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 served as the mile-category final of the British Champions Series from 2011 to 2024.

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 1955 Year Winner Age Jockey Trainer Owner Time 1955 Hafiz II 3 Roger Poincelet Alec Head Aga Khan III 1:48.39 1956 Cigalon 3 Serge Boullenger Maurice d'Okhuysen Comte L de Kerouara 1:49.82 1957 Midget II 4 Scobie Breasley Alec Head Pierre Wertheimer 1:47.52 1958 Major Portion 3 Eph Smith Ted Leader Jim Joel 1:48.76 1959 Rosalba 3 Joe Mercer Jack Colling John Astor 1:41.39 1960 Sovereign Path 4 Harry Carr R Mason R Mason 1:44.20 1961 Le Levanstell 4 Bill Williamson Seamus McGrath J McGrath 1:42.73 1962 Romulus 3 Wally Swinburn Fulke Johnson Houghton Charles Engelhard 1:49.15 1963 Creditor 3 Lester Piggott Noel Murless Lady Sassoon 1:42.80 1964 Linacre 4 Lester Piggott Paddy Prendergast F More O'Ferrall 1:47.15 1965 Derring-Do 4 Scobie Breasley Arthur Budgett Mrs H H Renshaw 1:53.17 1966 Hill Rise 5 Lester Piggott Noel Murless G A Pope jnr. 1:42.51 1967 Reform 3 Scobie Breasley Sir Gordon Richards Sir Michael Sobell 1:47.03 1968 World Cup 3 Bill Williamson Paddy Prendergast J R Mullion 1:51.06 1969 Jimmy Reppin 4 Geoff Lewis John Sutcliffe Mrs Sidney Bates 1:41.75 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 1974Abandoned due to waterlogging 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 2025 Cicero's Gift 5 Jason Watson Charles Hills Rosehill Racing 1:38.35

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

See also Horse racing in Great Britain List of British flat horse races

References

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

Racing Post: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

External links Race Recordings (1978-2004) youtube.com 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.