In just a few days the Ascot Racecourse will open its gates for the pivotal event of the flat horse racing season in Britain. Royal Ascot, the centrepiece of not only the horse racing but also the social calendar of the summer, will be taking place between Tuesday, 16 June and Saturday, 20 June this year. Queen Anne Stakes will be conducted on the first day of the meeting and open the annual event.
The Queen Anne Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race that accepts both male and female horses aged four years or older. It is run over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 metres). The race was inaugurated in 1840 under the name of Trial Stakes but in 1930 it was renamed in honour of Queen Anne who founded the Ascot Racecourse.
After the modern race grading system was introduced, Queen Anne Stakes was initially granted Group 3 status. It was promoted twice since, first to Group 2 and then eventually to Group 1 in 2003. This was also when the age of participating runners was raised from three to four years.
In this article we will go through the list of horses declared to participate in the race this season, take a look at the race card for the entire first day, and talk about some of the most interesting or promising runners that have become part of the conversation among bookmakers and racing experts either as strong possible winners or emerging stars.
Queen Anne Stakes 2026 Racecard
The Royal Ascot 2026 will be conducted in the third week of June and last for five days. This horse racing fixture will include 35 races, evenly distributed across the entire course of the event. Queen Anne Stakes will be run on the first day of the meeting and open the day.
Day One: Royal Ascot Tuesday (16 June)
- When: Tuesday, 16 June 2026
- Gate opening: 10:30 am
- Royal procession: 2:00 pm
- First race: 2:30 pm (Queen Anne Stakes)
- Headline race: 4:20 pm
- Last race: 6:10 pm
- Post racing entertainment: 6:20 pm
The daily race card for the Royal Ascot Tuesday 2026 is as follows:
Going: Round Course Flat Turf: good (good to soft in places); Straight Course Flat Turf: good
| Time | Race | Distance | Conditions |
| 2:30 pm | THE QUEEN ANNE STAKES (CLASS 1) (Group 1) (CL 1) | 1m | 4YO+ £800,000.00 |
| 3:05 pm | THE COVENTRY STAKES (CLASS 1) (Group 2) (CL 1) | 6f | 2YO £200,000.00 |
| 3:40 pm | THE KING CHARLES III STAKES (CLASS 1) (Group 1) (CL 1) | 5f | 3YO+ £700,000.00 |
| 4:20 pm | THE ST JAMES’S PALACE STAKES (CLASS 1) (Group 1) (CL 1) | 7f 213y | 3YO £700,000.00 |
| 5:00 pm | THE ASCOT STAKES (CLASS 2 HERITAGE HANDICAP) (GBBPLUS RACE) (CL 2) | 2m 3f 210y | 4YO+ £120,000.00 Rating 0-100 |
| 5:35 pm | THE WOLFERTON STAKES (CLASS 1) (Listed Race) (CL 1) | 1m 1f 212y | 4YO+ £125,000.00 |
| 6:10 pm | THE COPPER HORSE STAKES (CLASS 2 HANDICAP) (GBBPLUS RACE) (CL 2) | 1m 6f 34y | 4YO+ £120,000.00 Rating 0-100 |
Queen Anne 2026 Runners
Participating in any of the races during the Royal Ascot week is an incredible achievement for any horse, and being part of one of its most notable races like Queen Anne Stakes adds to the value. Running in the opening race of the entire event isn’t an easy task for either the horses or the jockeys, but it becomes all the more spectacular with the amount of talent that gathers at the Ascot Racecourse every year.
Currently, there are 18 runners announced to compete in this year’s race, but this number may change before the day of the race. Some of the jockeys for the race have already been announced, others are still awaiting confirmation.
The current full list of contenders, their jockeys and trainers runs as follows:
- Cicero’s Gift (age 6, jockey unconfirmed, trainer Charles Hills)
- Damysus (age 4, jockey unconfirmed, trainer John & Thady Gosden)
- Docklands (age 6, jockey unconfirmed, trainer Harry Eustace)
- Excellent Believe (age 4, jockey unconfirmed, trainer Jack Channon)
- Expanded (age 4, jockey unconfirmed, trainer Adrian O’Brien)
- First Conquest (age 5, jockey unconfirmed, trainer Charlie Appleby)
- Hotazhell (age 4, jockey unconfirmed, trainer Jessica Jane Harrington)
- Lake Forest (age 5, jockey unconfirmed, trainer William Haggas)
- Mississippi River (age 4, jockey unconfirmed, trainer Adrian O’Brien)
- More Thunder (age 5, jockey unconfirmed, trainer William Haggas)
- Native Warrior (age 5, jockey unconfirmed, trainer Karl Burke)
- Noble Champion (age 4, jockey unconfirmed, trainer Ed Walker)
- Notable Speech (age 5, jockey unconfirmed, trainer Charlie Appleby)
- Opera Ballo (age 4, jockey unconfirmed, trainer Charlie Appleby)
- Qirat (age 5, jockey unconfirmed, trainer Ralph Beckett)
- Ten Bob Tony (age 5, jockey unconfirmed, trainer Ed Walker)
- The Lion In Winter (age 4, jockey unconfirmed, trainer Adrian O’Brien)
- Zeus Olympios (age 4, jockey unconfirmed, trainer Karl Burke)
Who to Look Out for at Queen Anne Stakes 2026
Throughout its existence, Queen Anne Stakes has featured an array of remarkable runners, with one of them entering the historic records as the champion of the race every year. Since the rules don’t impose an upper age limit on participants, many horses have tried repeating their initial success. As of now, there are four horses that have won the Queen Anne Stakes more times than others: Flambeau (1840, 1841), Toastmaster (1885, 1886), Worcester (1895, 1896), and Dean Swift (1906, 1907), each with two wins.
The latest winner in 2025 was a 5 year old bay horse Docklands. This was his only win of the season in six races. However, it wasn’t his first champion title at Royal Ascot. In 2023, Docklands went on to win the Britannia Stakes led on the tracks by jockey Hayley Turner. He started this season strong by winning the Doncaster Mile Stakes (May 2026). Docklands has already been announced to take part in this year’s Queen Anne Stakes. Docklands was trained by Harry Eustace and led on the track by jockey Mark Zahra in last year’s race.
Notable Speech
- Age: 5 years old
- Sex and colour: chestnut horse
- Trainer: Charlie Appleby
- Major achievements: 7 out of 14 wins, including 2,000 Guineas Stakes (May 2024) and Lockinge Stakes (May 2026)
Starting the 2026 flat horse racing season with a win in the Lockinge Stakes (Newbury Racecourse) in May, Notable Speech firmly placed himself at the top of the market and expert favourites list. He is not a newcomer at the Ascot Racecourse tracks, having participated before in the St James’s Palace Stakes (June 2024) and the Queen Anne Stakes (June 2025). However, he is still to earn his champion title in any of the Royal Ascot races, as he previously finished in the 7th and 4th places respectively.
With three Class 1 wins under his belt, two of them such prominent names as the 2,000 Guineas Stakes and the Lockinge Stakes, Charlie Appleby’s charge is firmly believed to be a strong contender for the champion title this year.
Opera Ballo
- Age: 4 years old
- Sex and colour: bay colt
- Trainer: Charlie Appleby
- Major achievements: 7 out of 9 wins, including Star Sports Heron Stakes (May 2025) and bet365 Mile (April 2026)
Another one of Charlie Appleby’s charges on the list of declared runners, Opera Ballo brought home five wins out of seven races he participated in in his debut season of 2025, including the Star Sports Heron Stakes at the Sandown Park in May.
Experts and bookmakers see him as a very likely challenge for Notable Speech and he often ends up a close second on the favourites’ list. Opera Ballo started the new season with two strong statements, having won the Jebel Hatta Presented By Longines in January at Meydan Racecourse (Dubai, UAE) and later the bet365 Mile in April at the Sandown Park. The only two times he didn’t come to the finish line first was in the bet365 Craven Stakes (Newmarket, April 2025, 6th place, winner Field Of Gold) and in the Boyle Sports Daily Racing Rewards Joel Stakes (Newmarket, September 2025, 2nd place, winner Zeus Olympios).
Docklands
- Age: 6 years old
- Sex and colour: bay horse
- Trainer: Harry Eustace
- Major achievements: 5 out of 18 wins, including Queen Anne Stakes (June 2025) and Doncaster Mile Stakes (March 2026)
As the defending champion, Docklands was naturally bound to draw attention when he was declared to run in this year’s race. Though his win was the only champion title he took home last season, Harry Eustace’s charge started this year with a strong first place in the Doncaster Mile Stakes in March.
When it comes to the Ascot Racecourse tracks, Docklands has shown mixed results over the course of his career so far. Apart from his stellar performance at the last year’s Royal Ascot, he has also secured two more wins, one in the Peroni Nastro Azzurro ‘Serve With Style’ Handicap in May 2023 and another one in the Britannia Stakes in June 2023. At the same time, on a number of occasions he has shown lower results, including the latest fourth place in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes in October 2025.
More Thunder
- Age: 5 years old
- Sex and colour: bay horse
- Trainer: William Haggas
- Major achievements: 5 out of 12 wins, including Hungerford Stakes (August 2025) and bet365 Bunbury Cup (July 2025)
All eyes turned to More Thunder when he opened this season with a second place in the Lockinge Stakes at the Newbury Racecourse in May 2026. Coming behind Notable Speech, he showed a striking performance for a horse that had participated in races below Group 1 for the majority of his career.
In addition to this, William Haggas’s charge isn’t new to the Ascot Racecourse or the Royal Ascot arrangements. In June 2025, More Thunder participated in the Wokingham Stakes, a handicap race conducted on the last day of the Royal Ascot meeting, and came second.
Zeus Olympios
- Age: 4 years old
- Sex and colour: chestnut colt
- Trainer: Karl Burke
- Major achievements: 4 out of 6 wins, including Boyle Sports Daily Racing Rewards Joel Stakes (September 2025) and Best Odds On The Betfair Exchange Superior Mile Stakes (September 2025)
In his debut season of 2025, Zeus Olympios won all four races he participated in. He started this season strongly, running against such strong rivals as Opera Ballo (bet365 Mile, Sandown Park, April 2026) and Notable Speech (Boyle Sports Lockinge Stakes, Newbury Racecourse, May 2026). Karl Burke’s charge finished third on both occasions, certainly drawing the attention of both horse racing experts and audiences.
Interestingly, he beat Opera Ballo in the previous season when he won the Boyle Sports Daily Racing Rewards Joel Stakes (Newmarket Racecourse, September 2025), leaving Opera Ballo in second place.
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