The Group 1 Queen Anne Stakes is the curtain raiser for what promises to be a thrilling five days of high class equine action at Royal Ascot. Last year’s renewal was won by the Lockinge second Charyn, and this year we have the first four home from the Lockinge all locking horns once more in their quest for Group 1 glory.
Market Leaders
Rosallion
Blue Point colt Rosallion marked himself as a smart type when bolting up in the Listed Pat Eddery Stakes on his second start, and while little went right for him when beaten three lengths in the Champagne Stakes at 4/5F, he bounced straight back to land the Group 1 Prix Jan-Luc Lagadere at Longchamp in impressive fashion.
Rosallion was no match for Notable Speech in the 2000 Guineas on his three-year-old debut, but he returned to winning ways with a gutsy success in the Irish equivalent, before posting a career best effort in the St James’s Palace Stakes at the Royal meeting last term, cementing his claims as one of Europe’s top milers.
He was too keen to do himself justice in the Lockinge on reappearance, but just like last year it’s plausible to suggest he will come on for that effort with the Queen Anne always likely to have been the prime summer aim, particularly given his form at Ascot.
Victory in the Queen Anne Stakes has eluded Richard Hannon since landing it with Tornado in 2014, but he won’t have had a better chance to regain this illustrious prize.
Dancing Gemini
Having somewhat been a disappointment since his second in the French 2000 Guineas on seasonal debut last term, Camelot colt Dancing Gemini has returned in top shape this season. Like Charyn, he landed the Doncaster Mile Stakes on seasonal In March in a facile manner and, like Charyn again, he took the Bet365 Mile at Sandown in ready fashion. They do say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, so it was no surprise to see, like Charyn, finishing second in the Lockinge on the next step of the path to the Queen Anne. Roger Teal’s colt lost little in defeat there once locking horns with Lead Artist, who gamely got back up from being headed to win by a neck.
Little separated the pair there, but Dancing Gemini was perhaps unsuited by his pitch toward the rear and had to make plenty of ground to mount a challenge alongside Lead Artist, which bodes well for a fascinating rematch between the pair with Teal searching for his first Royal success since Oxted took the King’s Stand in 2021.
Matthew Sutcliffe’s Value Punts – Royal Ascot Day One Selections
Royal Ascot gets underway on Tuesday and Matty Sutcliffe is keen on making just as fast a start to the meeting as he did last year. He has five tips across four races, including TWO 100/1 shots worth an interest… 3:05 Ascot – Coventry Stakes (Group 2) (Class 1) (2yo) – Ballistic Missile 25/1 1pt…
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Lead Artist
Colin Keane was announced as Juddmonte’s retained rider and he made an immediate impact when landing a Newbury Novice on Blue Bolt for Andrew Balding last Thursday, but this will be a far bigger test of his capabilities in those famous Juddmonte silks.
Dubawi colt Lead Artist is a model of consistency, with his form figures prior to Sandown disappointment reading 2131212. After bolting up impressively in a York novice, he spent last term in black type company and picked up a pair of Group Three’s, with his season culminating with a second in the valuable Bahrain International Trophy, picking up £157k for his troubles.
The beautifully-bred colt, from the family of Dansili, has a pedigree to suggest time will only improve him, and that was backed up in abundance when landing something of a gamble in the Lockinge under Oisin Murphy, taking the reins from Kieran Shoemark for the first time. The success was seemingly no surprise to the Gosden’s, and given they landed the Lockinge/Queen Anne double with top miler Palace Pier in 2021, Lead Artist has to be feared by all.
Notable Speech
Godolphin first won the Queen Anne Stakes in 1996 with Charlwood Forest, the first of a four consecutive victories in the race for Saeed Bin Suroor and seven subsequent wins in the contest for Godolphin. The latest came with Ribchester for Richard Fahey in 2017, but Charlie Appleby is yet to win the contest himself.
Last year’s 2000 Guineas winner Notable Speech bids to change that here, and if settling better than how he did in the Lockinge on seasonal debut, he’d have to have a big chance. The Dubawi colt looked ring-rusty after a 196 day layoff and didn’t travel particularly well under William Buick in rear. He came with a chance toward the furlong pole but similarly to Rosallion, his effort petered out late on. Little separated that pair in their fourth race against each other here, and they’re likely to be closely matched once more for all Rosallion got much the better of him in the St James’s Palace at this meeting last season.
Sardinian Warrior
The Lockinge quartet evidently dominate the market, and the next one in is Sardinian Warrior, who could prove the ace in the pack with him contributing a different form-line altogether. The son of Saxon Warrior has made giant strides on the all-weather of late, completing a hat trick on handicap debut off a mark of 97, bolting up four lengths in the process.
He was sent off a generous 5/1 after a drift on his turf debut, but he took to the rattling surface with aplomb when a smart winner of the Queen Anne Stakes Trial over C&D in April. He pulled three lengths clear with Docklands there with a powerful looking stride, and the third was only beaten half a length less in the Lockinge next time out, which puts Sardinian Warrior right into the picture here.
He failed to stay the extra furlong on softer going in the Prix d’Ispahan at Longchamp, but it was still an impressive performance in his first Group 1 to be collared late on by the strong staying 7/10F Sosie, who was coming off the back of Group 1 success in the Prix Ganay.
Christophe Soumillon is booked, who won this race in 2005 for Andre Fabre.
Outsiders To Consider
Lake Forest
William Haggas won this with the top class Baaeed in 2022 and bids to reclaim the Queen Anne title with Lake Forest, who’s something of an unknown quantity stepping up to this trip for the first time. The No Nay Never colt showed some smart form as a two year old, landing the group two Gimcrack in the process, and he wasn’t disgraced in his first two efforts last term over six furlongs, finishing second to both Inisherin and Elite Status.
He stepped up to just shy of a mile in the Golden Eagle at Rosehill after a break in November and won a gritty fashion, prior to again not being disgraced in the Prix du Palais-Royal at Longchamp on seasonal debut. Visually, staying this stiff mile doesn’t look out of the realms of possibility and he’s a half brother to four winners beyond a mile, so can’t be discounted if improving for the distance.
Diego Velazquez
Aidan O’Brien took this with Circus Maximus on seasonal debut in 2020 and it would be folly to write off any of his at the top level, so Diego Velazquez has to be considered despite racing first time up. The Frankel colt was sent off 2/1F for the King Edward VII Stakes here last season after a four lengths eight in the French Derby, but he was bitterly disappointing.
The drop back to 1m1f at the Curragh seemingly got him back on track when bolting up seven lengths in the G3 Meld Stakes, and he backed that up next time out a Leopardstown over a mile when comfortably landing the Solonaway Stakes. He has a proven record fresh and doesn’t have much to find on the figures with the likes of Rosallion and Lead Artist, and a strongly run race would play into his strengths.
Verdict
Given 12 winners of the Queen Anne contested the Lockinge last time out, it seems natural to chance one of the four there and ROSALLION gets the nod. The Blue Point colt only just ever does enough in his races and his determined attitude stands him in good stead here. He was likely to have been left short for him Lockinge third, and just like he did when second in the 2000 Guineas last season, he can take another big step forward here to take his course form to three from three.
Sardinian Warrior doesn’t have all that much to find on collateral form with the Lockinge quartet and can follow the selection home after his Prix d’Ispahan second, with that excellent course and distance success on his penultimate run still lingering in the memory. There’s little to suggest that the Lockinge winner Lead Artist can’t back up his run there as he showed a solid attitude to regain the lead from Dancing Gemini, who no longer has the services of Ryan Moore to eek out that extra 10% he always seem to find above his rivals, and the Juddmonte owned son of Dubawi can follow his stablemate home in third.
Queen Anne Stakes 1-2-3
- Rosallion
- Sardinian Warrior
- Lead Artist
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