Queen Elizabeth II Stakes Runners & Riders  

The final mile championship of the British flat racing season is the Group 1 Queen Elizabeth II Stakes. It is the only top level race on British Champions Day which is not named after the day itself, instead taking the name of one of British racing’s greatest patrons.

The runners and riders for the 2024 Queen Elizabeth II Stakes are beginning to become clearer. Here they are, listed alongside their trainer and jockey.

Runners and riders to follow

Who are the Top Three Favourites to Win this Year’s Queen Elizabeth II Stakes?

The betting for a race like the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes starts early and in earnest. As a result, even months away from the race, punters can be sure that each horse’s odds for the race is reflective of their genuine chance. Here are the three runners currently heading the market with a view to running in the contest.

Charyn

A flying grey, Charyn has leapt from 66/1 2000 Guineas outsider in 2023 to Group 1 superstar in 2024. The son of Dark Angel, who was equally as grey as his talented progeny, has risen from strength to strength this campaign.

He often ran well to be placed or hit the frame in good company last season, but having won just two of his first 11 races, he has since won four of his last five. Those victories began in Listed and Group 2 company at Doncaster and Sandown before he finished second in the Group 1 Lockinge Stakes at Newbury, his only defeat this year, and easily explicable given the strong pace bias.

Since then, he has gotten off the mark at Group 1 level by dispatching his opposition in the Queen Anne Stakes at the royal meeting before winning even more readily in the Prix Jacques le Marois in France. There is no knowing when this upsurge in form may dissipate and he is worthy of a place at the top of the betting for the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes.

Fallen Angel

The Classic generation have usually matured towards the end of their campaigns, so it is not surprise that seven of the last ten winners of this contest have been three-year-olds. One of the more exciting runners of that age in the 2024 Queen Elizabeth II Stakes entries is Fallen Angel.

If Karl Burke’s filly takes her chance, she could well ensure the two favourites for this contest are greys. She is a winner of four of her six starts so far, winning her two Group 1s much earlier than Charyn did.

She was a top level winner in the Moyglare Stud Stakes at two, but disappointed as favourite for the 1000 Guineas. However, she bounced back immediately, as the market supported her to a redemptive victory in the Irish equivalent. Off the track since then, she could be primed for a big second half of the season.

Opera Singer

Aidan O’Brien last won this race in 2016, but is no stranger to experimenting before finding his stars’ best trips. Opera Singer may be another example of that, as while she won her race this season over 1m1 1/2f, she may still find her best days over 1m.

That race was the Group 1 Nassau Stakes, form which has been franked by the runner-up, but she was only fifth in the Prix Vermeille upped to 1m4f. She still acquitted herself well over this distance earlier in the season though and she may have enough pace, as well as adaptability for the ground, to be able conclude her season on a high.

Queen Elizabeth II Stakes Horse Entries & Selections

As it is run on the straight course, the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes allows for a maximum field of 20, just like the British Champions Sprint Stakes. However, that race often gets close to capacity, whereas this race is usually less prescribed.

All horses aged three and upwards are eligible to compete in the contest, with three-year-olds continuing to get a small allowance. At this late stage of the season, this amounts to 3lb.

Which Trainers Have Historically Had the Most Success in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes?

Since the inauguration of this race in 1955, this race has gone by the name of Great Britain’s longest reigning monarch. It has been a Group 1 since 1987 too.

Saeed bin Suroor may not be in charge of the majority of Godolphin’s top class horses anymore, but in his heyday he ensured that he claimed this race on a number of occasions. In all, he has five of these trophies by his name, coming nicely spread between 1996 and 2010.

Unsurprisingly, it is Aidan O’Brien who is nipping at his heels. The master of Ballydoyle has sent out the winner four times, though has been waiting to join bin Surro on five wins since 2016, when Minding became his fourth victor. As it is, he is currently in second alongside Guy Harwood and John Gosden, who could also get to five winners on the contest this year should he be represented. He sent out 2018 winner Roaring Lion for his fourth success.

Runners & Riders Past Winners

Year	Horse	Trainer	Jockey	Odds
2023	Big Rock	Christopher Head	Aurelien Lemaitre	6/1
2022	Bayside Boy	Roger Varian	Tom Marquand	3/1
2021	Baaeed	William Haggas	Jim Crowley	2/1
2020	The Revenant	Francis-Henri Graffard	Pierre-Charles Boudot	5/1
2019	King Of Change	Richard Hannon	Sean Levey	12/1
2018	Roaring Lion	John Gosden	Oisin Murphy	2/1F
2017	Persuasive	John Gosden	Frankie Dettori	8/1
2016	Minding	Aidan O’Brien	Ryan Moore	7/4F
2015	Solow	Freddie Head	Maxime Guyon	11/10F
2014	Charm Spirit	Freddie Head	Olivier Peslier	5/1