There is no individual Field Marshal honoured because it was first run in 1974 on a Haydock card comprising races named after various military ranks – the Major Plate, the General Plate, the Colonel Handicap, the Brigadier Handicap and the Captain Plate. It was only fitting that the Field Marshal Stakes should rank highest in terms of prestige and prize money. It was the second day of an early April fixture, whose first day’s race titles commemorated jockeys Tod Sloan, Frank Wootton, Steve Donoghue, George Fordham, Fred Archer and Mornington Cannon.
The best winner that many will remember was Jack Berry’s Mind Games in 1995. He was unbeatable in the spring of his two and three year old seasons, rattling up hat-tricks in each. He twice won the Temple Stakes when it was run at Sandown. The Field Marshal Stakes was a five-furlong Listed race until 10 April 2004, the last time it was run.