Queen Anne Stakes betting tip: Native Trail worth following in Royal Ascot curtain raiser

Our last analysis covered the John of Gaunt stakes at Haydock, where Jumby provided us with a winner at a well-supported 9/4.

He won smoothly and was one and a half lengths clear at the finish having come with a strong run from two furlongs out.

This week we turn our attention to Royal Ascot, kicking off with the Festival's opening race, the Queen Anne Stakes, which has been run in various guises since first being established in 1840, and was given Group 1 status in 2003.

Previous winners of this Group 1 have included some top-class performers like Palace Pier, Frankel, Goldikova and Dubai Destination to name but a few.

Last year's renewal was won by the William Haggas-trained Baeed, who eased home by one and three-quarter lengths as the heavily-backed 1/6 favourite under Jim Crowley.

By using the trends above, I was able to reduce the twelve runner field to just four runners: Native Trail, Chindit, Modern Games and Mutasaabeq.

Suggested bet: Native Trail each-way in the 14:30 at Royal Ascot

Native Trail had been off course for 261 days when making his seasonal comeback at Newmarket, where he was second to Mutasaabeq.

His jockey thought that he was a bit race rusty after his long break and would improve for the run. Native Trail has not run at Ascot before, which is a plus, while his three wins at Group 1 level include the Irish 2000 Guineas and the Dewhurst Stakes.

Apart from the four horses listed above Inspiral is a huge danger, receiving weight from the colts and she has won at Group 1 level, but has the negatives of no seasonal run and having run at Ascot before.

Chindit is a course-and-distance winner and comes from a stable with a good record in this race. He also ran in a key trial race for this last time out, when he was second to Modern Games in the Lockinge Stakes. He has never won at Group 1 level before, which is a negative, as is having had a previous run at the course.

Modern Games, as mentioned above, won the Lockinge Stakes last time, beating Chindit into second place. He comes here in form and has already won five times at Group 1 level. Modern Games comes out best on the trends and will be hard to beat here, but has run at Ascot before which is a negative.

Mutasaabeq was fifth in the Lockinge behind Chindit and Modern Games. He has never won at Group 1 level and has course form having been beaten by Chindit here in the Summer Mile last season. He needs to improve a few pounds to get among the places here, and I think there are a few in the race that are more likely than Mutasaabeq.

On the trends I am going to select Native Trail and at the available prices suggest going each way due to the threats from Modern Games and Inspiral.

Suggested bet: Native Trail each-way in the 14:30 at Royal Ascot