Queen Mary Stakes betting with William Hill

The Queen Mary Stakes is one of the most prestigious sprint races for two-year-old fillies staged all season. The 5f contest takes place on the final day of Royal Ascot and is often seen as one of the toughest betting heats of the entire week for punters.

An out and out test of speed, it’s only held Group 2 status since 2004 but has produced some stunning winners and has become a truly international event, with fillies’ regularly travelling over from the USA to plunder the prize in recent years.

It is contested by the sharpest and most precocious sprint-bred fillies, regularly attracting big fields that spread across the expansive Ascot straight course.

It is always one of the most keenly contested Group races of Royal Ascot, with William Hill’s Queen Mary Stakes betting available well in advance of the big day and is widely regarded as one of the finest spectacles of the meeting.

Queen Mary Stakes betting tips

The Queen Mary Stakes is contested by unexposed and potentially smart juvenile fillies that often represent top stables.

It’s a pure test of speed with the fillies going hard from the moment the gates open, but because of the stiff nature of Ascot’s straight track, the ability to stay further is vitally important, hence the reason so many Queen Mary Stakes winners go on to Group 1 success over 6f or further.

With that in mind, pay close attention to fillies that won their maiden or novice race over 6f or over a stiff 5f when studying William Hill’s Queen Mary Stakes betting.

The race regularly attracts a big field that can spread across the wide Ascot straight course, so being drawn near the speed is normally a much greater factor than any potential track bias. Fillies that lead or race close to the speed have a strong record in the race.

It is extremely tough for a filly to win the Queen Mary Stakes on her turf debut, but that’s what Lady Aurelia did in 2016.

She had bolted up in a Keenland maiden over four-and-a-half furlongs, impressing to such an extent that she was then shipped over the UK to contest the Queen Mary on just her second start.

The Wesley-Ward-trained juvenile ran out one of the most impressive ever winners, marking herself down as a quite extraordinary young filly.

Queen Mary Stakes betting trends

One of the most overwhelming trends in the Queen Mary Stakes is that nearly all the winners won their previous race.

That will be the case for many of the contenders, so you won’t be able to knock out a large proportion of the runners.

However, removing horses from your list that didn’t win last time will be a step in the right direction when trying to find the winner from William Hill’s Queen Mary Stakes betting list.

When studying the Queen Mary Stakes odds take note of any Wes Ward runners. The American trainer has won this race four times since 2009.

Lady Aurelia, the 2016 winner, had won at Keeneland before coming to Royal Ascot, while Campanelle had claimed a Gulfstream maiden.

You can also look for runners who have shown plenty of speed and have the pedigree to stay 6f. Most of these fillies are likely to step up in trip during the latter stage of their juvenile season.

Runners can take different paths before competing in this race. Raffle Prize had won a Chester maiden on her second start, while 2013 winner Rizeena had already won over track and trip, as well as landing the Listed National Stakes at Sandown.

Ground conditions are normally on the quick side at Royal Ascot so fillies who have won their maiden or novice event on slower ground are unlikely to have enough speed to win this.

We’ll have the latest Queen Mary Stakes betting tips and news at news.williamhill.com.

Queen Mary Stakes ante-post betting pointers

The Queen Mary Stakes is contested by the top-quality juvenile fillies who have already shown that they can run extremely fast.

Most of the main contenders will have run only once or twice and will have either won or run very well in defeat in a maiden or novice event. Fillies who run out impressive winners of a maiden or novice race will automatically assume prominence in William Hill’s Queen Mary Stakes betting.

Queen Mary Stakes winners will emerge as key candidates for the Lowther Stakes at York and the Cheveley Park Stakes at Newmarket, both of which are over 6f.

Two-year-old fillies receive a huge amount of weight if they take on the older horses in the Group 1 Nunthorpe, but that race is a pure test of speed that really suits some juveniles.

Lyric Fantasy proved the point by doing the Queen Mary Stakes/Nunthorpe double in 1992 for trainer Richard Hannon Snr.

Rarely nowadays do Queen Mary Stakes winners go on to prove genuine 1000 Guineas candidates as they don’t usually stay a mile well enough, although Attraction bucked that trend in 2003.

More often they will stick to sprinting and that means the Commonwealth Cup, back at the Royal meeting can be an obvious target in their three-year-old season.

Queen Mary Stakes history and memorable winners

Lady Aurelia’s stunning seven-length victory in 2016 will forever have a place in Royal Ascot folklore.

The US-trained filly was sent off a well-supported 2/1 market leader and her backers never had a moment’s worry as she stormed to a remarkable seven-length success under Frankie Dettori.

It provided US-based trainer Ward with a third Queen Mary victory after Jealous Again (2009) and Acapulco (2015), and his runners need serious consideration when assessing Queen Mary Stakes betting.

Attraction turned out to be one of the great fillies of recent years and her rivals didn’t see which way she way went in the 2003 running of the Queen Mary Stakes.

Kevin Darley led his rivals a merry dance from the outset, steering the 13/8 favourite to an emphatic three-length success, en route to an unbeaten two-year-old campaign. She went on to win four Group 1 races the following season, including the English and Irish 1,000 Guineas.

Mick Channon won the Queen Mary Stakes three times between 1998 and 2005 but it was the last of that trio, Flashy Wings, that created the biggest impression in victory.

The Royal meeting was staged at York that year, while Ascot was being redeveloped, and Flashy Wings showed a sparkling turn of foot to quicken away from a good field in style under Ted Durcan.

However, despite winning the Lowther Stakes on her next start she was unable to fulfil her potential by scoring at the top level.

Queen Mary Stakes betting 2021

Assessing contenders for the big two-year-old contests is pretty much impossible at this early stage and Queen Mary Stakes betting will only really take shape in the weeks leading up to the race.

Raced over 5f, it’s a chance for fillies to show their speed and land a Group 2 contest during the early stages of their careers.

Any filly that wins a maiden or novice race at one of the bigger tracks in June will have to be considered a potential Royal Ascot candidate, while international challengers tend to emerge much nearer the race.

Quick Suzy won the race for Gavin Cromwell. That came just a few months after he had tasted success at the Cheltenham putting him on the map as a dual-purpose trainer.

It was Quick Suzy’s fourth start, which had seen her win a Curragh maiden before finishing second in the Group 3 Fillies Sprint Stakes at Naas.

In the build-up to Royal Ascot, you can get the latest Queen Mary Stakes odds with our ante-post market.

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