Royal Ascot 2023: Queen Anne Stakes Preview

The Classics of the 1000 and 2000 Guineas, Oaks, and Derby may be in the books for another year, but there’s no slowing of the pace on the racing calendar. Next on the agenda is the biggest and best flat festival of the season, as an international cast of stars assembles for the five-day Royal Ascot extravaganza.

It all kicks off on Tuesday 20th June, and as ever, the first of the eight Group 1 contests on offer is the opening event of the Queen Anne Stakes. Here we take an early look at how the big 1m contest is shaping up, using data presented by newbettingsites.uk and pick out our best bet in what is always one of the classiest contests of the season.

Clear Age Trend in Evidence

Previously open to runners aged three and over, the race has been restricted to those aged four and above since 2003. When looking at the 20 editions to have been held under the current conditions, we can see that four-year-olds are strongly favoured – winning 14 of 20 renewals (70%). Amongst those to come up short on the age trend, are Lockinge Stakes runner-up, Chindit, and the dual Group 2 winners, Jadoomi, and Mustaabeq.

Trainer Records Thin on the Ground

Of the 15 trainers listed amongst the current entries, only three have previously tasted success in this race - namely William Haggas, John & Thady Gosden, and Richard Hannon. However, with each of that trio registering only one win, this is far from a strong race for fans of trainer trends. Haggas sends Maljoom into battle, the Gosdens rely on Inspiral, and Richard Hannon is represented by Chindit and Lusail.

Proven Class a Positive

It usually takes an outstanding miler to land this event, and more often than not, the winner will already have displayed a top-class level of form in their previous outings. When looking at the past ten editions, seven winners had a previous Group 1 win over 1m or 1m1f to their name.

Amongst the current list of 19 entries, only four runners earn a checkmark on this score, namely, Inspiral, Angel Bleu and the Godolphin duo of Modern Games and Native Trail

Sire Clues

In an effort to whittle down the list of runners, it can be useful to zero in on the breeding profiles of previous winners. In the case of this race, it is interesting to note that six of the past nine (66.67%) winners were sired by a stallion who had finished in the first three in either the 2000 Guineas of Epsom Derby during their racing career.

Inspiral to Leave Rivals in a Spin

Current favourite Modern Games ticks a lot of boxes, but the current form of the Charlie Appleby yard would have to be a concern heading into the meeting. At a slightly bigger price, the one to be on is the John & Thady Gosden runner, Inspiral. Already a three-time winner in Group 1 company over this trip, and sired by the mighty Frankel, who won this in 2012, she is a strong fit on our trends. As a filly, she receives 3lb from the boys, and whilst this will be her first run of the campaign, she won first time up in both 2021 and 2022, so clearly goes well fresh.

The runner who looks overpriced from an each-way perspective is the Jerome Reynier-trained Facteur Cheval. Sired by Ribchester, who finished third in the 2016 2000 Guineas and won this race in 2017, this one finished ahead of Erevann when beaten by just a head in the Group 1 Prix d’Ispahan last time out - but is available to back at more than double the price of the Jean-Claude Rouget runner here.

• Best Win Bet - Inspiral @ 11/4 with BetGoodwin
• Best Each Way Bet - Facteur Cheval @ 20/1 with SpreadEx

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