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| Staff Writer |
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Since 2016, no Irish-trained horse has won the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes. However, this year's renewal on Saturday presents a promising opportunity for Ireland, as they have two strong contenders in Paddington and Tahiyra.
The two horses, both sired by Siyouni, have been quite active since their wins at The Curragh in May, where they respectively secured the Irish 2000 Guineas and Irish 1000 Guineas. They have a combined total of eight Group One victories and their upcoming match is highly anticipated.
Normally, the Classic generation tends to dominate this race. In the past 15 renewals, 11 of them were won by 3YO, despite older horses having more challengers (88 to 69).
Since Champions Day moved to Ascot in 2011, nine QEII winners had won on their previous start, with six of them being in Group One races. The other three were placed at the highest level. Only Inspiral and Tahiyra, who both won last time out, will be running.
Five out of the 12 runnings of the mile showpiece have been won by the highest-rated runner in the line-up. Frankel, Excelebration, Charm Spirit, Solow, and Roaring Lion all justified their top marks, with Paddington being the highest-rated runner this time.
1 ANGEL BLEU
2 CHECKANDCHALLENGE
3 FACTEUR CHEVAL
4 TRIPLE TIME
5 BIG ROCK
6 CAIRO
7 CHALDEAN
8 EPICTETUS
9 HI ROYAL
10 INSPIRAL
11 NASHWA
12 PADDINGTON
13 ROGUE MILLENNIUM
14 TAHIYRA