By Tom Frary
Continuing the recent trend of big-priced winners in Royal Ascot's G1 Queen Anne Stakes, TBT Racing's Ten Bob Tony swooped to prevail at 50-1 from More Thunder and lead a notable one-two for Night Of Thunder.
Anchored in rear early by Kieran Shoemark, the Ed Walker-trained gelding was the last to make his move into the strong pace set by Billy Loughnane on Opera Ballo (Ghaiyyath) but his closing run proved the strongest as he overhauled that rival and More Thunder in the final yards. At the line, there was half a length between the Night Of Thunder duo, with Opera Ballo sticking to his guns a head away in third.
In fourth was Zeus Olympios, remarkably the third Night Of Thunder in the race meaning that Dubawi's sire sons dominated the first four places. Ironically, his own son Notable Speech was again disappointing at Ascot, finishing a tame sixth as the 9-4 favourite in this “Win and You're In” for the GI Breeders' Cup Mile in the autumn.
“He travelled superbly and I didn't think we were going over-quick, but he cruised into it so easily,” Shoemark said of the winner, who had last been seen winning the Tattenham Corner Stakes at Epsom on Derby day. “He is clearly thriving and in a good frame of mind. I'm somewhat surprised, but he's turned up where it mattered and I feel very fortunate to be part of that team.”
Campaigned mainly over seven furlongs, the lightly-raced winner had flown under the radar despite finishing third and a head in front of More Thunder in the Prix de la Foret on Arc day. His latest win at Epsom came in the renamed and rescheduled John of Gaunt Stakes which he had also won 12 months earlier in its final guise at Haydock and in many ways he entered this a stronger candidate than this race's recent surprise packages Accidental Agent, Lord Glitters, Triple Time and Docklands.
Ten Bob Tony, who has having his first try at this trip in two years, has the distinction of being the longest-priced winner of this since Garrick in 1950. “It is just an amazing story. Ten Bob Tony was Simon Sadler's first-ever horse and now he's got more than 50 in training worldwide,” stated Walker, whose recent record at this meeting was standing up to close inspection even before this race. “The miracle happened. This horse is just a legend. We rode him cold and, as can happen here at Ascot, it all fell apart in the final furlong. We've got a good team, but it's so tough and that's what makes this so special.”
“It is beautiful ground out there. I always think at Ascot you can get away with horses that need a bit of dig on the straight course,” he added. “It's like a carpet out there, so it's very forgiving quick ground. We thought after Epsom we'd return to France for the Foret, but then we started thinking about what we'd do between now and then and as we were already in this race we thought we'd have a go. You can't win sitting at home.”
Sadler added, “This horse is named after my dad. That was his nickname because he used to run a 50p–or 10 bob–stall on the market in Blackpool. Dad's not here today as he's not in the best of health, but I'm sure he watched it and I'd bet he had more on the horse than I did! I am blown away. I am shaking. There are tears running down my face. Never in a million years did we think this would happen. Now Ed's going to be in a lot of trouble because we probably should have been running him over a mile for the past two years rather than seven furlongs!”
More Thunder's trainer William Haggas said, “Frustrating, but there we go. We ran a very good race and, to be fair, I probably would have taken second place this morning but we always like to win. Full credit to Ed. I don't know where he's sprung that one from, but there we are.”
Charlie Appleby said of Opera Ballo and Notable Speech, “As Billy [Loughnane] said, there's a headwind out there and it's tough to do what we tried to do. He said the horse jumped a little keen for the first two furlongs before getting into a nice rhythm. He felt he was breathing well and doing everything right, but it was always going to be difficult into that headwind.”
“To be fair to him, he stuck at it. We know what this horse wants–the Sussex is tailor-made for him and we've always felt that was the case. But we had to come here and let him take his chance and, at the end of the day, he's run a creditable race to finish third.”
“As for Notable Speech, I'm afraid you've got to say it's something to do with Ascot. He just doesn't seem to turn up here as the same horse. We know what he can do–normally William is sitting still from the three to the one-pole, but he was asking the horse to try and pick up two furlongs out today which is never a good sign. He just doesn't turn up here, so we will probably head to France for the Prix Jacques le Marois before his usual travels to North America.”
50/1! TEN BOB TONY SHOCKS THEM ALL IN THE QUEEN ANNE STAKES! #ROYALASCOT pic.twitter.com/WR56OyiMBt
— At The Races (@AtTheRaces) June 16, 2026
Pedigree Notes
Ten Bob Tony is the second foal out of Hug (Dark Angel), a half to Machiavellian's Poule d'Essai des Pouliches heroine Tie Black and the Listed scorer Besotted (Dutch Art) who is in turn the dam of the Prix des Reservoirs winner Fancy Me (Pivotal) and the dual Stakes winner and Group and Graded-Stakes-placed See You Around by Pivotal's son Siyouni.
The third dam is the excellent producer Mill Princess, responsible for the Breeders' Cup Mile hero and leading sire Last Tycoon as well as fellow sire Astronef and the second dam of the Coronation Stakes heroine Immortal Verse, another Pivotal who is proving a top producer with her Cheveley Park Stakes and Prix Jean Prat-winning daughter Tenebrism (Caravaggio) joined by last year's Poule d'Essai de Poulains hero Henri Matisse (Wootton Bassett).
Hug's two-year-old colt Space Bob (Space Blues) was a €90,000 purchase by SackvilleDonald at the 2024 Goffs November Foal Sale, who went back to the same auction 12 months later to purchase her daughter of Bayside Boy for €140,000.
Tuesday, Royal Ascot, Britain
QUEEN ANNE STAKES-G1, £800,000, Ascot, 6-16, 4yo/up, 8fT, 1:37.53, g/f.
1–TEN BOB TONY (IRE), 128, g, 5, by Night Of Thunder (Ire)
1st Dam: Hug (Ire), by Dark Angel (Ire)
2nd Dam: Tender Is Thenight (Ire), by Barathea (Ire)
3rd Dam: Mill Princess (Ire), by Mill Reef
1ST GROUP 1 WIN. (€65,000 Ylg '22 GOFOR; €100,000 2yo '23 ARQMAY). O-TBT Racing; B-Knocktoran Stud; T-Ed Walker; J-Kieran Shoemark. £453,680. Lifetime Record: G1SP-Fr, 18-5-1-1, $881,083. Werk Nick Rating: A++. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree, or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–More Thunder (Ire), 128, h, 5, Night Of Thunder (Ire)–Buying Trouble, by Hat Trick (Jpn). (€270,000 Ylg '22 GOFOR; 190,000gns RNA 3yo '24 TATAHI). O-Saeed Suhail; B-Woodstock Bloodstock Ltd & Troy Bloodstock Ltd; T-William Haggas. £172,000.
3–Opera Ballo (Ire), 128, c, 4, Ghaiyyath (Ire)–Dubai Opera (GB), by Invincible Spirit (Ire). TDN Rising Star. (€600,000 Ylg '23 ARAUG). O-Godolphin; B-Ecurie de Cachene; T-Charlie Appleby. £86,080.
Margins: HF, HD, 2 1/4. Odds: 50.00, 3.50, 3.50.
Also Ran: Zeus Olympios (GB), Damysus (GB), Notable Speech (GB), Docklands (GB), Cicero's Gift (GB), First Conquest (GB).
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