2025 Prince Of Wales’s Stakes: Ten-Year Trends and Best Bets

June is always one of the most anticipated months of the year for fans of the flat racing game. Hot on the heels of the Epsom Derby Festival – dominated by that man Aidan O’Brien once again – attention turns to the wonderful Berkshire venue of Ascot.

Going under starters orders on Tuesday, 17th June and reaching the finish line on Satuday 21st, the five-day Royal Ascot Festival is one of the most magnificent meetings at home or abroad. As ever, members of the Royal family woill take up their seats in the stands, an international cast of stars will assemble, and punters will brace themselves for the 35-race betting marathon.

One of the best of those 35 contests takes place on Day 2, as the runners and riders line up to tackle the Prince Of Wales’s Stakes. First run in 1862, this 1m2f showstopper is open to runners aged four and older and offers a cool £1 million in total prize money.

Here, we look back at the past ten editiosn of this prestigious event, highlight the standout stats and trends, and pick out our best bet for the 2025 Queen Anne Stakes.

Fate of the Favourite

Three of the ten editions in our sample were landed by the market leader, handing favourite backers a loss of £1.77 to £1 level stakes. With eight of the ten winners returning a single fuigire SP, the market rarely got it too far wrong. The biggest shock came courtesy of 16/1 chance My Dream Boat in 2016.

Age of Winner: 4-5 Year Olds Dominate

Whilst open to runners aged four and older, no horse older than six has ever landed the Prince of Wales’s Stakes. In the past ten years, 4-5 year olds have displayed total domination. When looking at the current list of entries, the age stat suggests that Anmaat, Certain Lad, Facteur Cheval, and Royal Champion may be up against it.

Proven at Group Level

As we can see, a previous win in Group 1 company is not essential to claim the Prince of Wales’s Stakes. However, while only four of the ten winners in our sample had previously scored at the top level, all ten boasted a win at Group 3 level or above.

Going the Distance

A little longer than the Guineas and a little shorter than the Derby, 1m2f is, nevertheless, the distance chosen for many top-level events around the world. When looking at the results in our sample, a previous success over the distance was a definite positive.

117+ Rating Desired

As one of the most prestigious events on the British racing calendar, you would expect a high average rating for the Queen Anne Stakes winners. Such has been the case in recent years, with all bar one of the winners in our sample arriving with a rating of at least 117.

Experience at the Highest Level

As revealed in an earlier stat, only 40% of the winners in our sample had previously won in Group 1 company. However, when we ask how many had at least lined up in a Group 1 contest before their Princes Of Wales’s Stakes, this percentage increases to 90%.

Group 1 Experience

Notably, no winner in our sample finished outside of the first five in their previous racecourse appearance. 50% of winners also scored last time out, while 80% finished in the top three.

Recent Run an Advantage

Whilst not impossible to claim this event following an extensive break – as illustrated by Free Eagle (242-day break in 2015) and Love (300-day break in 2021) – most winners had race fitness on their side courtesy of a run with the last 32 days.

Betting Recommendations:

Eleven of the remaining fifteen entries score a solid 5+/7 on our key stats. However, only three scored maximum points, namely:

• Almaqam, 4/1 with LiveScoreBet - Ed Walker star who ended the unbeaten run of Ombudsman last time out in the Brigadier Gerard Stakes. That was a solid effort in Group 3 company, but his only previous outing at Group 1 level resulted in a sixth-placed finish in the 2024 St. James’s Palace Stakes at this meeting. Touted as a potential Arc contender, this son of Lope De Vega is held in the highest regard by connections. However, the ground is key to this horse. Anything quicker than good, and he is unlikely to run.
• Los Angeles, 9/4 with BetGoodwin - Hailing from the Aidan O’Brien operation, which has claimed three of the past eight editions of this event, Los Angeles is developing a well-earned reputation as one of the toughest horses in training. This son of Camelot may lack a sparkling turn of foot, but he makes up for that with tenacity and a sheer will to win and is now a Group 1 winner at two, three, and four. He will probably need this to run at a strong pace but seems likely to have a stablemate to assist in that regard. On the downside, he was well beaten on his only previous outing at Ascot, but that came at the end of a tough season on ground softer than ideal
• Kalpana, 10/1 with LiveScoreBet - Whilst Kalpana has a long way to go, the fact that she is mentioned as the potential successor to Juddmonte’s Arc-winning mare Bluestocking is an illustration of the talent she has at her disposal. In nine career outings, she has never finished outside the first three, winning five times, with the big highlight coming in the Group 1 Qipco British Champions Filles and Mares Stakes at Ascot. Making her seasonal return in the Tattersalls Gold Cup, she ran with real credit to go down by just 1½l to Los Angeles and may have finished closer but for a troubled passage in the straight.

Almaqam is a horse we have a lot of time for. However, with his participation so heavily dependent upon the going, we are happy to bet that the result of this race may be very similar to that of the Tattersalls Gold Cup over in Ireland.

• Recommended Bet - Los Angeles to win @ 9/4 with BetGoodwin
• Recommended Bet - Kalpana each way @ 10/1 with LiveScoreBet