Queen Elizabeth II Stakes 2023 Betting Tips

The Queen Elizabeth II Stakes is one of the big highlights on QIPCO Champions Day at Ascot this Saturday and if the betting is to be believed it looks a straight Irish head-to-head between Paddington & Tahiyra.

Paddington & Tahiyra To Lock Horns In All-Irish Ascot Head-to-Head

Two of the big talking horses of the 2023 flat season – Paddington and Tahiyra – will again put their reputations on the line in Saturday’s Group One Queen Elizabeth II Stakes at Ascot, in what looks a straight fight out between the Irish raiders.

The Dermot Weld yard will be looking for their first success in this race with Tahiyra and after a top season, that got better after a close second in the 1,000 Guineas at Newmarket – she’s going to have plenty of backers.

Since that silver medal to Mawj in the Guineas, Tahiyra has won three Group One races on the spin – Irish 1000 Guineas, Coronation Stakes and Matron Stakes, while the form of that Newmarket run back in May was also given a boost with Mawj winning the QEII Challenge Cup Stakes at Keeneland (USA) last weekend.

Tahiyra will also return to Ascot on Saturday, the scene of her big Royal Ascot win in the Coronation Stakes in June (watch below), and being a 3 year-old filly will get a handy weight allowance of the older horses and males in the race.

It’s hard to knock her chance, but the one big negative is since 1988 we’ve only seen two winning fillies – Persuasive and Minding – while the expected softer ground for her also isn’t ideal, with all her best form on a quicker surface.

Aidan O’Brien Eyeing His Fifth QEII Stakes Win

In contrast to Dermot Weld, trainer Aidan O’Brien has won the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes four times over the years, with the first coming with the classy George Washington in 2006 and his most recent in 2016 with Minding. His other winners were Rip Van Winkle and Excelebration.

Paddington will be the latest horse trying to land the marmalade for O’Brien as his high-class 3 year-old is, like Tahiyra, also a Royal Ascot winner this season. He took the St James’s Palace Stakes in impressive fashion at the Berkshire track in June (watch below) – a win that gave O’Brien his 83rd Royal Ascot success.

Since that Ascot win, Paddington has mopped up the Coral-Eclipse at Sandown and the Sussex Stakes at Glorious Goodwood, but after a run of seven straight wins the bubble burst when only managing third in the Juddmonte International Stakes at York at the end of August.

Those willing to forgive that run will point to the trip (1m 2 1/2f), as that was the furthest he’d gone, while others might suggest a busy summer campaign finally caught up with him.

Regardless, if any (or both) of these theories are true, his connections have combatted each one by giving him 2 months off to freshen up and are also dropping him back to a mile – a trip he’s yet to lose over (4-from-4).

Of, course, it’s not just a two-horse race with the consistent Nashwa, who finished ahead of Paddington in the Juddmonte (2nd), plus the useful French horse Big Rock and the Frankie Dettori-ridden Inspiral running too.

However, you feel the bulk of the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes betting will revolve around the big two in the market – Paddington and Tahiyra, so which camp are you in?

See our Queen Elizabeth II Stakes tip below.

When Is The 2023 Queen Elizabeth II Stakes?

��Time: 3:05pm��Date: Saturday 21st Oct 2023��Racecourse: Ascot��: Winner: £655,709�� TV: Sky Sports / ITV