After a close second in last year’s edition of the race, Docklands raced to victory in the Group 1 Queen Anne Stakes at Royal Ascot with Mark Zahra in the saddle. The entire gave Harry Eustace his much-deserved first Group 1 win as a trainer and his jockey an unforgettable first Royal Ascot Carnival experience.
Docklands & Mark Zahra taste G1 glory at Royal Ascot š
ā Racing.com (@Racing) June 17, 2025
The Australian hoop lost his whip in the concluding stages but still managed to hit the line first, claiming victory in the G1 Queen Anne Stakes āļø #royalascot2025 pic.twitter.com/g7u8UQjtgL
Queen Anne Stakes champion Docklands has raced his way out of a return to Melbourne for the Cox Plate this spring with group 1 assignments in England and France now front of mind for the budding stallion.
OTI Racing director Terry Henderson said early on Wednesday morning from Royal Ascot that the group 1 victory at $15 over some of the best milers in the world ranked alongside the 1995 Melbourne Cup win of Doriemus as a the greatest racing success for OTI Racing.
āItās definitely up there with winning the (Melbourne) Cup,ā Henderson said.
āHe got a great ride and showed all those traits of a very good horse especially as Mark (Zahra) dropped his whip with about 70 metres to go.ā
Henderson said the group 1 victory changed the potential program for Docklands for the rest of 2025 with the Cox Plate now off the agenda as connections seek to build on the horseās record in elite company.
āI think we know enough about the horse now to make some solid plans here,ā Henderson said. āHeās a very good straight track horse so I think we can go to the group 1 in France and come back for Champions day here (England).
āHeās still a bull (entire) so we can work on protecting him and we couldnāt take the horse off Harry (Eustace) now.ā
The French race is the group 1 Prix Jacques Le Marois, which is to be run at Deauville over the straight track on August 17.
Part of the above is an excerpt from Andrew Eddy’s Racing.com article and can be read here.