Over the course of this year’s Royal Ascot I am going to look back at previous renewals of some of the week’s biggest races, remembering some of the most memorable races and champions ever to grace the historic Ascot turf.
The Queen Anne Stakes
2018 winner – Accidental Agent
Staged over the straight mile and open to horses aged 4 years and older, the Queen Anne Stakes provides Royal Ascot with a flying start year after year, and this year’s renewal looks as open as any before it. Hopefully, this year’s race will be as memorable as some of these:
3. 2016 – Tepin. Royal Ascot is renowned for drawing international interest, and the 2016 renewal of the Queen Anne Stakes was no different, boasting international interest from France, Ireland, Japan, and the USA. For me, this race is just as memorable for the heart Tepin showed in order to become the first horse trained outside of Europe to win the Queen Anne. Racing without Lasix, her usual breathing strip, and on the straight mile for the first time, Tepin showed exactly why she earned the nickname “Queen of the Turf” in the States to gamely hold of the persistent challenge of Belardo and follow up her win in the 2015 Breeders Cup Mile with a second highest level success against the boys. Tepin overcame all doubts surrounding her and surely embodies what Royal Ascot aims to promote as a hub for international interest in British racing, which is exactly what makes the 2016 Queen Anne so memorable.
2. 2011 – Canford Cliffs. The Queen Anne is also the perfect opportunity to test the best horses against each other, and in 2011 this was no different as the previous year’s winner and champion mare Goldikova faced off against dual Royal Ascot winner and 4-time Group 1 champion, Canford Cliffs. The previous year Goldikova had kicked for home and just managed to hold off the late challenge of Paco Boy for the same trainer and jockey combination of Richard Hughes and Richard Hannon Snr who teamed up for revenge with Canford Cliffs this year. In 2011, however hard she tried to break away from the field once again, Canford Cliffs had the kick to stay with Goldikova and eventually outgunned his gallant rival at the line to beat the French champion by a length. This renewal will probably be remembered for its quality, with the best European milers (including Dubai Turf winner Cityscape and Cape Blanco an Irish Derby winner who subsequently went on to win three US Grade 1’s) being made to look ordinary by two great champions.
1. 2012 – Frankel. There has never been a more devastatingly brilliant performance at Royal Ascot than Frankel’s 2012 romp in the Queen Anne, and I doubt there ever will be. The undisputed champion, Frankel had nearly tasted his first dispute in the St James’ Palace Stakes a year previously, but there was no doubt this year as he only went further and further clear from his old rival Excelebration. A performance that has to be seen to be believed, and a favourite of many to replay at this time of the year, which earned Frankel the highest ever Timeform rating. It is this race that is likely to be synonymous with Royal Ascot for many years to come, and surely many fans’ favourite renewal of this historic race.
A case can be made for basically all of the runners in this year’s running of the Queen Anne, where the first five home in what looks a strong renewal of the Lockinge Stakes line up against each other once again. With any luck, it should provide Royal Ascot with yet another thrilling opener to a top class week of racing.
The Queen Anne Stakes is just one of three Group 1 contests on the first day of Royal Ascot which boasts something for every racing fan – the flying five furlongs of the Kings’ Stand Stakes as well as the marathon distance of the Ascot Stakes later in the day. Not only that, but we get to see the stars of the future in the Coventry Stakes and the Windsor Castle as well as a thrilling clash between the top three year old milers in the St James’ Palace Stakes, where impressive Irish 2000 Guineas winner Phoenix Of Spain looks to confirm the form with last year’s champion 2 year old Too Darn Hot.
Whatever the outcome, there is no denying that Ascot’s set up on Day 1 of the Royal meeting is the perfect way to kick start a high-quality week of racing and hopefully this year will be one to savour.
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