QIPCO British Champions Day: declared runners, quotes and latest news

Economics will face 11 smart rivals headed by classy French three-year-old Calandagan when he bids to become the first horse since Magical in 2019 to complete the Irish Champion Stakes and QIPCO Champion Stakes double. 

Magical was having her ninth race of the season, and she had run in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe between the two races, but Economics’ campaign has been much lighter in comparison and he will be having just the fifth race of his career when he arrives at Ascot unbeaten this year and one of the most exciting middle-distance performers in the world. 

William Haggas won the 2020 QIPCO Champion Stakes with a very different type in seven-year-old Addeybb, but he suffered a shock defeat with 1-4 chance Baaeed two years later. He thought Economics the colt did particularly well to get the better of Auguste Rodin by a neck in Ireland after last year’s dual Derby winner had looked to be going the better, but he is taking nothing for granted and has a healthy respect for Calandagan in particular. 

Haggas, who has no regrets about sidestepping the Derby after Economics’ six-length win in the Dante, said: “The Irish Champion Stakes was a very strong race and Leopardstown is a very, very complicated track, so you need a lot of luck. I thought Tom (Marquand) was exceptional there and he came in and said Economics was a tough horse as it was very messy. He felt he asked a lot of the horse at various times, and he didn’t let him down. He’s a good horse, but it was a tough race, and he’s needed every week to come to his best for Saturday.” 

Haggas is not unduly worried about softer conditions even though Economics’ three big wins have all been on good ground or faster. He said: “I’m not going to pull him out because of the ground. He’s won on fast ground this year and we’ll see whether he copes. I think he’ll be okay, because I think he’s very versatile, but it will be top of the list of excuses if it all goes wrong I suppose.” 

Asked about the threat that the Juddmonte International runner-up Calandagan might pose, he said: “Calandagan is obviously a very good horse and he’s a danger to everyone. He was  very impressive at Royal Ascot. I think he’ll need every inch of the trip, but it will be very interesting." 

Trainer Francis Graffard was thrilled with Calandagan at York, where he felt the gelding ran “a fantastic race and accelerated strongly”. He pointed out that the main difference between York and Champions Day will likely be the ground, but he is not concerned on that score. 

Jockey Stephane Pasquier is full of confidence. He has said “it would need something very special to beat him - it would need City Of Troy to beat him!" 

While the pair dominate the betting, it is no two-horse race, and from a typically strong entry Aidan O’Brien has chosen to be represented by last year’s St Leger winner Continuous and the year younger Irish Derby winner Los Angeles, who was most recently seen running a tremendous race from the front when third in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe. 

A back-to-form Nashwa would also be a threat. John and Thady Gosden’s mare is a triple Group 1 winner and runs here in preference to the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes and is entitled to be all the sharper for her recent run behind Tamfana at Newmarket, when she had been off the track since March. 

See The Fire, third in the Newmarket race, steps back up to the ten furlongs over which she was beaten only a neck by Opera Singer in the Nassau Stakes at Goodwood and fourth in the Coral-Eclipse. Trainer Andrew Balding said: “I was delighted with her run over a mile in the Sun Chariot and she had some good horses behind her. She is going to have a long holiday after this.”  

Anmaat has to put behind him a below-par run at Longchamp, but Jim Crowley is inclined to forgive him and said: “That’s the first time he’s run a bad race. We’ve no real excuse for that, but the race was run at a very slow tempo, which probably wouldn’t have suited him. He has to take a big step up on even his best form, but he’s a Group 1 winner and he likes cut in the ground.”  

Karl Burke saddles last year’s fifth Royal Rhyme and said: "He is in great form and I am praying the ground is soft or even heavier. On faster ground he was only three and a half lengths behind them in the Irish Champion. On soft ground, I'd be very hopeful of turning around that form. He is getting better and stronger with every race." 

King’s Gambit is stepping up in class and down in distance. Harry Charlton said: “His form has been solid all year – second to Jayarebe in the Hampton Court at Royal Ascot and third to Arc third Illinois at York - and coming back to ten furlongs after York will suit. He fully deserves his chance and I don’t think he will be far away.” 

Iresine, whose win in last month’s Prix Foy was his second in the race, joins Calandagan from France. His rider Marie Velon was the first female to ride a Group 1 winner in France has won no fewer than 15 times on him. 

Velon is excited and said: “To ride in the Champion Stakes on Iresine is a dream, as he is the best horse of my life. Calandagan and Economics are the best horses of the season, but I will count on Iresine’s experience to beat them. He will be 100% for Saturday and the ground will be perfect for him. I can’t wait!” 

Three-time champion jockey Silvestre De Sousa owes a big debt to Charyn, above, who got the Brazilian’s return to race riding in Britain off to a flying start at Doncaster in March and ought to be hard to beat when he takes on 12 rivals in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes. 

De Sousa, who won the 2013 QIPCO Champion Stakes on Farhh and the 2019 Sprint on Donjuan Triumphant, has not ridden for three weeks owing to a whip ban incurred under the totting- up system, but he has kept himself fit and returns to the saddle in the nick of time with four rides at Newcastle tomorrow evening. 

Besides returning home for a few days he has been riding out regularly, and he has had two recent sits on the Roger Varian-trained Charyn, a ride he initially picked up only because James Doyle was injured in March.  

Charyn won in style that day and a winning partnership was born – one which saw the pair add a Group 2 at Sandown before top-level wins in the Queen Anne Stakes, over the same straight mile as Saturday's race, and the Prix Jacques Le Marois, as well as second places in the Al Shaqab Lockinge Stakes and the Prix du Moulin. De Sousa has also won the QIPCO 1000 Guineas on Charyn’s stable-mate Elmalka, another chance ride, as well as the German 2000 Guineas and the Italian Oaks. 

He said: “It was great to find a horse like Charyn to take me through the season. He’s been improving since day one, when he started in a Listed race, and he has gone on to win a Group 2 and the Group 1s at Royal Ascot and Deauville. You could say he’s unlucky not to be unbeaten this year, as things went against him in the Lockinge (second to Audience) and it was a similar story last time in the Moulin (second again, to Tribaliste). 

“It’s been a good season apart from the recent suspension, and now I’m looking forward to Saturday. It’s been a long three weeks that I’ve been off, and I don’t agree with it as I’m being punished twice, but I’m back in time for Champions Day and I’m looking forward to Charyn. 

“He had a racecourse gallop at Newmarket last week and I rode him again in his final bit of work on Tuesday morning. He’s very laid back, and he only does what you ask him to do. You have to ask him questions at the right time, but he’s in very good form.”  

Facteur Cheval, who was a six-length second to Big Rock here a year ago, was only sixth behind Charyn in the Queen Anne, but he found himself stranded out in the middle of the track that day and so can be excused. He won the Dubai Turf in the Spring and merits plenty of respect.  

Trainer Jerome Reynier is expecting a bold show and said: “I think you can forget about his run in the Queen Anne Stakes as he lost a shoe and raced on the wrong side of the track. I thought he ran a good race at Goodwood (third in Sussex Stakes), even though the ground was a little bit too firm for him, and I think we have him in better shape now.” 

Metropolitan, who gave trainer Mario Baratti a first Classic win when beating Dancing Gemini in the French 2000 Guineas, was a three-length second to Charyn in the Marois, where Quddwah was virtually upsides. Baratti expects him to get closer here and said: “Metropolitan has improved again since the Jacques le Marois. He is getting stronger all the time and I have been very happy with his preparation. 

“I believe we can get closer to Charyn this time. Charyn was very impressive at Deauville but, in my opinion, he is better on good ground, whereas I think our horse is better on soft ground and that will help our chance.” 

Aidan O’Brien’s Henry Longfellow was down the field after a troubled run when favourite for the French Guineas but left that form behind when chasing home Rosallion in the St James’s Palace Stakes. Last time out he was three lengths behind Charyn in third at Longchamp. 

While Charyn faces several old foes, there are also some new ones, notably the supplemented Prague and the recent Virgin Bet Sun Chariot Stakes winner Tamfana, who is joined by stable-mate Sirona. 

Betfred Sprint Cup winner Montassib, above, and the My Pension Expert July Cup victor Mill Stream head a star-studded field of Group 1 performers for the QIPCO British Champions Sprint. 

The 2022 winner Kinross, who is running here for a fourth time, and the 2023 winner Art Power, who beat Kinross a neck last year and will be making his fifth appearance in the race, are also present in a maximum field of 20. 

Montassib has been a revelation since dropping to six furlongs and trainer William Haggas, who also fields Unequal Love, third in the Haydock race, is hoping the six-year-old can find more improvement to confirm his head defeat of the reopposing Kind Of Blue. 

The Newmarket trainer said: “You could say he is still relatively unexposed at six furlongs as it took two years to drop him back to the trip. He has upped his game now we’ve got that right. He keeps pricking his ears when he gets to the front so you always think there is something left. We will find out, but he will do well to beat Kind Of Blue again. 

“Kind of Blue was on the speed at Haydock and maintained it. I think he will be hard to beat. Unequal Love ran a great race at Haydock but I’m concerned about the really soft ground for her. 

Karl Burke adds a talking point with three runners, a month after saddling the first three home from three runners in the Ayr Gold Cup. His trio of Elite Status, Swingalong and Spycatcher were all involved in the Betfred Sprint Cup, where Burke feels both a track and pace bias counted against them. All three are capable of better, and Spycatcher and Swingalong ran well in third and fourth here 12 months ago. 

The Middleham Moor trainer explained: “They were definitely on the wrong side of the track at Haydock. Swingalong went too fast on the slowest ground as well and Elite Status travelled best going to the final furlong but had again raced up with the pace. All of them are in great form but Elite Status would want drying ground.” 

The Andrew Balding-trained Flora of Bermuda, who was a fast-finishing fifth in the Haydock race, is also reopposing. 

Shouldvebeenaring is having his racing swansong before joining the Irish National Stud’s stallion roster. Tom Palin, owner Middleham Park Racing's manager, said: “We are going to try to get that Group 1 that he more than deserves. He’s been very unlucky and he has been a joy of a horse who gives his all. He will probably not get his ground but it’s a great game and strange things can happen.” 

Beauvatier, placed in three Group 1s this year, the latest a third in the seven-furlong Prix de la Foret at Longchamp earlier in the month, adds French flair, while Moss Tucker and Bucanero Fuerte are Group1 winners representing Ireland. 

Audience, who is something of an unknown quantity at this trip, is another Group 1 winner, having beaten Charyn over a mile in the Al Shaqab Lockinge Stakes. 

Kalpana and Tiffany, two fillies who have made a rapid rise through the ranks this year, headline the QIPCO British Champions Fillies &and Mares, with each making her first appearance in a Group 1. 

Tiffany has been the flagbearer for Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe-winning trainer Sir Mark Prescott and jockey Luke Morris in ticking off Listed, Group 3 and Group 2 wins after stepping up to middle distances this year. Her only defeat came after slipping on the home bend in the Lancashire Oaks and failing to catch Queen Of The Pride, who is among the maximum field of 14 for the £500,000 race.  

Owner-breeders Elite Racing had Soviet Song, who won the first of her five Group 1s in the Fillies’ Mile at Ascot 22 years ago, and racing manager Dan Downie said: “It’s nice to have another top-class filly. This has been Tiffany’s target for a little while. It’s obviously a big step up but she is in good form and has had a good season.” 

Kalpana, a year younger than Tiffany, has strong form in the book, with her Pretty Polly conqueror Friendly Soul subsequently winning the Group 1 Prix de l’Opera at Longchamp. Trainer Andrew Balding said: “She is very talented and in great form but soft ground is an unknown.” 

Juddmonte, owner of Kalpana, has a second bite at the cherry with last year’s seventh Time Lock. Trainer Harry Charlton can forgive her that disappointment and said: “She had a low draw and they didn’t go much pace which didn’t suit her. She was pinned against the rail and didn’t like it. She is a big galloping mare and needs space. I think she is stronger than last year and is in good heart.” 

John and Thady Gosden, who won the race with Breeders’ Cup-bound Emily Upjohn two years ago, rely on Queen Of The Pride, who has family tradition to maintain as a daughter of 2018 Queen Elizabeth II Stakes winner Roaring Lion and 2015 Fillies and Mares and St Leger heroine Simple Verse. 

Aidan O’Brien saddles two Group 1 winners in Yorkshire Oaks winner and Irish Oaks second Content, who disappointed at Longchamp last time, and Grateful, successful there in the Prix de Royallieu. He also runs the improving Wingspan, who was second in a Group 2 at the Curragh last month. 

War Chimes comes into the race with the joint longest absence to overcome but this has been by design as her trainer David Menuisier explained. “We gave her a break after the Irish Oaks and decided to go straight for the Fillies And Mares," he said. “She hung that day, but she’d had a busy time, finishing third at Epsom, and she was just a bit tired.” 

The Aga Khan’s Sumiha represents Dermot Weld, who has enjoyed an impressive three wins on Champions Day from only 14 runners. Quantanamera represents leading German trainer Andreas Suborics. 

Kyprios and Trawlerman, who have already lit up Ascot twice with thrilling duels, are set to give QIPCO British Champions Day another rousing start when heading a field of nine for the £450,000 QIPCO British Champions Long Distance Cup. contest. 

Dual Gold Cup winner Kyprios is set to start the afternoon’s shortest-priced favourite as he bids to stretch this year’s unbeaten run to seven races and to avenge last year’s narrow defeat here at the hands of Trawlerman, but it’s sobering to note that Aidan O’Brien has not had a winner from 26 runners since Magical won the 2019 QIPCO Champion Stakes. 

O’Brien, already assured of another champion trainer title in Britain this year, had six possibles here after Monday’s confirmation stage and also saddles the three-year-old The Euphrates, who picked up a very valuable handicap prize last time in the Irish Cesarewitch. 

Kyprios was on the comeback trail following a career-threatening injury when Trawlerman beat him last year. This time he arrives the undisputed champion stayer, unbeaten in six races, including the Gold Cup (from Trawlerman) at Ascot, the Goodwood Cup and the Prix du Cadran, all of which he also won in 2022. 

The John and Thady Gosden-trained Trawlerman, who has not raced since Royal Ascot, is joined by stable-mate Sweet William, who was a remote third here last year but has been in great form since and beat triple Long Distance Cup winner Trueshan easily in the Doncaster Cup last time. 

Tom Clover is among those hoping to spoil the party with Al Nayyir, who joined him this year via the United Arab Emirates and France. Al Nayyir was narrowly beaten by Vauban in the Group 2 Weatherbys Hamilton Lonsdale Cup at York on his first start for the stable (Alsakib in rear) and then romped away with the Jockey Club Rose Bowl on soft ground at Newmarket last month. 

Clover said: “He worked on Sunday morning and seems really well in himself. If he can repeat the two runs he has had for us we would be hopeful of having a good chance. He is ground versatile as well. It’s an amazing day, having been fifth in the QEII last year with Rogue Millennium, and always a terrific day’s racing for great prize money, supported by QIPCO.” 

David Menuisier can excuse Caius Chorister her recent race at Longchamp and said: “She was travelling sweet when another runner came on her outside three furlongs out and she felt entrapped and tried to run away, so ran her race in the false straight and had nothing more to offer. She’d beaten the winner (Grateful) at Goodwood.  

“With Kyprios running we are just going there for the breadcrumbs, but she has some of the best form of the others and finishing second or third would be great.”  

Royal Ascot winner Belloccio represents Willie Mullins, and the field is completed by Burdett Road, the one-time Triumph Hurdle favourite who was revelation when switched to front-running tactics last time at Newmarket. 

Ante-post backers of favourite Qirat face an anxious wait to see if Ralph Beckett’s improving three-year-old makes the field here as he is currently first reserve. 

Other leading fancies including Thunder Run, Days Of Our Lives and Elnajmm are all declared, along with State Actor, who needed only one above him to come out and, if successful, would be only the race’s second Irish-trained winner. However, the Swedish entry Silver Legend has been ruled out as he is not qualified. 

State Actor’s trainer Bill Farrell has never had a winner in Britain, but he describes himself as “only a small outfit” and points out that “you can’t go without the horse.” The four-year-old will need luck here in what Farrell calls “a bigger adventure”, but State Actor went agonisingly close when caught on the line by Wigmore Street in the Irish Cambridgeshire and he looks to have plenty going for him. 

Farrell, who has combined stud management with training, learned his trade with some of the greats, including Vincent O’Brien, John Magnier and Jim Bolger, and says “Doctor O’Brien was the best trainer” he ever knew” and Bolger “the best horseman.” 

He has had the Balmoral in mind since the Irish Cambridgeshire and said: “We think he‘ll appreciate the ground. He won his maiden on soft ground at the Curragh and he’ll enjoy the straight mile. He’s very well, but whether he’s good enough we won’t know until about 4.45 on Saturday.  

“The Irish Cambridgeshire was frustrating, but you couldn’t blame Colin (Keane) as he couldn’t see what was coming behind him, and Ryan (Moore) got a great tune out of the winner, who has held up the form since. That’s racing though. Chris Hayes rides this time, as he’s there and he knows the horse well.” 

David O’Meara has won the Balmoral a record three times and has Bopedro, Padishakh and Mirsky. His Theoryofeverything and Akkadian Thunder join Qirat among thethree reserves. 

The Going on the Round Course at 8am on Thursday morning was Heavy, Soft in places. Therefore, as per the race conditions, the three Round Course races – the QIPCO British Champions Long Distance Cup, QIPCO British Champions Fillies & Mares Stakes and the QIPCO Champion Stakes – have been switched to the Inner Flat Track. The Going on the Inner Flat Track is currently Soft. 

  Race distances are amended as follows: 

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