For me, Newbury Racecourse is the nicest in the world, always has been, especially for the horses. The greater prize money will make it more competitive, and we have all got to get behind that.

“The idea of the new £50,000 bonus if you win a two-year-old race and the Mill Reef has got to be a massive draw. With the yard getting £10,000 of the bonus if you pull off that double, you’ll have the stable lads behind it and the trainers behind it and I think it’s a fantastic idea.”

George Hill, Clerk of the Course at Newbury Racecourse, commented: “We are delighted to be able to increase the total prize money on offer for both of our Group 2 contests this Flat season by £25,000. The additional investment in prize money by Newbury will see the Hungerford Stakes be run for a total prize fund of £150,000 and the Dubai Duty Free Mill Reef Stakes for £125,000. This highlights our ongoing commitment to increasing the prize money on offer to attract the best horses and guarantee competitive and compelling racing action.

“With the addition of the new £50,000 Mill Reef bonus initiative this year, we aim to be offering an even more attractive option for connections. We hope that through the introduction of the new bonus, as well as the addition of £25,000 to the total prize fund, connections seek to target the Mill Reef with any exciting two-year-olds that emerge as the season develops.”