Queen Anne Stakes Runners & Odds: Final field for Royal Ascot opener
2022 saw the brilliant Baaeed saunter to Queen Anne glory at prohibitive odds, but with his retirement to stud the mile division looks a lot less clear. That should lead to a competitive renewal in 2023 and the final field for the Royal Ascot opener has now been revealed. Here we take a look through the confirmed runners and profile the main fancies...
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A thoroughly likeable and consistent performer, Modern Games has tasted success all around the world for Charlie Appleby and Godolphin but arguably his crowning moment to date as a miler came last time out at Newbury in the Lockinge. A first domestic Group One for the horse was just reward for some fantastic runs in defeat on British soil and in the end he was an authoritative winner, beating the reopposing Chindit. Richard Hannon's charge definitely holds each-way claims but will struggle to reverse placings and at 7/4 and 10/1 respectively, those prices seem about right for the Newbury foes.
Closely following Modern Games in the odds grids is the enigmatic Inspiral. On their best days there is little doubt this is the most talented horse in the field, and getting 3lbs from the colts and geldings the Gosden filly could blow the race apart if on song. The only problem? She is not always on song. She was beaten at 1/7 in the Falmouth last year and has run poorly more times than one would like to see in a filly. She was a star juvenile and danced in at last season's Royal Meeting, but is she one to trust at odds of just 2/1? That's for you to decide.
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Next up comes Irish 2000 Guineas winner and another juvenile who looked destined for the very top in Native Trail. Another runner for the boys in blue and Charlie Appleby, although unlikely to be chosen over his stablemate by William Buick, he has some smart form and despite disappointing on his seasonal debut at odds of 8/11, he wasn't cherry ripe that day and it was his first run after wind surgery. Expect him to come on bundles for that race and he cannot be ruled out, although his price his crashed somewhat lately.
Beating Native Trail that day at Newmarket was Mutasaabeq for Jim Crowley and Charles Hills. It is somewhat perplexing to see him available at three times the price of a horse he beat comfortably on seasonal reappearance, but he has since come out and ran a disappointing race in the Lockinge behind Modern Games and so questions have to be answered.
The field is completed by a raft of horses at 25/1+, although in a renewal as open as this perhaps there is some value in backing your pick of this bunch each-way on the day. Light Infantry put in arguably a career best to go down by just a short head over 1m1f at Longchamp last time out and the stiff test a mile at Ascot provides may suit him, while Berkshire Shadow has a couple of all-weather victories on his CV this campaign already (including one over Angel Bleu) and ran a stormer for third in the aforementioned Lockinge.
He looks the obvious one at a massive price to squeak into the frame should some of the big guns falter, while Triple Time has it all to do on his first start of the year and Cash looks well held by Chindit from a Queen Anne trial. Checkandchallenge and Pogo look set to complete the line-up and it would be a shock were either to claim this presitgious prize.