Queen Anne Stakes at Royal Ascot

there are 6 meetings in Britain and Ireland today, but we are only going to look at one of them- Royal Ascot. This fixture, undoubtedly the highlight of the flat season in England, starts off today and continues through Saturday with some brilliant races, starting with the very first race of the meeting- the Group One Queen Anne Stakes over a mile for older horses at 15.30 CET. Frankel won this last year, putting up one of his best performances at 10-1 on, but there is no Frankel in today´s field, which looks sub-standard -with one exception. That exception is the American challenger Animal Kingdom (Graham Motion/ John Velazquez), winner of the Kentucky Derby in 2011 and of the Dubai World Cup this year. He missed most of the intervening period with injury, but did make an eye-catching appearance in the Breeders Cup Mile last autumn, when runner-up to the outstanding Wise Dan.
That was the Performance that stringly suggests he will be hard to beat today.Ülenty of People arev preoared to take him on, on the grounds that he has never run on a straight track before, will be totally unsuited by the Ascot straight mile, and indeed has never even won over this distance. The last argument can certainly be ignored, as the BC Mile was one of the best mile races run in the whole world last year, with several smart European milers well beaten, but the first two objections could be valid; however we won´t know till after the race, but he has apparently worked well at Ascot and we will certainly give him the benefit of the doubt.
He is clearly by far the best horse in the field, in fact on official ratings he is currently the third best horse in the world. The only question therefore is how he will act on the track today. In our view, he is no value at 11-8 on, the price quoted yesterday, but he has been pushed out to evens this morning, and that is certainly worth consideration. If you think that the chances against him acting are less than 50%, then you should take the even money.
There is also no strong opposition here. Quite a few of the others ran in the Lockinge Stakes a month ago - also over a straight mile- in which Sovereign Debt (Michael Bell/ Adam Kirby) finished second, beaten 4 lengths by Farhh, with Aljamaaheer (Roger Varian/ Paul Hanagan) a neck away in third., Chil the Kite (Hughie Morrison/ Ryan Moore) 4th, Declaration of War (Aidan and Joseph O´Brien) a disappointing favourite in 5th, and Penitent (David O´Meara/ Dannmy Tudhope) and Libranno (Richard Hannon/ Pat Cosgrave) well back. Of this group we expect the very consistent Aljamaaheer to come out best; he never seems to run a bad race, and was also a good third in the Jersey Stakes at the Royal Meeting last year.
The only other runner with a glimmer of a chance in our view is Elusive Kate (John Gosden/ William Buick), the only filly in the field. She has not run since finishing 3rd in the QE II Stakes over this CD last October, but that should be no worry, as her trainer and jockey have an excellent record at these top meetings. However her best form has been in French fillies races - winning the Matrcel Biussac at 2 and the Rothschild at 3- and we are not sure if she is up to winning a Group One against the colts.
Our recommendation is therefore clear: back Animal Kingdom at evens or better, otherwise Aljamaaheer each way.

Betting forecast:
1. Race: Declaration Of War - Elusive Kate - Aljamaaheer
2. Race: Shea Shea - Reckless Abandon - Sole Power
3. Race: Dawn Approach - Magician - Toronado
4. Race: Stubbs - Sir John Hawkins - Championship
5. Race: Tiger Cliff - Justification - Well Sharp
6. Race: Anticipated - Ogermeister - Wilshire Boulevard