Traditionally the “getting out stakes” or, in other words, the final race on the fifth and final day of Royal Ascot, the Queen Alexandra Stakes is a weight-for-age conditions race run over just short of two-and-three-quarter miles, making it the longest Flat race run under Rules in Britain. The race is open to horses aged four years and upwards and currently worth £110,000 in prize money.
Formerly known as the Alexandra Plate and the Alexandra Stakes, the Queen Alexandra Stakes was inaugurated in 1834 and named in honour of Alexandra of Denmark, who later became Queen of the United Kingdom as the wife of King Edward VII. The most successful horse in the history of the race was the celebrated Brown Jack, who won six years running between 1929 and 1934; his achievement is commemorated by a bronze statue, by Sir Alfred Munnings.
The marathon distance of the Queen Alexandra Stakes makes it a realistic target for horses perhaps better known in the sphere of National Hunt racing. Indeed, Willie Mullins, who has been champion National Hunt trainer on both sides of the Irish Sea, is the most successful trainer in the recent history of the Queen Alexandra Stakes, having saddled Simenon (2012), Pique Sous (2014), Stratum (2021, 2022) and Sober (2025). Ryan Moore, who rode all five Mullins-trained winners, plus Bergo, trained by his father, Gary, in 2010 and Dawn Rising, trained by Joseph O’Brien, in 2024, is the leading jockey.
In the last decade, the Queen Alexandra Stakes has been won more often than not by a fancied horses. Four favourites have won in that period, including the last three in a row, along with two second-favourites. Oriental Fox (2017), Cleonte (2019), Dawn Rising (2023) Uxmal (2024) were campaigned exclusively on the Flat prior to winning at Ascot, but all the other recent winners had recent form in National Hunt sphere.