History
The event is named after Henry II, who founded a priory on the site of Sandown Park in the 12th century. It was established in 1963, and the inaugural running was won by Gaul.
The present system of race grading was introduced in 1971, and for a period the Henry II Stakes held Group 3 status. It was promoted to Group 2 in 2002, and relegated back to Group 3 in 2012.
The leading horses from the Henry II Stakes often go on to compete in the following month's Gold Cup at Ascot. The last to win both in the same year was Papineau in 2004.
Read more about this topic: Henry II Stakes
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“One classic American landscape haunts all of American literature. It is a picture of Eden, perceived at the instant of history when corruption has just begun to set in. The serpent has shown his scaly head in the undergrowth. The apple gleams on the tree. The old drama of the Fall is ready to start all over again.”
—Jonathan Raban (b. 1942)
“Regarding History as the slaughter-bench at which the happiness of peoples, the wisdom of States, and the virtue of individuals have been victimized—the question involuntarily arises—to what principle, to what final aim these enormous sacrifices have been offered.”
—Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (1770–1831)
“History is the present. That’s why every generation writes it anew. But what most people think of as history is its end product, myth.”
—E.L. (Edgar Lawrence)