2023 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup Stakes Runners

The 2023 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup Stakes this Saturday at Keeneland is the big Grade One US race of the weekend and the contest has been given a real international feel with runners from the UK, France and Ireland – including this season’s English 1,000 Guineas winner Mawj.

2023 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup Stakes Betting Offers

2023 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup Stakes: 1,000 Guineas Winner Mawj The Betting Favorite

The best US horse racing betting sites have installed the UK runner Mawj as the betting favorite as this season’s Newmarket 1,000 Guineas winner looks to make the long trip over pay off for the ‘boys in blue’ of Godolphin.

We also see other top European raiders in Elounda Queen, Elusive Princess and Sounds Of Heaven, while on the home front, it’s a race the Chad C Brown barn loves to target, with four wins in the last five runnings, and has two entered this year – Liguria and Prerequisite.

The Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Stakes entries will be running for a $600,000 purse.

When is the Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup Stakes 2023?

The 2023 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup Stakes will be run on Saturday October 14 at Keeneland, in Kentucky

��Date: Saturday October 14, 2023
��Time: 5:16pm (ET)
��Racecourse: Keeneland, Kentucky (3yo fillies) 1 1/8 miles, turf
�� Purse: $600,000

Big European Presence In This Years 2023 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup Stakes

With this Keeneland Grade One named in honour of the late Queen Elizabeth II, it’s great to see a UK runner in Mawj make the trip over from the Charlie Appleby team in Newmarket, England.

She’s a top-class performer that landed the 1,000 Guineas back in May and despite not being seen since is sure to have been well-tuned up for this and is a filly that’s gone well fresh in the past.

With 5 wins from her opening 8 races, Mawj is a horse that knows how to get the job done and gate 4 looks ideal, with the low numbers faring best in recent years – you can watch here gutsy 1,000 Guineas win below.

Jockey Oisin Murphy, who rode her the last day, also makes the flight over.

Elounda Queen and Elusive Princess also come over from France, while the Irish-trained Sounds Of Heaven makes it a four-pronged European attack on this year’s QEII Challenge Stakes.

Arc winning trainer J-C Rouget sends Elounda Queen over, who was last seen winning a Group 3 at Deauville. She’ll probably have to step up on that form but has won 4 of her 9 starts now and could also improve for the first try beyond a mile.

Elusive Princess will be slightly more familiar to US racing fans, having won the Saratoga Oaks easily by 3 1/4 lengths last time on August 4 and jockey Flavien Prat, who has won the last two runnings of the Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Stakes, keeps the ride.

Any rain for her would also help, having won on soft ground the last day.

Sounds Of Heaven makes the trip over from the Irish base of trainer Jessie Harrington and also brings a high level of form to the table. She was a Listed winner at York back in May and ran third to the classy Tahiyra, who was a close second to Mawj in the 1000 Guineas, in the Coronation Stakes at Royal Ascot in June.

Trainer Chad C. Brown Has Won The Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup Stakes Five Times

Of the home trainers, it’s the Chad C. Brown barn that have by-far the best record in the race with five wins in total and 4 in the last 5 runnings.

The first of those Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Stakes wins came in 2012 with Dayatthespa and has since added Rushing Fall (2018), Cambier Parc (2019), Shantisara (2021) and Gina Romantica, who won last year (watch below).

This year Brown runs two lively outsiders in Prerequisite and Liguria.

Trainer John R. Velazquez Has Also Won The Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup Stakes Five Times

In terms of jockeys to note, the veteran John R. Velazquez is one of the main men in this race – with five wins over the years, with his first way back in 1995 on Perfect Arc.

His most recent came in 2019 with the Chad C. Brown runner Cambier Parc, with Time and Motion (2016), Crown Queen (2014) and Alwajeeha (2008) the others.

The Last 10 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup Stakes Winners Came From Gates 7 Or Lower

If you like your horse racing stats, then you might want to know that ALL of the last 10 winners came from gates 7 or lower.

With 13 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Stakes runners this year, if this trend is to carry on it means we can rule out the horses in gates 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 and 13 – Elounda Queen, Heavenly Sunday, Liguria, Prerequisite, Papilio and Freydis The Red.

2023 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup StakesPick: Trifecta Best Bets

• 1st ELUSIVE PRINCESS
  
• 2nd MAWJ
  
• 3rd SOUNDS OF HEAVEN
  

Our Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Stakes trifecta pick sees the French runner Elusive Princess top of the pile, having impressed last time to win the Saratoga Oaks by just over 3 lengths. We know she stays this 1 1/8m trip well and despite this being a step up in grade did it well last time to suggest there is more to come.

Top jockey Flavien Prat also rides and is hunting his third straight win in this Keeneland race, while gate 2 looks ideal with 2 of the last 4 winners hailing from this draw.

The other big European runners Mawj and Sounds Of Heaven can also go well from their low gates and should be used in the trifecta picks underneath, while if you’re feeling a bit more cautious a three-way perm with these three (any order) should give you a run for your dollar.

• Mawj 2-1
• Elusive Princess 3-1
• Lindy 6-1
• Sounds Of Heaven 8-1
• Elounda Queen 10-1
• Papililo 10-1
• Freydis the Red 10-1
• Liguria 15-1
• Misson Of Joy 20-1
• Prerequisite 20-1
• Be Your Best 20-1
• Safeen 30-1
• Heavenly Sunday 30-1

• 2022: GINA ROMANTICA (91/20)
• 2021: SHANTISARA (5/2)
• 2020: HARVEY’S LIL GOIL (18/5)
• 2019: CAMBIER PARC (9/5 fav)
• 2018: RUSHING FALL (2/5 fav)
• 2017: LA CORONEL (51/10)
• 2016: TIME AND MOTION (3/1)