The Queen Elizabeth II Stakes is a

Group 1 Group 1 may refer to: * Alkali metal, a chemical element classification for Alkali metal * Group 1 (racing), a historic (until 1981) classification for Touring car racing, applied to standard touring cars. Comparable to modern FIA Group N * Group On ...

flat

horse race Horse racing is an equestrianism, equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, ...

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 Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

. 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 The Breeders' Cup Challenge is a series of Thoroughbred horse races in which the winner earns an automatic spot in a specified Breeders' Cup race. The challenge races change somewhat each year. The Challenge series began in 2007 with 24 "Win and Y ...

series in 2008. From this point the winner earned an automatic invitation to compete in the

Breeders' Cup Mile The Breeders' Cup Mile is a Grade 1 Weight for Age stakes race for thoroughbred racehorses three years old and up, run on a grass course. It has been conducted annually as part of the Breeders' Cup World Championships since the event's incepti ...

. 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 The British Champions Series is a series of 35 top British flat races, which culminates in a day-long festival of championship races, known as British Champions Day. It was inaugurated in the 2011 season to draw together some of Britain's key f ...

Records

Most successful horse (2 wins): *

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– ''1971, 1972'' * Rose Bowl – ''1975, 1976'' Leading

jockey A jockey is someone who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing. The word "jockey" originated from England and was used to describe the individual ...

(8 wins): *

Willie Carson William Fisher Hunter Carson, OBE (born 16 November 1942) is a retired jockey in thoroughbred horse racing. Life and career Best known as "Willie", Carson was born in Stirling, Scotland in 1942. He was apprenticed ...

– ''Rose Bowl (1975, 1976), Trusted (1977), Homing (1978), Known Fact (1980), Teleprompter (1984), Lahib (1992), Bahri (1995)'' Leading trainer (5 wins): *

Saeed bin Suroor Saeed bin Suroor (born 16 November 1968 in Dubai) is a horse racing trainer in Great Britain. He took out his training licence in 1993 and the following year was appointed as the trainer for Sheikh Mohammed's Godolphin operation. He has been ...

– ''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

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 Derring-Do (1961–January 1978) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. He was one of the leading British two-year-olds of 1963 when he won two of his three races including the Cornwallis Stakes. In the next two seasons, he developed int ...

* 1966: Hill Rise * 1967:

Reform Reform ( lat, reformo) means the improvement or amendment of what is wrong, corrupt, unsatisfactory, etc. The use of the word in this way emerges in the late 18th century and is believed to originate from Christopher Wyvill's Association movement ...

* 1968: World Cup * 1969: Jimmy Reppin

References

---- * Paris-Turf: **, , , , , , , , ---- *

Racing Post ''Racing Post'' is a British daily horse racing, greyhound racing and sports betting publisher which is published in print and digital formats. It is printed in tabloid format from Monday to Sunday. , it has an average daily circulation of ...

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galopp-sieger.de
– ''Queen Elizabeth II Stakes (ex Knights' Royal Stakes).''
horseracingintfed.com
– ''International Federation of Horseracing Authorities – Queen Elizabeth II Stakes (2018).''
pedigreequery.com
– ''Queen Elizabeth II Stakes – Ascot.'' * * Race Recording

{{British Champions Series, state=uncollapsed Flat races in Great Britain Ascot Racecourse Open mile category horse races Recurring sporting events established in 1955 British Champions Series 1955 establishments in England