Ten Bob Tony stunned Royal Ascot: 50/1 outsider won the Queen Anne Stakes
Ten Bob Tony produced a major surprise at the opening of Royal Ascot 2026 by winning the Queen Anne Stakes, the first race of the traditional British racing meeting at Ascot Racecourse in England. The Group 1 race was held on Tuesday, 16 June 2026, over a straight mile, and according to Racing Post results data it was intended for horses aged four years and older, on ground described as good to firm. The five-year-old gelding trained by Ed Walker and ridden by Kieran Shoemark triumphed ahead of More Thunder and Opera Ballo, although before the start he had been among the least expected candidates for victory. The result immediately defined the beginning of the five-day Royal Ascot meeting because the winner, according to available data from British racing services, started at odds of 50/1 and made up a large part of the deficit in the closing stages.
A turnaround in the final stages of the straight mile
The Queen Anne Stakes opened the competitive programme of Royal Ascot at 2:30 p.m. local time, after the traditional royal procession which, according to the Ascot Racecourse schedule, was planned for 2 p.m. Nine horses took part in the race, and Racing Post states that the winning time was 1:37.53. Ten Bob Tony carried race number eight and broke from stall eight, while the main rivals in the closing stages were More Thunder, ridden by Tom Marquand for trainer William Haggas, and Opera Ballo, ridden by Billy Loughnane for trainer Charlie Appleby.
According to the race description published by Racing Post, Ten Bob Tony was in the rear part of the field, then was switched left and began to make progress a little under two furlongs before the finish. In the closing stages he continued to quicken and took the lead just before the line. More Thunder, who also came from the back, finished second half a length behind, while Opera Ballo, who had dictated the pace for a long time, remained third after losing second place in the final metres. Such an outcome gave the race an extremely dramatic finish, but also confirmed how decisive the distribution of energy, position in the group and timing of the final challenge are over Royal Ascot’s straight mile.
Sky Sports reported that Opera Ballo set a very demanding pace under Billy Loughnane and was still entering the final furlong as the leading horse. According to the same report, More Thunder then appeared as a direct challenger, but Ten Bob Tony came from behind and caught them in the very closing stages. Favourite Notable Speech, ridden by William Buick for Charlie Appleby, finished sixth and, according to reports, did not seriously threaten the leaders. Thus, the very first race of the day produced an outcome contrary to the expectations of the betting market and part of the expert previews.
The biggest moment for Ed Walker and Kieran Shoemark
The winner ran in the ownership of TBT Racing, and Racing Post lists Knocktoran Stud as the breeder. Ten Bob Tony is a son of Night Of Thunder and the mare Hug, by Dark Angel, which is also important information for assessing his profile because before this race he had more often been viewed through the prism of ability over slightly shorter distances. Sky Sports stated that for Walker’s horse this was only his third start over a mile and that he had previously been better known as a specialist over seven furlongs. Just ten days before Ascot he won at Epsom, which according to the Guardian was an important reason why the ambitious challenge at Group 1 level was nevertheless accepted.
After the race, trainer Ed Walker, according to Sky Sports, admitted that this outcome had not been expected. In the same statement he stressed that owner Simon Sadler is willing to accept sporting challenges and that the horse had come out of Epsom in good condition. The Guardian reported Walker’s assessment that it was an exceptional story, with emphasis on the fact that Kieran Shoemark rode a very precise race and that the plan had been to wait from the rear and try to pass as many rivals as possible. Such tactics at Ascot carry risk because in major races it is often difficult to work through the field, but this time they proved decisive.
For Shoemark, the victory carried additional weight because it came in one of the most visible mile races of the British season and on a stage that attracts international attention. The jockey had to preserve enough energy for the final surge, while at the same time finding a route from the rear at the moment when Opera Ballo and More Thunder already appeared to be the main actors in the decision. Racing Post’s description of the finish shows that Ten Bob Tony, after being switched and quickening, continued to run strongly all the way to the line, which was especially important in the context of previous doubts about the mile. The victory therefore had both results value and reputational value for the entire team.
More Thunder and Opera Ballo close to victory, Notable Speech without an answer
More Thunder, according to the official order published by Racing Post and GG.co.uk, finished second at odds of 7/2. For William Haggas’s horse, that meant a very valuable placing in a Group 1 race, but also a missed opportunity because in the final metres he had a real chance of winning. Tom Marquand, according to the race description, started from the rear part of the field, then switched the horse right and made progress in the final phase. He secured second place only in the final strides, ahead of Opera Ballo.
Opera Ballo, the Godolphin representative trained by Charlie Appleby, finished third after carrying the burden of the race for a long time. Racing Post states that he led, that he was pressed a little more than a furlong before the finish and that he lost the leading position right near the end. Although second place slipped away from him in the final strides, his performance remained one of the key elements of the race because he shaped the entire outcome with the tempo. In horse races over a straight mile, such a role often means that the leading horse has to withstand both the pressure of his own rhythm and late attacks from rivals.
Notable Speech entered the race as favourite, and Racing Post and GG.co.uk list his starting odds as 9/4. According to Sky Sports, after an impressive victory in the Lockinge Stakes he was one of the most followed horses in the Queen Anne Stakes, but at Ascot he failed to pose a more serious threat. He finished sixth, behind Ten Bob Tony, More Thunder, Opera Ballo, Zeus Olympios and Damysus. Such an outcome further intensified the impression of surprise because both the favourite and several highly ranked candidates finished behind an outsider who showed the most energy in the closing stages.
Why the result resonated at Royal Ascot
Royal Ascot is one of the best-known events in British flat racing, and the official Ascot Racecourse website states that the history of the racecourse is connected with 1711, when Queen Anne recognised the area as suitable for racing. In its modern form, Royal Ascot combines top-class racing, tradition and strong international competition, so results from the meeting are followed far beyond the United Kingdom. The Queen Anne Stakes has a special place in the programme because it opens the first day and immediately puts the highest-class milers in focus. A victory by an outsider in such a slot therefore has a greater resonance than a similar outcome in a less prominent race.
According to Racing Post, the winner received a prize of 453,680 pounds, while the runner-up received 172,000 pounds and the third-placed horse 86,080 pounds. Different racing services list the total prize framework of the race in a range corresponding to prestigious Group 1 level, and Racing Post in the results table provides a detailed distribution of prizes down to sixth place. For owners and trainers such amounts are important, but in races such as the Queen Anne Stakes the reputational value of the victory is equally important. Success at Royal Ascot directly increases a horse’s sporting profile, and in Ten Bob Tony’s case it also changes the perception of his capacity over a mile.
Additional international significance comes from the race’s status in the Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series system. Breeders’ Cup states on its official website that the "Win and You’re In" series gives winners of qualifying races an automatic and free place in the corresponding race of the Breeders’ Cup World Championships, which in 2026 is held on 30 and 31 October at Keeneland. NBC Sports stated in its report on the race that the Queen Anne Stakes is part of that qualifying framework. That means Ten Bob Tony’s victory is not only a local triumph on British soil, but also places him in the wider international context of turf mile races.
A race that changed the picture of the first day
The first day of Royal Ascot 2026 had a strong sporting programme with several races of the highest category, and the Guardian highlighted in its live coverage that the opening immediately brought a major surprise. After the Queen Anne Stakes came other important races, including the Coventry Stakes, King Charles III Stakes and St James’s Palace Stakes. Nevertheless, Ten Bob Tony remained one of the main stories of the day because his performance changed the tone of the beginning of the meeting and showed that forecasts, odds and previous reputation are not enough for a secure assessment of the outcome on Ascot’s straight track.
Sky Sports described the victory as a classic sporting story in which a lower-ranked candidate stood up to the favourites and seized the opportunity. In journalistic terms such an outcome attracts attention because it combines several elements: outsider odds, a change in distance, a strong finishing surge and victory in the first race of one of the best-known racing events in the world. But the performance itself was not accidental in the final few metres; Ten Bob Tony had to preserve his rhythm, find space and respond to the tempo that Opera Ballo had imposed from an earlier phase of the race. That is precisely why the victory has a tactical dimension as well, not only the value of a surprise.
For More Thunder and Opera Ballo, the impression remains that they ran a race worthy of the top level, but they met the finish of a rival who on that day combined form, tactics and stamina. For Notable Speech, the result will probably raise questions about how demanding Ascot’s mile is in specific conditions and how the race developed in relation to his ideal scenario. For Walker and Shoemark, meanwhile, the Queen Anne Stakes 2026 remains a moment that can significantly define the rest of the season. After a victory on such a stage, Ten Bob Tony can no longer be viewed merely as a horse who surprised the favourites; he is now recorded as the winner of a Group 1 race at Royal Ascot.
Queen Anne Stakes 2026 order
- 1. Ten Bob Tony, jockey Kieran Shoemark, trainer Ed Walker, odds 50/1.
- 2. More Thunder, jockey Tom Marquand, trainer William Haggas, odds 7/2.
- 3. Opera Ballo, jockey Billy Loughnane, trainer Charlie Appleby, odds 7/2.
- 4. Zeus Olympios, jockey Clifford Lee, trainer Karl Burke, odds 11/1.
- 5. Damysus, jockey James Doyle, trainers John and Thady Gosden, odds 14/1.
- 6. Notable Speech, jockey William Buick, trainer Charlie Appleby, favourite at odds of 9/4.
Sources:
- Racing Post – results display of the Queen Anne Stakes 2026 race, order, time, prizes, jockeys, trainers and description of the finish (link)
- GG.co.uk – results of the race at Ascot, list of nine participants, odds and basic information on the ground and the winner’s time (link)
- Sky Sports – report from the first day of Royal Ascot 2026 and trainer Ed Walker’s statements about Ten Bob Tony’s victory (link)
- The Guardian – report and context of the first day of Royal Ascot 2026, including the description of Ten Bob Tony’s victory and reactions from the winner’s camp (link)
- NBC Sports – video report on Ten Bob Tony’s victory and the race’s status in the Breeders’ Cup "Win and You’re In" programme (link)
- Ascot Racecourse – official information on the history of the racecourse and the daily schedule of Royal Ascot (link)
- Ascot Racecourse – official timetable of the day with the time of the royal procession and races (link)
- Breeders’ Cup – official description of the Challenge Series "Win and You’re In" system and the dates of the 2026 Breeders’ Cup World Championships at Keeneland (link)