Queen's Vase
 QuinnBet
Group 2, Ascot 15:05
£265,000 guaranteed,
3yo only,
1m 6f 34y, Class 1  
Wednesday 19th June 2024

Boylesports

1 Illinois 7/4F
2 Highbury 3/1
3 Birdman 13/2
11 ran NR: Grosvenor Square
Distances: 1¼l, ¾l, 4¼l Time: 3m 0.57s (fast by 0.93s)

A half-brother to Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe winner Danedream, Illinois was ridden near the pace by Ryan Moore, who kicked for home off the final bend. Illinois wandered away from the rail in the straight but Moore galvanised his mount and the duo went on to win by a length and a quarter.

Highbury kept on to take second without looking like catching the winner, with the Jessica Harrington-trained Birdman three quarters of a length further back in third.

This was Moore’s 80th Royal Ascot success, while O’Brien was winning the Queen’s Vase for an eighth time.

O’Brien said: “We felt any of the three could win. Ryan made the decision to ride Illinois, and he had the choice of the King Edward VII Stakes or this race. When Diego Velazquez got routed to the King Edward, this horse got rerouted to here. He is obviously a St Leger-type horse and is going to improve from three to four.

“We will probably take our time with Illinois and let him have the chance to develop the way he wants to. If City Of Troy wasn’t there, he’d probably have been pitched in much steeper, much earlier. Because City Of Troy was there, we were able to lay off those type of horses and give them a chance to mature. That’s what he is, he’s going to be a mile-and-a-half, mile-and-six horse and he’s going to get better from three to four. He is a bit of a baby mentally still, so he might have a little rest now and maybe go to York on the way to the Leger, something like that.

“I think he might have a little bit more class than a Cup horse. His sister won the Arc, so he’s that type. Ryan said he was caught in a position all the way through the race that he would have preferred not to have been in; he was neither up nor back and he wasn’t getting an easy lead. He had to do it tough. He went to the front, then he flattened out – he said the race was over, then he had to ask him to come again. He probably learnt a lot today.

“Highbury is only a baby and we didn’t know what to expect, but obviously he’s a good horse. Wayne said he was very babyish through the race, and will have come on a lot. He’s probably a nice horse as well, probably a Leger-type horse.”

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On Moore’s latest landmark, O’Brien said: “What can I say about Ryan that hasn’t already been said? He is an unbelievable man.”

Moore said: “Illinois has plenty of talent. He is doing a few things wrong still. At Lingfield, he hung right so we thought it would suit him coming here today, but he hung left with me. He has a good engine, he'll keep improving and is a real nice staying horse.

When asked whether he would be a Gold Cup horse in time, Moore added: “I wouldn't say he has to go that far. I think he'll get a bit more professional and you'll see a better horse. He doesn't need to go that far yet."

Birdman’s trainer Jessica Harrington said: “I am delighted with him as he is still very green. I thought he was going to pick up, but maybe the ground was a little bit quick for him. It was a big step forward. He is entered in the Curragh Cup but we could look at a three-year-old-only race, something like the Gordon Stakes.”

Cleeve Racing £10 trial

Queen's Vase (Group 2)
£265,000 guaranteed, 3yo only, 1m 6f 34y, Class 1
11 ran
Going: Good to Firm

POS. (DRAW) DIST HORSE AGE WGT TRAINER JOCKEY SP
1 (5)    Illinois 3 9-2 A P O'Brien Ryan Moore 7/4F
2 (2) 1¼ Highbury 3 9-2 A P O'Brien Wayne Lordan 3/1
3 (7) ¾ Birdman 3 9-2 Mrs John Harrington Shane Foley 13/2
4 (8) 4¼ Meydaan 3 9-2 Simon & Ed Crisford William Buick 5/1
5 (10) nk The Equator 3 9-2 A P O'Brien Declan McDonogh 17/2
6 (9) 2½ Imperial Sovereign 3 9-2 K R Burke Clifford Lee 28/1
7 (4) 2¾ Lavender Hill Mob 3 9-2 Michael Bell Callum Shepherd 50/1
8 (11) 6 Pappano 3 9-2 John & Thady Gosden Kieran Shoemark 66/1
9 (12) 6½ Mina Rashid 3 9-2 Andrew Balding Oisin Murphy 20/1
10 (1) 4¼ Mr Hampstead 3 9-2 Dominic Ffrench Davis David Egan 125/1
11 (3) 35 See The Green 3 9-2 Owen Burrows Jim Crowley 100/1
 NR 2 (6) Grosvenor Square 3 9-2 A P O'Brien NON RUNNER

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QUEEN’S VASE WINNERS

YEAR GR WINNER TRAINER JOCKEY OWNER AGE/WGT SP

2023 2 GREGORY John & Thady Gosden Frankie Dettori Wathnan Racing 3 9-02 EvsF
2022 2 ELDAR ELDAROV Roger Varian David Egan KHK Racing Ltd 3-9-02 5/2F
2021 2 KEMARI Charlie Appleby William Buick Godolphin 3-9-00 15/2
2020 2 SANTIAGO Aidan O’Brien IRE Ryan Moore Michael Tabor, Sue Magnier & Michael Tabor 3-9-00 100/30
2019 2 DASHING WILLOUGHBY Andrew Balding Oisin Murphy Mick & Janice Mariscotti 3-9-00 6/1
2018 2 KEW GARDENS Aidan O’Brien IRE Ryan Moore Derrick Smith, Sue Magnier & Michael Tabor 3-9-00 10/3
2017 2 STRADIVARIUS John Gosden Andrea Atzeni Bjorn Nielsen 3-9-00 11/2
2016 L SWORD FIGHTER Aidan O’Brien IRE Colm O’Donoghue Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith & Sue Magnier 3-9-03 33/1
2015 L ALOFT Aidan O’Brien IRE Ryan Moore Derrick Smith, Sue Magnier & Michael Tabor 3-9-03 5/2F
2014 3 HARTNELL Mark Johnston Joe Fanning Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Maktoum 3-9-03 7/2
2013 3 LEADING LIGHT Aidan O’Brien IRE Joseph O’Brien Derrick Smith, Sue Magnier & Michael Tabor 3-9-04 5/4F
2012 3 ESTIMATE Sir Michael Stoute Ryan Moore H M The Queen 3-8-12 3/1F
2011 3 NAMIBIAN Mark Johnston Silvestre De Sousa Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammed Al Maktoum 3-9-01 7/2F
2010 3 MIKHAIL GLINKA Aidan O’Brien IRE Johnny Murtagh Sue Magnier, Michael Tabor & Derrick Smith 3-9-01 2/1F
2009 3 HOLBERG Mark Johnston Joe Fanning Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Maktoum 3-9-01 7/1
2008 PATKAI Sir Michael Stoute Ryan Moore Ballymacoll Stud 3-9-01 6/4F
2007 3 MAHLER Aidan O’Brien IRE Michael Kinane Sue Magnier, Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith 3-9-01 7/1
2006 3 SOAPY DANGER Mark Johnston Kevin Darley Renata Jacobs 3-9-01 4/1
*2005 3 MELROSE AVENUE Mark Johnston Kevin Darley Sheikh Mohammed 3-8-11 4/1
2004 3 DUKE OF VENICE Saeed bin Suroor Frankie Dettori Godolphin 3-8-11 9/2
2003 3 SHANTY STAR Mark Johnston Kevin Darley Maktoum Al Maktoum 3-8-11 7/2F
2002 3 MAMOOL Saeed bin Suroor Frankie Dettori Godolphin 3-8-11 9/1
2001 3 AND BEYOND Mark Johnston Kevin Darley Maktoum Al Maktoum 3-8-11 11/1
2000/20/06 3 DALAMPOUR Sir Michael Stoute Kieren Fallon H H Aga Khan 3-8-11 3/1F
1999 3 ENDORSEMENT Henry Cecil Kieren Fallon Cliveden Stud 3-8-06 5/1
1998 3 MARIDPOUR Sir Michael Stoute Walter Swinburn H H Aga Khan 3-8-11 6/1
1997 3 WINDSOR CASTLE Paul Cole Richard Quinn Fahd Salman 3-8-11 9/2
1996 3 GORDI Dermot Weld IRE Michael Kinane Allen Paulson 3-8-11 7/1
1995 3 STELVIO Henry Cecil Michael Kinane Sheikh Mohammed 3-8-11 7/4F
1994 3 SILVER WEDGE Geoff Lewis Michael Hills Shirley Robins 3-8-11 20/1
1993 3 INFRASONIC Andre Fabre FR Pat Eddery Khalid Abdullah 3-8-11 3/1F
1992 3 LANDOWNER John Gosden Ray Cochrane Sheikh Mohammed 3-8-11 8/1
1991 3 JENDALI Henry Cecil Steve Cauthen Sheikh Mohammed 3-8-11 15/2
1990 L RIVER GOD Henry Cecil Steve Cauthen Sheikh Mohammed 3-8-11 6/4F
1989 L WELD William Jarvis Bruce Raymond Lord Howard de Walden 3-8-09 16/1
1988 L GREEN ADVENTURE Guy Harwood Greville Starkey J Garcia-Roady 3-8-09 6/4F
1987 L ARDEN Henry Cecil Steve Cauthen Lord Howard de Walden 3-8-09 7/2
1986 L STAVORDALE Tom Jones Michael Roberts Solna Thomson Jones 3-7-10 33/1
1985 3 WASSL MERBAYEH Tom Jones Richard Hills Sheikh Ahmed Al Maktoum 3-8-00 6/1
1984 3 BAYNOUN Fulke Johnson Houghton Willie Carson H H Aga Khan 3-8-00 13/8F
1983 3 SANTELLA MAN Guy Harwood Greville Starkey Roy Taiano 4-9-08 11/1
1982 3 EVZON Clive Brittain Lester Piggott Capt Marcos Lemos 4-9-03 16/1
1981 3 ORE Kevin Prendergast IRE Willie Carson Patrick Prendergast 3-8-00 15/2
1980 3 TOONDRA Michael Jarvis Paul Cook Lady Beaverbrook 3-8-00 15/2
1979 3 BUTTRESS Dick Hern Willie Carson H M Queen 3-8-05 3/1F
1978 3 LE MOSS Henry Cecil Geoff Baxter Carlo d’Alessio 3-8-00 7/4F
1977 3 MILLIONAIRE Peter Walwyn Pat Eddery Mrs D McCalmont 3-8-05 8/1
*run at York
run at two miles from 1977 to 2016.