Royal Ascot Day 1

With Royal Ascot coming up next week, here are some key facts on each raceday ... and firstly, obviously, it is day 1 ...

Queen Anne Stakes' History

The Queen Anne Stakes is a Group One race run at Royal Ascot over one mile for horses aged four years or older. Named in the honour of the founder of Ascot racecourse, it had initially been known as the Trial Stakes, but in 1930 the name was altered to commemorate Queen Anne.

Having originally been opened to three-year-olds as well, it was decided in 2003 that four should be the minimum age for the race and with that it became a Group One contest attracting the best older milers from all over Europe.

Historically, horses have contested the St James's Palace Stakes as a three-year-old and then come back to Royal Ascot the following season to contest the Queen Anne and many have achieved a victory in both races.

Some have also used it as a stepping stone for international glory and the Luca Cumani-trained Barathea won the 1994 Queen Anne Stakes before heading over to the United States to win the Breeders' Cup Mile.

Closer to home Cape Cross had already been successful in the Lockinge Stakes in 1998 before winning the 1999 Queen Anne Stakes and Refuse to Bend progressed from winning the 2000 Guineas in 2003 before winning the Queen Anne and Eclipse Stakes a year later.

More recently there have been some absolute superstars bag the Group One title and none more so than wonder mare Goldikova, who won the 2010 renewal. However, Freddy Head's stable star was outclassed the following year in an almighty battle with Richard Hannon's Canford Cliffs, who cemented his place as one of the top milers in recent memory.

Recent Winners of Queen Anne Stakes

2000 - Kalanisi
2001 - Medicean
2002 - No Excuse Needed
2003 - Dubai Destination
2004 - Refuse to Bend
2005 - Valixir
2006 - Ad Valorem
2007 - Ramonti
2008 - Haradasun
2009 - Paco Boy
2010 - Goldikova
2011 - Canford Cliffs
2012 - Frankel
2013 - Declaration Of War
2014 - Toronado

Coventry Stakes' History

The Coventry Stakes is a Group Two race run at Royal Ascot over six furlongs for two-year-old horses and often throws up a potential Classic contender for the following season. Established in 1890, this race takes place on the opening day of Royal Ascot and often sees the leading two-year-olds from the UK & Ireland line up in what is usually an ultra-competitive contest and always throws up a star of the future.

For decades the winner of this race has been regarded as one of the leading two-year-olds and it's not a shock to see them competing in Classic company the following season and it's most likely that they line up for the 2000 Guineas at Newmarket the following May.

Some notable horses have bagged victory in he Coventry Stakes before going on to bigger and better things and Tudor Minstrel and Mill Reef are just a brace of runners who have gone on to Group One glory with the latter becoming a household name when winning the 1971 Epsom Derby.

More recently, Barry Hills' Royal Applause was a classy winner of the event in 1995, whilst Aidan O'Brien saddled Henrythenavigator in 2007 before he went on to win both the 2000 Guineas and the Irish 2000 Guineas in a cracking career.

Richard Hannon sent the well-thought after Canford Cliffs in 2009 and he was an epic winner and emulated Henrythenavigator by bagging victory in the Irish 2000 Guineas and handed Richard Hughes his first Classic victory.

Recent Winners of Coventry Stakes

2000 - Cd Europe
2001 - Landseer
2002 - Statue of Liberty
2003 - Three Valleys
2004 - Iceman
2005 - Red Clubs
2006 - Hellvelyn
2007 - Henrythenavigator
2008 - Art Conossieur
2009 - Canford Cliffs
2010 - Strong Suit
2011 - Power
2012 - Dawn Approach
2013 - War Command
2014 - The Wow Signal

King's Stand Stakes' History

The King's Stand Stakes is a Group One race run at Royal Ascot over five furlongs and is open to horses aged three years or older.  Established in 1860, the King's Stand is one of the most eagerly-anticipated sprinting races of the season as the top speedsters from the UK and Ireland are often joined by the quickest thoroughbreds from around the world.

Many of the runners contesting the King's Stand Stakes are often seen going to post in the Golden Jubilee Stakes, which is later in the week at Royal Ascot, whilst some wait to head for top sprints later in the flat racing calendar including the July Cup and the Nunthorpe Stakes.

Held on the opening day of Royal Ascot, the King's Stand Stakes regained Group One status in 2008 and is now an integral part of the Global Sprint Challenge, which incorporates sprints from all over the globe.

In recent times there have been some excellent winners of the King's Stand Stakes and many have used it as a stepping stone to bigger and better things. Dick Hern's Dayjur won the 1990 renewal before going on to Nunthorpe Stakes victory the same year before grabbing the honours in the six furlong Sprint Cup at the end of the season.  Lochsong was another classy winner, who had already bagged big race glory in the Ayr Gold Cup and Nunthorpe Stakes in his career before winning the 1994 King's Stand.

More recently some international runners have bagged the UK sprinting crown with Choisir in 2003. Takeover Target in 2006, Miss Andretti in 2007 and Scenic Blast in 2009 all soaring to glory for Australia.

Equiano has been the most successful horse since the turn of the century winning the 2008 renewal and then regaining the title in 2010 under a power-packed Michael Hills ride.

Recent Winners of King's Stand Stakes

2000 - Nuclear Debate
2001 - Cassandra Go
2002 - Dominica
2003 - Choisir
2004 - The Tatling
2005 - Chineur
2006 - Takeover Target
2007 - Miss Andretti
2008 - Equiano
2009 - Scenic Blast
2010 - Equiano
2011 - Prohibit
2012 - Little Bridge
2013 - Sole Power
2014 - Sole Power

St James's Palace Stakes' History

The St James's Palace Stakes is a Group One race run at Royal Ascot over one mile and is open to three-year-old colts.  One of the highlights of the opening day of Royal Ascot the St James's Palace Stakes was established in 1834 in which the inaugural race was a walkover.

Now one of the most hotly contested races of the season for three-year-olds it sees potential Classic contenders pit their wits against each other as they look for top class glory.

Historically, horses that have contested either the English 2000 Guineas or Irish equivalent head to this race and many have used this as a stepping stone for more Group One success later on in their career.

The legendary Brigadier Gerard won the 1971 St James's Palace Stakes before becoming one of the greatest horses of all time winning countless top class races including the Sussex Stakes, Lockinge Stakes and Eclipse Stakes during an illustrious career.

Kris was another elite performer and after he had won the 1979 for trainer Sir Henry Cecil he went on to win the Celebration Mile and Queen Elizabeth II Stakes the same season. However, one man has dominated the training ranks in recent times and that is Aidan O'Brien, who trained the winner six times between 2000 and 2009.

Giant's Causeway handed the Ballydoyle supremo his first win in the Millennium year and went on to win the Juddmonte International Stakes and the Irish Champion Stakes the same season, whilst top class winners Rock of Gibraltar and Henrythenavigator were just another duo to win the race for O'Brien.

2010 saw Richard Hannon's Canford Cliffs take the prize and cement his place up their with the top milers, but the 2011 winner will be a name remembered in the racing game.

Frankel had already blown away a decent field in the 2000 Guineas and he head to Royal Ascot unbeaten and Cecil's phenomenon merely scorched the turf to win impressively after creating an unassailable lead turning for home.

Recent Winners of St James's Palace Stakes

2000 - Giant's Causeway
2001 - Black Minnaloushe
2002 - Rock of Gibraltar
2003 - Zafeen
2004 - Azamour
2005 - Shamardal
2006 - Araafa
2007 - Excellent Art
2008 - Henrythenavigator
2009 - Mastercraftsman
2010 - Canford Cliffs
2011 - Frankel
2012 - Most Improved
2013 - Dawn Approach
2014 - Kingman

Ascot Stakes' History

The Ascot Stakes is a handicap race run at Royal Ascot over two miles, four furlongs for horses aged four years or older.  It may lack the quality of some of the other races during the week, but this test of stamina will not only see the flat-bred horses go to post, but it gives a chance for national hunt horses to line up in a race that is a real stamina test.

Often being targeted by national hunt trainers, the Ascot Stakes will often attract a strong jumping battalion as well as some of the leading stayers on the flat and down the years there has always been a mixture of jumping winners, as well as flat winners.

Martin Pipe was a man who had a decent record in the race and he saddled the winner of the Ascot Stakes on more than one occasion, whilst his son David managed to train the classy Junior to success in the 2010 running before he went on to become the first horse to win at both Royal Ascot and the Cheltenham Festival.

Nicky Henderson then recorded another success for the jumping boys as Veiled stayed on well in the closing stages to land the spoils and no doubt the national hunt horses will continue to revert to the level in order to gain a big race victory.

Taking place on day one, it makes a huge change to the other races on the card which see a plethora of Group One events and allows the punter a whole new process of finding the winner, as there are generally some horses that are more attractively handicapped than the other, making it into a real conundrum for the punters.

Recent Winners of Ascot Stakes

2000 - Supreme Certainty
2001 - Cover Up
2002 - Riyadh
2003 - Sindapour
2004 - Double Obsession
2005 - Leg Spinner
2006 - Baddam
2007 - Full House
2008 - Missoula
2009 - Judgethemoment
2010 - Junior
2011 - Veiled
2012 - Simenon
2013 - Well Sharp
2014 - Domination

Windsor Castle Stakes' History

The Windsor Castle Stakes is a Listed race run at Royal Ascot over five furlongs for two-year-old colts.  Rounding off the opening day of the five-day extravaganza this contest has often attracted bumper fields and down the years have thrown up future stars of the flat racing game.

A tricky conundrum for punters to end the day with, you can often get shock results with some lightly-raced juveniles coming to the fore and that was highlighted in 2007 when 66/1 shot Kingsgate Native nearly grabbed a shock victory and he went on to win the Group One Nunthorpe Stakes later on in the season.

That just highlighted that trainers can send their classy two-year-olds to the contest and will look to use it as a springboard to bigger and better things later on in their career and the 2011 running was a cracker as winner Frederick Engels starred in a blistering five furlong contest.

However, the one to emerge from that contest was Alan McCabe's Caspar Netscher who went on to win the Craven Stakes and was a leading contender for the 2000 Guineas, so the Windsor Castle Stakes can also throw up potential Classic contenders.

Recent Winners of Windsor Castle Stakes

2000 - Autumnal
2001 - Irony
2002 - Revenue
2003 - Holborn
2004 - Chateau Istana
2005 - Titus Alone
2006 - Elhamri
2007 - Drawnfromthepast
2008 - Flashmans Papers
2009 - Strike The Tiger
2010 - Marine Commando
2011 - Frederick Engels
2012 - Hototo
2013 - Extortionist
2014 - Hootenanny