The Queen Anne Stakes is part of the prestigious Royal Ascot Flat Racing Festival, held annually at Ascot Racecourse in June. It is run over the distance of one mile, and is open to thoroughbred horses of both genders aged four years and older. The contenders compete for an impressive purse of over half a million in prize money (as of 2017). This makes it one of the more lucrative races on the British Flat Racing calendar.
Although it is now considered a Group 1 race, the Queen Anne Stakes was initially classified as a Group 3 event when the classification system was introduced in 1970. It was promoted to Group 2 in 1984 before finally rising to the much coveted Group 1 status in 2003. This was the same year the age limit was raised to restrict the Queen Anne Stakes to horses aged four and over.
The Queen Anne Stakes is run on the Ascot track, where also the Diamond Jubilee and King's Stand Stakes are run, which is right-handed. The thoroughbreds must dash across a straight mile of turf carrying 9 stones (males) or 8 stones-11 pounds (females).
Location: Ascot Racecourse
Grade: Group 1
Race Type: Flat
When the Queen Anne Stakes was established in 1840, it was originally known as the Trial Stakes. This was a race which was open to three-year-old thoroughbred horses and older. It was not until 1930 that the name of this amazing flat racing event was changed. The name the race carries now serves to honour the memory of Queen Anne, who was the monarch that introduced horse racing to the Ascot area in the early 19th century.
Since the first race was won by Flambeu in 1840, several great thoroughbreds, trainers, and jockeys have set records on the Ascot track (as of 2017).
Both Sir Gordon Richards (Sunderland 1925 - Southborne 1952) and Frankie Dettori (Markofdistinction 1990 – Ramonti 2007) are tied for jockey with the most wins – 6 each.
The most successful trainer for this event is Saeed bin Suroor with 7 wins from Charnwood Forest in 1996 to Ramonti in 2007.
Out of its 177-year history, no thoroughbred has won more than twice. Only these four have won more than once in a career: Flambeu (1840-1841), Toastmaster (1885-1886), Worchester (1895-1896), and Dean Swift (1906-1907).
The fastest horse to run the race was Ramonti (2007) with a time of 1 minute and 37.21 seconds.
Frankel is a legendary name that stands out from the rest. His 2012 season included one of the best moments in the history of the Queen Anne Stakes (as of 2017).
Frankel, ridden by Queally, won the Queen Anne Stakes in 2012. He crossed the finish a full 11 lengths ahead increasing his Timeform rating to 147. This placed the four-year-old above any horse rated prior including the previous record holder Sea-Bird (145).
Not only is Frankel considered one of the greatest thoroughbreds to ever run on the Ascot track, but he is also considered one of the greatest Flat racehorses of all time due to his unbeaten record 14 wins in a single season (2012).
