Currently scheduled as the second race on the second day of Royal Ascot, the Queen’s Vase has existed in various guises since its inauguration in 1838, but is, nowadays, a Group 2 contest, run over a mile-and-three-quarters and open to three-year-old colts and fillies, with the latter receiving a 3lb weight-for-sex allowance. From a punting perspective, the Queen’s Vase has proved a happy hunting ground in recent years; three of the last 10 winners – in fact, three of the last four – were sent off outright favourite and nine of the 10 came from the first three in the betting. Sword Fighter, who sprang a 33/1 surprise in 2016, was the only winner at odds longer than 15/2 in the same period.
The late Sir Henry Cecil who was, at the time of his death on June 11, 2013, the most successful trainer in the history of Royal Ascot, remains, jointly, the leading trainer in the history of the Queen’s Vase with eight winners, namely Falkland (1972), General Ironside (1976), Le Moss (1978), Arden (1987), River God (1990), Jendali (1991), Stelvio (1995) and Endorsement (1999). More recently, Aidan O’Brien has saddled Mahler (2007), Mikhail Glinka (2010), Leading Light (2013), Aloft (2015), Sword Fighter (2016), Kew Gardens (2018), Santiago (2020) and Illinois (2024) to move alongside Cecil in the all-time list.
The Queen’s Vase provides a test of stamina for horses of the Classic generation. Indeed, in recent years, Leading Light (2013), Kew Gardens (2018) and Eldar Eldarov (2020) all collected a specially hand-crafted, original trophy, plus the lion’s share of the prize money – £265,000 at the last count – en route to victory in the final Classic of the season, the St. Leger Stakes, at Doncaster in September. Winners often return to Royal Ascot to contest the Gold Cup in future seasons, with the prolific Stradivarius (2017) the latest to win both races in consecutive years.