Ten Bob Tony stunned racing fans by winning the opening race at Royal Ascot, the Group 1 Queen Anne Stakes, on June 16. The five-year-old Night Of Thunder gelding started from last place in a nine-horse field before surging on the outside to overtake More Thunder and win by half a length. The race carried a prize of £800,000 (S$1.38 million) [1, 2].
The victory marked Ten Bob Tony's fifth career win and his first Group 1 triumph. He entered the Queen Anne Stakes at long odds of 50-1, the longest-priced winner of the race since Garrick's shock victory at the same price in 1950 [1, 2]. Earlier that month, on June 6, Ten Bob Tony had won the Group 3 Tattenham Corner Stakes at Epsom, signaling his rising form [1, 2].
Jockey Kieran Shoemark, celebrating his fourth Royal Ascot win, praised the horse’s performance: "It’s funny. He just travelled into it so easy. I didn’t think we were going overly quick either, didn’t feel there was a pace collapse. He really cruised into it, he’s a pretty smart horse...[He] is clearly in great form. He’s thriving...He’s danced a lot of the dances and he’s turned up when it mattered." [1]
Simon Sadler, owner of Ten Bob Tony and Blackpool Football Club, achieved his first Group 1 victory as a racehorse owner with the win [1, 2]. Trainer Ed Walker claimed his sixth Royal Ascot winner, further building his successful record at the meeting [1, 2].
More Thunder finished second, just half a length behind, while Opera Ballo, the second favorite at 7-2, took third place a head behind the runner-up. The 9-4 favorite, Godolphin's Notable Speech, who led early, faded to finish sixth [1, 2].
The victory at Royal Ascot secures Ten Bob Tony’s status as a rising star and offers a springboard to upcoming high-profile races this season.