Elusive Kate should not be written off in Queen Anne Stakes

Elusive Kate may be at her most dangerous when sticking to all-female company, but there are plenty of reasons to believe that she has each-way possibilities at worst in the Queen Anne Stakes at Royal Ascot.

The women have a more than acceptable record in the 1m Group 1 contest, as they have secured a top-two finish on the last three occasions that they have had a representative in the field.

Meanwhile, Elusive Kate has filled spots in the first three on the pair of occasions in her career that she has mixed it with the men on the course, finding the now-retired Excelebration and one other too good each time.

However, she is of the optimum age to win the Queen Anne, as 10 of the last 13 winners have been four-year-olds.

This may be a concern to fans of favoured duo Animal Kingdom and Farrh, who are 5/4 and 11/4 respectively, as they are both aged five.

Furthermore, Elusive Kate fits the criteria of the last nine Queen Anne winners, who already had a Group 1 success on their resumes before arriving at Royal Ascot, with hers coming in France last year.

Some may point to the fact that she is without a victory in three starts as a negative to her chances, but an excuse can be made for at least the last two reverses.

In the Sun Chariot Stakes she was badly bumped coming out of the stalls, which could have been the moment that she lost a shoe, and the slow start was especially problematic as Elusive Kate prefers to dictate at the front of the field.

Taking everything into consideration, she did mightily well to finish second.

Then on her last run, she was heavily inconvenienced by the soft ground and a return to a firmer surface at Royal Ascot will almost certainly see her in an improved light.

The one obvious concern over backing Elusive Kate each-way in the Queen Anne Stakes is that trainer John Gosden may prefer to keep her against her own sex and compete in the Group 2 Duke of Cambridge Stakes instead.

All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.