Queen Elizabeth II Stakes Tips and Free Bets

Queen Elizabeth II Stakes Preview: Tips, Betting Offers and Odds

The big mile contest on British Champions Day, and one of the very best races over this distance of the whole season is the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes. Read on for the best odds and offers, as well as our betting tips for this top drawer event.

First run at Ascot in 1955, this Group 1 contest is open to all runners aged three and older and now offers over £1million in total prize money.

Queen Elizabeth II Stakes Tips and Preview

The Queen Elizabeth II Stakes has been an excellent race for favourite backers in recent years. Roaring Lion became the sixth winning favourite in the last decade 12 months ago but we could be in for something pretty different this time around. The Revenant is the clear favourite with the bookies but the shape of the race suggests we could see a winner from lower down the betting.

A Shaky Favourite

The Revenant’s position in the betting is down to a few things. First, he is unbeaten in all four starts this season. Those wins saw him steadily step up from the Listed level to Group 2 company. He’s also proven to be versatile with strong performances on everything from good to heavy ground.

The Revenant’s performance in the Prix Daniel Wildenstein was eye catching but does it justify his billing as favourite for the Queen Elizabeth II? It’s certainly a tough sell given the calibre of horses queuing up behind him in the betting and given that he hasn’t run in Britain since being a juvenile.

Can Magna Grecia Get Back on Track?

Magna Grecia’s performances as a two-year-old built a great deal of buzz around him. Aidan O’Brien was happy enough with the way his charge wintered and his performances back home at the yard to enter him straight into the 2000 Guineas without a warm up race. He was repaid for that decision in spades with a big win that many thought would set up the season very nicely indeed.

As it is, Magna Grecia has only been seen once since his triumph at Newmarket. He became very worked up before taking on the Irish 2000 Guineas at the Curragh and never really made an impact at the business end of the race. O’Brien has since confirmed that his three-year-old pulled a hamstring in the Irish 2000 Guineas. That hampered his chances and led to his extended break from the track.

Happily, the word from the yard is that Magna Grecia is in tip top shape ahead of his return to action. He has only limited form on the soft ground he’ll encounter at Ascot but O’Brien isn’t overly concerned so there is a real chance we could see Magna Grecia make a very welcome return to his best.

Century Dream Can Provide a Surprise

There are some very tempting each way betting options in this year’s QEII. The best of the lot is Century Dream at generous odds. This is his first appearance since a fairly ill fated trip to Dubai so a lot of trust has to be placed in the abilities of his trainer, Simon Crisford, to get the best out of him.

Century Dream loves it when the rains come and finished third in this very race on soft ground last year. There isn’t too much in the field to concern him this time around so another place is very much on the cards at a great value price.

Betting Predictions

From a betting value perspective it’s hard to look too much past the each way appeal that Century Dream makes at 20/1 with Paddy Power. However, Magna Grecia is the best horse in this field on his day and if he can take the work he’s done at home to the soft ground at Ascot, he should win at 6/1 with Coral.

Queen Elizabeth II Stakes Previous Winners

  • 2018 – Roaring Lion – jockey Oisin Murphy, trainer John Gosden
  • 2017 – Persuasive – jockey Frankie Dettori, trainer John Gosden
  • 2016 – Minding – jockey Ryan Moore, trainer Aidan O’Brien
  • 2015 – Solow – jockey Maxime Guyon, trainer Freddy Head
  • 2014 – Charms Spirit – jockey Olivier Peslier, trainer Freddy Head
  • 2013 – Olympic Glory – jockey Richard Hughes, trainer Richard Hannon, Sr.
  • 2012 – Excelebration – jockey Joseph O’Brien, trainer Aidan O’Brien
  • 2011 – Frankel – jockey Tom Queally, trainer Sir Henry Cecil
  • 2010 – Poet’s Voice – jockey Frankie Dettori, trainer Saeed bin Suroor
  • 2009 – Rip Van Winkle – jockey Johnny Murtagh, trainer Aidan O’Brien
  • 2008 – Raven’s Pass – jockey Jimmy Fortune, trainer John Gosden
  • 2007 – Ramonti – jockey Frankie Dettori, trainer Saeed bin Suroor
  • 2006 – George Washington – jockey Michael Kinane, trainer Aidan O’Brien

Queen Elizabeth II Stakes History

Previously run as the Knight’s Royal Stakes, the version of the race we know and love today first came into being in 1955 when it was first named in honour of renowned racing fan Queen Elizabeth II.

The contest received a major fillip in 1987 when it was granted Group 1 status for the first time, a status which it has retained to this day. With the introduction of British Champions Day in 2011 this flagship contest was the obvious choice to act as the day’s championship mile event.

Originally only a Group 2 when ratings were first introduced in 1971, the horse to win it that year was a Group 1 performer in that or any other era. One of the greatest of all time, Brigadier Gerard followed up that 1971 triumph by taking the prize again in 1972. Rose Bowl (1975 and 1976) is the only other runner to win this on more than one occasion.

As good as Brigadier Gerard was, he is still only the second best horse to win this race. Top of the pile is the greatest racehorse of all time, the mighty, magnificent, Frankel. Henry Cecil’s equine superstar recorded the ninth win of his 14 race unbeaten career when taking this in imperious fashion in 2011.

Carson’s the man

Scotsman Willie Carson was a phenomenal jockey in his day, claiming five jockey’s championships and recording the fourth highest total of wins in British flat racing history. It is he who leads the way in this contest with eight victories between the years of 1975 and 1995.

Team Godolphin quickly struck up an affinity with this race in the decade in which they emerged as global racing superpower. Saeed bin Suroor was the man at the helm for many of their most famous successes. In all Saeed and Godolphin racked up five wins here between 1996 and 2010, making them respectively the most successful trainer and owner in this prestigious event.

Those winners included the horse whom few would hesitate to nominate as Godolphin’s most talented performer, the brilliant, but ill-fated, Dubai World Cup champion, Dubai Millennium. Through his son Dubawi, who is one of the top sires in the World, Dubai Millennium continues to stamp his class on the breed.