Whilst some of the year’s major flat meetings like to ease fans in gently, Royal Ascot takes the opposite approach – bursting out of the starting stalls with a Group 1 contest as the very first race of the five-day extravaganza. The Queen Anne Stakes sets the tone for a glorious opening day, which, if judged purely on the quality of the racing, is the best of them all.
In common with many events at the meeting, the race title pays homage to the British Royal Family, both past and present, in this case, Queen Anne, who certainly deserves such an accolade, having founded Ascot Racecourse in 1711. Founded in 1840 and run under its current title since 1930, the one-mile Queen Anne Stakes is open to colts, fillies, and geldings aged four and older and regularly attracts the best British, Irish, and international superstar milers.
With £750,000 (2024) in total prize money up for grabs, this is understandably one of the most coveted prizes of the season for the leading owners and trainers. For punters, it provides the opportunity to get one of the most magical weeks of the racing year off to a flying start – but what does it take to win? Here, we look back at the 24 editions of the race between 2000 and 2023 and pick out a selection of stats and trends which may assist in identifying the most likely contenders.
Age of Winner
The youngest runners appear to have held a definite advantage in this event. Whilst they tend to be the most well-represented age group, a strike rate of 75% is impressive for the four-year-olds. The biggest outlier over this period was the six-year-old Lord Glitters, who landed the 2019 edition for David O’Meara.
Leading Trainers
It’s no surprise to see the name Aidan O’Brien topping the table in yet another British Group 1 event. However, this has been a relatively open affair overall, with the 24 editions in our sample shared among 15 different trainers. Having also won with Charnwood Forest (1996), Allied Forces (1997), Intikhab (1998), and Cape Cross (1999), Saeed bin Suroor is the most successful trainer in the history of the race.
The home team leads the way in the battle of the nations, with 16 wins, compared to four for Ireland, three for France, and one for the USA.
Top Jockeys
Now based in the US, it remains to be seen whether Frankie Dettori will add to his Queen Anne tally. With seven wins between 1990 and 2021, Dettori is the most successful rider in Queen Anne history. With Richard Hughes, Kieren Fallon, and Johnny Murtagh now retired from the saddle, no current rider has won the Queen Anne more than once.
Most Informative Races
We have a runaway winner in this category, with 14 of the 24 winners (58.33%) arriving on the back of a run in Newbury’s Lockinge Stakes in May. Also a Group 1 event over a mile, and with a nice gap between the races, it makes sense that many of the leading milers would have the Lockinge and Queen Anne as primary targets for the season. Of the 14 winners who ran in the Lockinge, only six managed to win the Newbury event. Longchamp’s Prix d’Ispahan was the only other race responsible for more than one winner.
Finishing Position Last Time Out
Overall, first place was comfortably the most common recent finishing position of the winner, with 11 of 24 (45.83%) Queen Anne champs scoring on their previous outing. However, a last-time-out win, or even a placed effort, has been far from essential in this event, with 11 of 24 winners finishing outside the first three on their most recent racecourse appearance. Overall, 21 of the 24 (87.50%) winners finished in the first six last time, with only one finishing outside the top 10.
Rating of Winner
The first three editions in our sample were Group 2 affairs before the Queen Anne Stakes was upgraded to become a Group 1 race in 2003. As such, the improvement in the trend line is to be expected. There are no figures for the 2005, 2006, and 2008 editions due to the lack of an official British Handicap rating for the winner in these years.
Of the 21 winners with a British Official Rating, two were rated below 110, nine between 111 and 120, and nine between 121 and 130. The outlier was, of course, the highest-rated horse of all time, Frankel, who landed the 2012 edition by the small matter of 11 lengths!
Fate of the Favourite
The Queen Anne Stakes proved a nightmare for favourite backers in the first decade of the current century – with the market leader failing to oblige between 2000 and 2009. Things have improved since, with eight winning favourites between 2010 and 2023. Nevertheless, a £1 level stakes bet on the jolly between 2000 and 2023 returned a loss of £6.79.
Overall, 20 of 24 winners returned a single-figure SP (Frankel was the shortest of all at 1/10). Two winners were priced between 12/1 and 14/1, with the biggest shocks provided by 33/1 winners Accidental Agent (2018) and Triple Time (2023).
Other Stats
- All 24 winners had previously won over 1m.
- 17 of 24 winners had previously won in Group 1 company. All bar one had won at Listed level or above – Accidental Agent was the exception.
- 9 of 24 winners had previously won at Ascot.
- 20 of 24 winners arrived following a break of 40 days or less. Three of the four exceptions arrived after an absence of over 220 days.
- Machiavellian and Galileo were the only sires with more than one win to their name – with two each.
