Last year’s race

• Winner: Docklands
• Jockey: Mark Zahra
• Trainer: Harry Eustace
• Owner: O T I Racing
• Age: 5 Weight: 9st 2lbs
• Starting Price: 14/1
• Season Form Figures: 23
• Previous Best: 2nd - Queen Anne Stakes (Group 1), Ascot (June 2024)

By Paul Jones

In the Queen Anne, we have the strongest trends race of the 35 to take place at Royal Ascot to kick off the five-day extravaganza.

Sixteen of the last 23 winners had already struck at Group 1 level, and it is the Lockinge Stakes that has been the key guide having featured 25 Queen Anne winners since 1980, including Ribchester, Palace Pier and Baaeed who completed the double in three of the last nine seasons.

Being the first domestic Group 1 of the season for older horses that takes place over a mile, the Lockinge is the natural starting point. However, defeated horses at Newbury actually have a better winning record than the winner, claiming 16 of the last 30 runnings, but of course there are more beaten horses than just the winner.

Notable Speech, with the benefit of a run behind him earlier in the season when an unfortunate loser in America, ran out an impressive winner of the Lockinge last month after being very well backed, striking by 2 lengths over seasonal debutant More Thunder, who stayed on in eye-catching fashion to finish second in a deep-looking renewal - Zeus Olympios, Dancing Gemini, The Lion In Winter, Damysus, Cicero’s Gift, Sahlan and Jonquil were all in behind, any of which could also rock up at Ascot - and the stiffer mile is expected to suit him better.

Notable Speech, on the other hand, has finished unplaced on both trips to Ascot to date, including when a 2¼-lengths fourth in last season’s Queen Anne won by course specialist Docklands.

If successful, Notable Speech would be giving Godolphin their ninth Queen Anne success. They also have Opera Ballo in the mix after he impressed in victory in the bet365 Mile, beating Field Of Gold and Zeus Olympios, before not being declared on soft ground for the Prix Aga Khan IV. The Hannon stable landed this race Toronado, Paco Boy and Canford Cliffs, as well as going so close with Rosallion last season, but they look short of a top-class miler this season.

The Ballydoyle operation has had mixed fortunes in the Queen Anne, as horses with more brilliance than Aidan O’Brien’s four winners (Ad Valorem, Haradasun, Declaration Of War and Circus Maximus), such as Hawk Wing, George Washington and Rip Van Winkle, all failed to even place. The French have won on three occasions going back to 2005.

Last season’s surprise Coronation Stakes winner on the round course in Cercene is currently the shortest-priced filly or mare for this straight-mile contest. The Queen Anne has not been a good race for the distaffs, as the only two to win in the last 51 years were reigning Breeders’ Cup Mile winners Goldikova and Tepin.

Four-year-olds have fared best, winning 25 of the last 33 runnings. In 2019, Lord Glitters at the age of six became the oldest winner since 1976, with last season’s winner Docklands looking set to try and emulate him this season.

In very recent seasons, the Paradise Stakes on Trials Day has been marketed as a Queen Anne trial, despite its Listed status, but results show that this is now justified. For example, Docklands was second last year before going one better at Royal Ascot, while he also finished runner-up in both races in 2024. This season he instead kicked off by winning at Doncaster before being sent to contest a Grade 1 in Hong Kong, where he was beaten only ¾-length.

In addition, the winner in 2020 went on to finish a big-priced third in the Queen Anne, while the 2019 third Accidental Agent even went on to cause a 33/1 surprise in the Queen Anne after finishing sixth in the Lockinge in between. The Paradise Stakes winner that year in Century Dream also ran very well in the Queen Anne when only beaten ¾-length into fourth, while the 2022 third Sir Busker filled the same position in the Group 1 at the Royal meeting. This season’s running was won by Jonquil before he finished down the field in the Lockinge.

Ignoring the Covid year, when Royal Ascot began just two weeks into the belated start to that season, there's been just one winning seasonal debutant prior to Triple Time in 2023 (who caused a 33/1 surprise) going back to Allied Forces in 1997, which came when Toronado won the 2014 renewal.