Britain’s most prestigious meeting sprang from the starting stalls on Tuesday, as the Queen Anne Stakes kicked off five days of action at Royal Ascot 2026. Renowned for Royal processions and millinery masterpieces, the Berkshire spectacular is also famed for its international feel.
Despite the usual healthy representation, the overseas runners failed to make much of an impression over the first three days, with 20 of the opening 21 contests falling to a familiar British or Irish runner. If that record is to improve over the second half of the week, one of the prizes most likely to elude the British or Irish grasp is the Day 5 feature of the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes. With the final field confirmed on Thursday morning, the 18-runner line-up includes speedsters from Britain, Ireland, France, Australia, Denmark, and Japan.
From that cosmopolitan cast, two of the speedballs who have racked up the most air miles to be here currently dominate the market.
Jolie and James to Star for Australia
While Australia’s most famous race sees the stayers tackle the two-mile trip of the Melbourne Cup, our antipodean cousins are most well-known for the exploits of their sprinting stars. The Royal Ascot stage has witnessed several stunning displays by Aussie sprinters over the years, with runners travelling halfway around the world to register five wins in the King Charles III Stakes / King’s Stand Stakes and two in this contest.
The horse fancied to follow in the hoofprints of Choisir (2003) and Black Caviar (2012) is the Zoustar mare, Joliestar. Hailing from the yard of Chris Waller, who won the 2022 King’s Stand Stakes with Nature Strip, this five-year-old arrives at Ascot seeking a four-timer. Too good for the Aussie opposition in the Group 1 duo of the Canterbury Stakes and T J Smith Stakes, the mount of James McDonald is a general 2/1 chance on her first run outside of Australia.
Fresh from finishing an excellent third in the King Charles III Stakes on the opening day, Bjorn Baker’s Overpass completes the Australian challenge and may be a popular each-way option at a double-figure price.
Japanese Ace Reving Up to Go One Better
Despite their success on the international stage, including spectacular wins on Dubai World Cup Night and at the Breeders’ Cup Festival, Japan has yet to win any race at Royal Ascot. The nearest miss came in this contest in 2025, when Noriyuki Hori’s Satono Reve mastered 12 of his 13 rivals but couldn’t quite reel in French star Lazzat.
Having lost out by just half a length 12 months ago, Satono Reve returns for a second crack at the prize. Kicking off 2026 with a Grade 1 success in the Takamatsunomiya Kinen, he found only the greatest sprinter on the planet too good when chasing Ka Ying Rising home in the Chairman’s Sprint Prize. With no Ka Ying Rising or Lazzat to worry about, and Ryan Moore in the saddle, the seven-year-old is the clear second favourite at around the 4/1 mark.
Haruki Sugiyama’s Lugal adds to the Japanese challenge. Having finished ahead of Lazzat when second in the Al Quoz Sprint on his most recent appearance, he could go well for Katsuma Sameshima.
Sajir Flies the Flag for France
The 2025 race saw France claim their first post-war win in this race as the Jerome Reynier-trained Lazzat came home in front. Lazzat heads elsewhere in 2026, but the French have two legitimate challengers in the shape of Sajir and Stolen Kiss.
Representing the Andre Fabre/Oisin Murphy combo, Sajir is the shorter price of the Gallic duo at a general 12/1. An impressive winner of the Prix Maurice de Gheest in 2025, with Lazzat back in second, his only previous trip to Britain saw him claim the Abernant Stakes at Newmarket.
Stolen Kiss is among the outsiders but arrives on a high, having won each of his last three starts in his homeland. The pick of those efforts saw him upset Sajir in the Listed Prix Cor de Chasse at Deauville. Stepping up to Group 1 company demands a career best, but there may be more to come from the four-year-old.
Lake Forest the Pick of the Home Team
Elsewhere in the field, Great Wish is available at a best price of 100/1 to cause a shock for Danish trainer Bent Olsen, while Donnacha O’Brien’s Greenlands Stakes winner Comanche Brave heads the Irish challenge.
If the prize is to remain on home soil, the market suggests William Haggas’s Lake Forest is the most likely to prevail. Second in the 2024 Commonwealth Cup and fifth in the 2025 Queen Anne Stakes, he will need to step up on those efforts. However, his success by over five lengths in the Spring Trophy last time suggested that a winter gelding operation may have inspired improvement.
Can the French record back-to-back victories? Will Japan claim an elusive Royal Ascot success? Will the Australian challengers be too hot to handle? Or will the British or Irish runners lead the way? All eyes on Ascot for the 3:40 on Saturday afternoon.