Who are the five fastest King George Stakes winners at Goodwood?

The King George Stakes is a blink and you’ll miss it five-furlong sprint and one of the standout races of the Goodwood Festival.

There are few top sporting events over in less than a minute but the King George provides all the excitement of the sport of horse racing in 60 seconds and under.

Here we review the five rocket quick equine stars who currently grace the top of the fastest King George Stakes leaderboard. 

Can 2026’s winner add their name to the list?

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5. Hever Golf Rose (1995 – time: 0.56.25)

Named after a golf club, Hever Golf Rose produced a performance that was every bit as smooth as a well-struck drive when he captured the 1995 King George Stakes at Goodwood.

Trained by Joe Naughton, the four-year-old was sent off at 10/1 for the five-furlong showpiece. For much of the race, those odds looked justified as Hever Golf Rose found himself short of room in the opening stages.

Jason Weaver kept his cool, switching his mount to the stands’ side before unleashing a devastating late burst. 

In the space of a breathtaking final furlong, Hever Golf Rose swept from the rear to the front, setting a new race record in a blistering 56.43 seconds.

The victory confirmed he was a sprinter of the highest calibre. 

Later that season, Hever Golf Rose added the Prix de l’Abbaye at Longchamp to his record and was crowned European Champion Sprinter, cementing his place among the outstanding speedsters of the 1990s.

4. Battaash (2019 – 0.56.20)

Few horses have been better suited to Goodwood’s lightning-fast five furlongs than Battaash, pictured above, and the Charles Hills-trained speedster underlined that fact by winning the King George Stakes a record four times.

In 2019, he returned seeking a historic hat-trick and was sent off the overwhelming 1/4 favourite under Jim Crowley. 

Expectations were sky-high, but Battaash delivered in trademark fashion.

Travelling powerfully throughout, the Shadwell star quickened clear when asked, holding off the late challenge of Martyn Meade’s Houtzen to score by three-quarters of a length.

His winning time of 56.20 seconds fell just short of the coveted 56-second barrier, yet it still ranks among the fastest performances ever seen in the race. 

As impressive as it was, Battaash would return 12 months later to produce an even more extraordinary display.

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3. Muthmir (2015 – 0.56.08)

Shadwell’s production line of top-class sprinters continued with Muthmir, who arrived at Goodwood in 2015 after landing the Prix du Gros-Chêne on soft ground in impressive fashion.

The son of Invincible Spirit, himself a Haydock Sprint Cup winner, was installed as the 3/1 favourite for the King George Stakes and faced a stern challenge from David Griffiths’ tough front-runner Take Cover, a 20/1 outsider.

Held up just off the pace, Paul Hanagan bided his time before switching Muthmir to challenge along the rail. 

The pair swept past rivals inside the final furlong and gradually reeled in Take Cover, getting up in the closing strides to snatch victory by a head.

Amid the excitement of the dramatic finish, Muthmir’s exceptional time was almost overlooked. His winning mark of 56.08 seconds remains the third-fastest ever recorded in the King George Stakes.

2. Rudi’s Pet (1999  – 0.56.01)

David “Dandy” Nicholls earned his reputation as the “Sprint King” through an extraordinary ability to train top-class speedsters, and Rudi’s Pet was one of the finest exponents of his craft.

After a series of impressive performances in handicap company during the summer of 1999, Rudi’s Pet stepped up into Group class for the King George Stakes at Goodwood. 

Despite the rise in grade, confidence was high, and he was sent off the 6/1 favourite.

Seb Sanders tracked the pace before angling Rudi’s Pet towards the stands’ side with two furlongs to run. 

Once given his head, the five-year-old unleashed a devastating turn of foot, surging clear to beat Imperial Beauty by a convincing one-and-a-quarter lengths.

The stopwatch underlined the quality of the performance, stopping at 56.01 seconds. 

It was a magnificent training achievement from Nicholls, whose unfashionable northern stable regularly took on the best at the sport’s most prestigious southern meetings.

1. Battaash (2020 – 0.55.62)

Winning the King George Qatar Stakes once is a notable achievement, but Battaash elevated himself into the sprinting elite by landing the five-furlong contest for a fourth consecutive year in 2020.

Sent off the overwhelming 2/7 favourite, the only real question was not whether Charlie Hills’ speedster would win, but by how far. 

Once Jim Crowley asked him to stretch, Battaash quickly put daylight between himself and the rest of the field.

The accomplished Glass Slippers, herself a Prix de l’Abbaye winner, gave vain chase but still finished two-and-a-half lengths adrift, while 100/1 outsider Ornate was another half-length back in third.

Crowley barely had to move aboard the exceptional sprinter as Battaash produced another devastating display, scorching across the Goodwood turf in a breathtaking 55.62 seconds. 

Not only did he shatter the 56-second barrier, but he also set a standard that few, if any, sprinters are likely to match.

It was a performance that perfectly captured Battaash at his brilliant best.

Even years later, his record remains the benchmark for five-furlong excellence at Goodwood, and it may take another horse of his extraordinary calibre to lower it.

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