While we may not be able to pick a current favourite at the moment, we can bring you the last four winners of the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes in ascending order.
It is that time of year once again on the flat racing calendar where attention turns towards the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes (QEII Stakes). One of the most hotly anticipated events of the year, the Group 1 race, takes place as we approach the business end of the season, with many of the top trainers and jockeys looking to stake their claim as a favourite in the horse racing tips on Betdaq and other sites.
With so much competition, it will be hard to pick a winner at Ascot, especially given the unpredictability of the season so far, with upsets being caused left and right. While we may not be able to pick a current favourite at the moment, we can bring you the last four winners of the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes in ascending order.
2017 – Persuasive
Not every time in flat racing do we see the favourite go all the way and win comfortably, especially in the case of this season where there have been so many upsets like the Sprint Cup, but in 2017 it was Frankie Dettori-ridden Persuasive who dominated proceedings to earn an impressive victory. The Italian was impressed with his filly’s performance, saying: “She traveled so well, the ground is so key to her.
“She has an exceptional turn of foot and put the race to bed very quickly. This very race was my first Group One in 1990 (with Markofdistinction).”
2018 – Roaring Lion
When you have the experience of John Gosden and Oisin Murphy behind you, there is always a good chance you are going to win — and such was the case for Roaring Lion, who collected the top prize in the 2018 edition of the QEII Stakes. He showed his class at Ascot in a gutsy fashion after making a slow start which saw Century Dream pull ahead initially. However, Gosden’s colt displayed why he had won his last three consecutive Group 1 races and turned things around to land another victory.
2019 – King of Change
Coming in at 12/1, it was somewhat unexpected when King of Change won by a length and a quarter ahead of The Revenant. The then three-year-old earned plaudits from his trainer Richard Hannon as he claimed top spot after some time away, but he certainly didn’t disappoint and, if anything exceeded expectations. “We gave him the summer off because he had a hard race and we thought the ground would be firm at Royal Ascot,” He said:
“It was the first Ascot in about 10 years where it rained for three days, so that wasn’t great. But we decided to stick to our plan – I’m very impressed with this horse.”
2020 – The Revenant
Pierre-Charles Boudot’s The Revenant is the most recent QEII Stakes winner but did so behind closed doors due to the coronavirus pandemic. While winning without the thrill of the spectators’ cheers would have been disappointing, the record remains in the history books and Francis-Henri Graffard will hardly be complaining with the accolades and the £360,000 in prize money to boot. He beat Palace Pier, the odds-on favourite at the start of the race, to go one better than his second-place finish the year before.
