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The 2017 VRC Queen Elizabeth Stakes – formerly the Queen’s Cup – is a 2600m quality handicap held at Flemington Racecourse on the first Saturday of November as part of Emirates Stakes Day.

A Group 3 event, the VRC Queen Elizabeth Stakes – not to be confused with the Group 1 ATC Queen Elizabeth Stakes held at Randwick in the autumn – pays $300,000 total prize money. It is one of the more lucrative Group 3 events held during the Melbourne Cup Carnival and also offers an additional bonus to any horse that was paid up for at final acceptances stage but was ballot out of the Melbourne Cup field.

The Queen Elizabeth Stakes is held on the fourth and final day of the Melbourne Cup Carnival, and runs alongside a host of other black-type events. These include the Group 1 $2 million Emirates Stakes (2000m), the Group 1 $1 million Darley Classic (1200m), the Group 2 $300,000 Matriarch Stakes (2000m) and the  Group 3 Maribyrnong Plate (1000m) for the two-year-olds.

Heading into the VRC Queen Elizabeth Stakes, horses might contest a variety of different races inlcuding the Group 1 Caulfield Cup (2400m) and the Group 2 Moonee Valley Cup (2500m), both popular lead up races. Some horses also back up from the Melbourne Cup to contest this event looking for a consolation prize just four days after the ‘Race That Stops A Nation’ is run and won.

Following the Queen Elizabeth Stakes, the Group 2 Zipping Classic (2400m) is a fairly common target a week later. Some horses choose to rest prior to the Summer Racing Carnival or even until the autumn.

The 2017 VRC Queen Elizabeth Stakes was held on Saturday November 11, 2017 .

VRC Queen Elizabeth Stakes 2017
Date:	Saturday November 11, 2017
Track:	Flemington Racecourse
Distance:	2600m
Race Type:	Open Quality Handicap
Status:	Group 3
Prize money:	$300,000

2017 VRC Queen Elizabeth Stakes Results

• 1st: #4 Vengeur Masque
• 2nd: #7 Grey Lion
• 3rd: #1 Wheal Leisure

See below for the full VRC Queen Elizabeth Stakes 2017 Results & Finishing Order, following the link to read more on the strong win by Michael Moroney’s Geelong Cup winner Vengeur Masque who was on the quick back-up after a lead-up Lexus Stakes second.

Place	#	Horse	Trainer	Jockey	Margin	Br.	Weight	SP
1	4	VENGEUR MASQUE (IRE)	Michael Moroney	Patrick Moloney	–	9	54.5kg	$6.50
2	7	GREY LION (IRE)	Matt Cumani	Jordan Childs	0.75L	5	54kg	$26
3	10	WHEAL LEISURE	Archie Alexander	Dean Yendall	1.25L	2	54kg	$9.50
4	8	VIOLATE	Brent Stanley	James Winks	4.75L	6	54kg	$26
5	6	GALLIC CHIEFTAIN (FR)	Darren Weir	Michael Dee	4.85L	7	54kg	$5
6	1	QEWY (IRE)	Charlie Appleby	Kerrin McEvoy	7.1L	10	59kg	$3.20F
7	3	KIWIA	Darren Weir	Damian Lane	8.6L	4	55kg	$5
8	11	BETTYRAE RUBY	Tim Hughes	Corey Brown	8.7L	1	54kg	$101
9	5	COOL CHAP	David & B Hayes & T Dabernig	Dwayne Dunn	16.7L	8	54kg	$16
10	9	TUNES	Grant Young	Noel Callow	28.7L	3	54kg	$101
–	2	ASSIGN (IRE)	Robert Hickmott	Ben Melham	–	0	–	–

2017 VRC Queen Elizabeth Stakes Betting Odds

See below for the latest VRC Queen Elizabeth Stakes 2017 odds, betting provided by Ladbrokes.com.au with links to the market to back your VRC Queen Elizabeth Stakes tips in at the right price.

2017 VRC Queen Elizabeth Stakes Field

The VRC Queen Elizabeth Stakes field attracts a fairly handy selection of horses. As it is raced over a relatively lengthy staying distance of 2600m, the Queen Elizabeth Stakes field tends to fill out with experienced staying types who can handle the longer distances and have a few Group wins under their belt.

Good lead-up races into the Queen Elizabeth Stakes field include the Group 3 Geelong Cup (2400m), the Group 3 Bendigo Cup (2400m) and even the Group 3 Lexus Stakes (2500m) a week before at the track on Derby Day. In 2017 the Queen Elizabeth Stakes winner Vengeur Masque previous won the Geelong Cup and came off a second in the Lexus Stakes.

The 2017 VRC Queen Elizabeth Stakes field and barriers are released by Racing Victoria on the Wednesday before Emirates Stakes Day and will be published in full below once announced.

The 2017 Queen Elizabeth Stakes Final Field is dominated by UK raider Qewy from the Godolphin stables coming off a Bendigo Cup win first-up. Runner-up in the same lead-up race Kiwia was brave in defeat and is also engaged for the rematch getting an extra one kilo weight advantage, while trainer Darren Weir also saddles-up Geelong Cup runner-up Gallic Chieftain.

Read more on the Queen Elizabeth Stakes 2017 Horses.

#	Form (Last 10)	Horse	Trainer	Jockey	Barrier	Weight	Hcp. Rating
1	2x141x40x1	QEWY (IRE)	Charlie Appleby	Kerrin McEvoy	11	59kg	107
2	210x71x045	ASSIGN (IRE)	Robert Hickmott	Ben Melham	10	57kg	103
3	1321411312	KIWIA	Darren Weir	Damian Lane	4	55kg	99
4	x542x99812	VENGEUR MASQUE (IRE)	Michael Moroney	Patrick Moloney	9	54.5kg	98
5	5223×54165	COOL CHAP	David & B Hayes & T Dabernig	Dwayne Dunn	8	54kg	97
6	x3811x7632	GALLIC CHIEFTAIN (FR)	Darren Weir	(late alt)	7	54kg	97
7	x076x07034	GREY LION (IRE)	Matt Cumani	Jordan Childs	5	54kg	93
8	434×483213	VIOLATE	Brent Stanley	James Winks	6	54kg	85
9	2170×06422	TUNES	Grant Young	Noel Callow	3	54kg	82
10	513059×115	WHEAL LEISURE	Archie Alexander	Dean Yendall	2	54kg	80
11	2×53876544	BETTYRAE RUBY	Tim Hughes	Corey Brown	1	54kg	63

VRC Queen Elizabeth Stakes History

The VRC Queen Elizabeth Stakes is a very old race. Inaugurated in 1854, it is seven years older than the Melbourne Cup and almost as prestigious. Originally known as the Queen’s Plate and until recently the Queen Elizabeth Stakes, it was first run over 24 furlongs, which is the equivalent of around 4800m.

In its long history, there have been only two dead heats. The first was in 1895, between Wallace and Auraria. The second was more recently in 1997, between Vita Man and Bright Spot.

Throughout its history, the VRC Queen Elizabeth Stakes has not been held on a total of eight years.

The VRC Queen Elizabeth Stakes has been through many name changes since its inception, which are documented below.

Period	Name
2016 – present	VRC Queen Elizabeth Stakes
2015	Queen’s Cup
2011-2014	Queen Elizabeth Stakes
2010	Queen’s Cup
1986-2009	Queen Elizabeth Stakes
1985	Queen’s Cup
1979-1984	Queen Elizabeth Stakes
1975-1978	C.B. Fisher Plate
1974	Queen’s Cup
1970-1973	C.B. Fisher Plate
1969	Queen’s Cup
1895-1968	C.B. Fisher Plate
1875-1894	Canterbury Plate
1873-1874	Flemington Plate
1854-1872	Queen’s Plate

Along with multiple name changes, the VRC Queen Elizabeth Stakes has also changed distance multiple times. The various distances of the VRC Queen Elizabeth Stakes / Queen’s Cup are documented below.

Period	Distance
2010-now	2600m
1973-2009	2500m
1972	2400m
1895-1971	12 furlongs
1890-1894	16 furlongs
1889	18 furlongs
1888	24 furlongs
1886-1887	16 furlongs
1885	20 furlongs
1881-1884	16 furlongs
1880	18 furlongs
1879	16 furlongs
1877-1878	18 furlongs
1875-1876	16 furlongs
1854-1874	24 furlongs

*A furlong is approximately 200 metres.

A number of very impressive horses have taken out the honours in the VRC Queen Elizabeth Stakes / Queen’s Cup. Winners include Tim Whiffler (1867), Wakeful (1902), Alawa (1908, 09, 10), Eurythmic (1920), Phar Lap (1930), Ajax (1938), High Caste (1939, 40, 41), Rising Fast (1954, 55), Even Stevens (1962), Hyperno (1979) and Makybe Diva (2002) amongst many others. Queen’s Cup / VRC Queen Elizabeth Stakes results, winners and winning times since 2000 are provided below.

VRC Queen Elizabeth Stakes Results

Year	Place	Horse	Time
2018 VRC Queen Elizabeth Stakes	1st	TBD	TBD
	2nd	TBD
	3rd	TBD
2017 VRC Queen Elizabeth Stakes	1st	Vengeur Masque	2 minutes 42.9 seconds
	2nd	Grey Lion
	3rd	Wheal Leisure
2016 VRC Queen Elizabeth Stakes	1st	Francis Of Assisi	2 minutes 41.1 seconds
	2nd	Vengeur Masque
	3rd	Tom Melbourne
2015 VRC Queen Elizabeth Stakes	1st	Dandino	2 minutes 46.93 seconds
	2nd	Secret Number
	3rd	Don Doremo
2014 VRC Queen Elizabeth Stakes	1st	Le Roi	2 minutes 43.1 seconds
	2nd	Prince Of Penzance
	3rd	Big Memory
2013 VRC Queen Elizabeth Stakes	1st	Precedence	2 minutes 46.4 seconds
	2nd	Sertorius
	3rd	Let’s Make Adeal
2012 VRC Queen Elizabeth Stakes	1st	Puissance De Lune	2 minutes 44.2 seconds
	2nd	Ironstein
	3rd	Tanby
2011 VRC Queen Elizabeth Stakes	1st	Ironstein	2 minutes 44.8 seconds
	2nd	Shootoff
	3rd	Paddy O’Reilly
2010 VRC Queen Elizabeth Stakes	1st	Moudre	2 minutes 45.2 seconds
	2nd	Capecover
	3rd	Persian Star
2009 VRC Queen Elizabeth Stakes	1st	Sterling Prince	2 minutes 34.5 seconds
	2nd	Crossthestart
	3rd	Naval Escort
2008 VRC Queen Elizabeth Stakes	1st	Capecover	2 minutes 38.8 seconds
	2nd	Light Vision
	3rd	Baughurst
2007 VRC Queen Elizabeth Stakes	1st	Zavite	2 minutes 38.5 seconds
	2nd	Cefalu
	3rd	Completion
2006 VRC Queen Elizabeth Stakes	1st	Gallant Guru	2 minutes 40.6 seconds
	2nd	Magic Instinct
	3rd	Fooram
2005 VRC Queen Elizabeth Stakes	1st	Our Smoking Joe	2 minutes 33.8 seconds
	2nd	Coalesce
	3rd	Grey Song
2004 VRC Queen Elizabeth Stakes	1st	Fantastic Love	2 minutes 44.8 seconds
	2nd	Manawa King
	3rd	Da Capo
2003 VRC Queen Elizabeth Stakes	1st	Zazzman	2 minutes 37.5 seconds
	2nd	Lord Erin
	3rd	Delvecchio
2002 VRC Queen Elizabeth Stakes	1st	Makybe Diva	2 minutes 35.7 seconds
	2nd	Spirit Of Westbury
	3rd	Time Off
2001 VRC Queen Elizabeth Stakes	1st	Hatha Anna	2 minutes 40.9 seconds
	2nd	Ascana
	3rd	Tiger’s Eye
2000 VRC Queen Elizabeth Stakes	1st	Savrocca	2 minutes 37.8 seconds
	2nd	Ultra Smug
	3rd	Mayshiel