# Queen Elizabeth II Stakes

The Queen Elizabeth II Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Ascot over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 metres), and it is scheduled to take place as part of British Champions Day each year in October.

## History

The event was established in 1955, and it was originally held in September. It was created when a race called the Knights' Royal Stakes was renamed in honour of Queen Elizabeth II. The first three winners were all trained in France.
The present system of race grading was introduced in 1971, and the "QEII" was initially given Group 2 status. It was promoted to Group 1 level in 1987.
The race was added to the Breeders' Cup Challenge series in 2008. From this point the winner earned an automatic invitation to compete in the Breeders' Cup Mile. It was removed from the series in 2012.
The Queen Elizabeth II Stakes was switched to October in 2011. It became part of a new fixture called British Champions Day, and its prize fund was increased fourfold to £1,000,000. It now serves as the mile-category final of the British Champions Series.

## Records

Most successful horse (2 wins):
* Brigadier Gerard – 1971, 1972
* Rose Bowl – 1975, 1976
Leading jockey (8 wins):
* Willie Carson – Rose Bowl (1975, 1976), Trusted (1977), Homing (1978), Known Fact (1980), Teleprompter (1984), Lahib (1992), Bahri (1995)
Leading trainer (5 wins):
* Saeed bin Suroor – Mark of Esteem (1996), Dubai Millennium (1999), Summoner (2001), Ramonti (2007), Poet's Voice (2010)
Leading owner (5 wins):
* Godolphin – Mark of Esteem (1996), Dubai Millennium (1999), Summoner (2001), Ramonti (2007), Poet's Voice (2010)

## Winners since 1970

| Year | Winner | Age | Jockey | Trainer | Owner | Time |
| 1970 | Welsh Pageant | 4 | Sandy Barclay | Noel Murless | Jim Joel | 1:42.08 |
| 1971 | Brigadier Gerard | 3 | Joe Mercer | Dick Hern | Jean Hislop | 1:41.39 |
| 1972 | Brigadier Gerard | 4 | Joe Mercer | Dick Hern | Jean Hislop | 1:39.96 |
| 1973 | Jan Ekels | 4 | Jimmy Lindley | Guy Harwood | Anthony Bodie | 1:47.20 |
| 1974 | no race | | | | | |
| 1975 | Rose Bowl | 3 | Willie Carson | Fulke Johnson Houghton | Jane Engelhard | 1:48.97 |
| 1976 | Rose Bowl | 4 | Willie Carson | Fulke Johnson Houghton | Jane Engelhard | 1:43.49 |
| 1977 | Trusted | 4 | Willie Carson | John Dunlop | Duchess of Norfolk | 1:41.40 |
| 1978 | Homing | 3 | Willie Carson | Dick Hern | 2nd Baron Rotherwick | 1:40.39 |
| 1979 | Kris | 3 | Joe Mercer | Henry Cecil | Lord Howard de Walden | 1:40.69 |
| 1980 | Known Fact | 3 | Willie Carson | Jeremy Tree | Khalid Abdullah | 1:40.02 |
| 1981 | To-Agori-Mou | 3 | Lester Piggott | Guy Harwood | Andry Muinos | 1:46.76 |
| 1982 | Buzzards Bay | 4 | Walter Swinburn | Hugh Collingridge | Vera McKinney | 1:44.98 |
| 1983 | Sackford | 3 | Greville Starkey | Guy Harwood | Anthony Bodie | 1:39.90 |
| 1984 | Teleprompter | 4 | Willie Carson | Bill Watts | 18th Earl of Derby | 1:42.96 |
| 1985 | Shadeed | 3 | Walter Swinburn | Michael Stoute | Maktoum Al Maktoum | 1:38.80 |
| 1986 | Sure Blade | 3 | Brent Thomson | Barry Hills | Sheikh Mohammed | 1:41.71 |
| 1987 | Milligram | 3 | Pat Eddery | Michael Stoute | Helena Springfield Ltd | 1:40.04 |
| 1988 | Warning | 3 | Pat Eddery | Guy Harwood | Khalid Abdullah | 1:40.51 |
| 1989 | Zilzal | 3 | Walter Swinburn | Michael Stoute | Mana Al Maktoum | 1:40.57 |
| 1990 | Markofdistinction | 4 | Frankie Dettori | Luca Cumani | Gerald Leigh | 1:39.70 |
| 1991 | Selkirk | 3 | Ray Cochrane | Ian Balding | George Strawbridge | 1:44.34 |
| 1992 | Lahib | 4 | Willie Carson | John Dunlop | Hamdan Al Maktoum | 1:44.50 |
| 1993 | Bigstone | 3 | Pat Eddery | Élie Lellouche | Daniel Wildenstein | 1:42.89 |
| 1994 | Maroof | 4 | Richard Hills | Robert Armstrong | Hamdan Al Maktoum | 1:42.75 |
| 1995 | Bahri | 3 | Willie Carson | John Dunlop | Hamdan Al Maktoum | 1:40.54 |
| 1996 | Mark of Esteem | 3 | Frankie Dettori | Saeed bin Suroor | Godolphin | 1:40.95 |
| 1997 | Air Express | 3 | Olivier Peslier | Clive Brittain | Mohamed Obaida | 1:40.90 |
| 1998 | Desert Prince | 3 | Olivier Peslier | David Loder | Lucayan Stud | 1:39.63 |
| 1999 | Dubai Millennium | 3 | Frankie Dettori | Saeed bin Suroor | Godolphin | 1:46.24 |
| 2000 | Observatory | 3 | Kevin Darley | John Gosden | Khalid Abdullah | 1:41.40 |
| 2001 | Summoner | 4 | Richard Hills | Saeed bin Suroor | Godolphin | 1:44.54 |
| 2002 | Where Or When | 3 | Kevin Darley | Terry Mills | John Humphreys | 1:41.37 |
| 2003 | Falbrav | 5 | Darryll Holland | Luca Cumani | Rencati / Yoshida | 1:38.99 |
| 2004 | Rakti | 5 | Philip Robinson | Michael Jarvis | Gary Tanaka | 1:39.82 |
| 2005 | Starcraft | 5 | Christophe Lemaire | Luca Cumani | The Australian Syndicate | 1:37.87 |
| 2006 | George Washington | 3 | Michael Kinane | Aidan O'Brien | Magnier / Tabor / Smith | 1:40.06 |
| 2007 | Ramonti | 5 | Frankie Dettori | Saeed bin Suroor | Godolphin | 1:42.45 |
| 2008 | Raven's Pass | 3 | Jimmy Fortune | John Gosden | Princess Haya of Jordan | 1:38.94 |
| 2009 | Rip Van Winkle | 3 | Johnny Murtagh | Aidan O'Brien | Magnier / Tabor / Smith | 1:38.82 |
| 2010 | Poet's Voice | 3 | Frankie Dettori | Saeed bin Suroor | Godolphin | 1:39.76 |
| 2011 | Frankel | 3 | Tom Queally | Sir Henry Cecil | Khalid Abdullah | 1:39.45 |
| 2012 | Excelebration | 4 | Joseph O'Brien | Aidan O'Brien | Smith / Magnier / Tabor | 1:42.33 |
| 2013 | Olympic Glory | 3 | Richard Hughes | Richard Hannon Sr. | Sheikh Joaan al Thani | 1:44.18 |
| 2014 | Charm Spirit | 3 | Olivier Peslier | Freddy Head | Abdullah bin Khalifa Al Thani | 1:46.28 |
| 2015 | Solow | 5 | Maxime Guyon | Freddy Head | Wertheimer et Frère | 1:41.92 |
| 2016 | Minding | 3 | Ryan Moore | Aidan O'Brien | Magnier / Tabor / Smith | 1:38.53 |
| 2017 | Persuasive | 4 | Frankie Dettori | John Gosden | Cheveley Park Stud | 1:46.13 |
| 2018 | Roaring Lion | 3 | Oisin Murphy | John Gosden | Qatar Racing | 1:42.48 |
| 2019 | King of Change | 3 | Sean Levey | Richard Hannon Jr. | Ali Abdulla Saeed | 1:44.88 |
| 2020 | The Revenant | 5 | Pierre-Charles Boudot | Francis-Henri Graffard | Al Asayl France | 1:45.13 |
| 2021 | Baaeed | 3 | Jim Crowley | William Haggas | Shadwell Estate | 1:42.57 |
| 2022 | Bayside Boy | 3 | Tom Marquand | Roger Varian | Teme Valley & Ballylinch Stud | 1:45.53 |
| 2023 | Big Rock | 3 | Aurélien Lemaitre | Christopher Head | Yeguada Centurion SL | 1:44.58 |
| 2024 | Charyn | 4 | Silvestre De Sousa | Roger Varian | Nurlan Bizakov | 1:45.98 |
* ↑ The 1974 running was abandoned because of a waterlogged course
* ↑ The 2005 edition was held at Newmarket

## Earlier winners
### Knights' Royal Stakes

* 1947: Tudor Minstrel
* 1948: Djelal
* 1949: Wat Tyler
* 1950: Hyperbole
* 1951: Leading Light
* 1952: Tudor Castle
* 1953: King of the Tudors
* 1954: Umberto

### Queen Elizabeth II Stakes

* 1955: Hafiz
* 1956: Cigalon
* 1957: Midget
* 1958: Major Portion
* 1959: Rosalba
* 1960: Sovereign Path
* 1961: Le Levanstell
* 1962: Romulus
* 1963: The Creditor
* 1964: Linacre
* 1965: Derring-Do
* 1966: Hill Rise
* 1967: Reform
* 1968: World Cup
* 1969: Jimmy Reppin
* 1 2 The 1960 and 1963 runnings took place at Newbury