G1 Queen Elizabeth II Stakes

Adding another bizarre twist to the 2025 Qipco British Champions Day, the 100-1 shot Cicero's Gift (Muhaarar) swooped under Jason Watson to conquer for the sport's revered Hills family in the G1 Queen Elizabeth II Stakes. Not really in the vicinity of the best of these on form, Rosehill Racing's gelding outstayed The Lion In Winter (Sea The Stars) in the final furlong to register the second of the card's major upsets by 1 1/4 lengths. Alakazi (Footstepsinthesand) was a neck away in third as the big favourites all failed...

Saturday, Ascot, post time: 16:05, THE QIPCO CHAMPION STAKES-G1, £1,417,500, 3yo/up, 9f 212yT Field: Almaqam (GB) (Lope De Vega {Ire}), Calandagan (Ire) (Gleneagles {Ire}), Economics (GB) (Night Of Thunder {Ire}), First Look (Ire) (Lope De Vega {Ire}), Fox Legacy (GB) (Lope De Vega {Ire}), Ombudsman (Ire) (Night Of Thunder {Ire}), Prague (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), Almeric (GB) (Study Of Man {Ire}), Delacroix (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}), Devil's Advocate (GB) (Too Darn Hot {GB}), Mount Kilimanjaro (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}). TDN Analysis: The Champion Stakes as it should be but not always is, with...

After a summer of toing and froing and ding-dong battles, Ascot's feature G1 QIPCO Champion Stakes brings it all to a satisfyingly gladiatorial climax on Saturday. Having revelled in Ombudsman's dramatic surge at the end of the Prince of Wales's, Delacroix's huge move coming off Leopardstown's bend in the Irish Champion and the relentless power of Calandagan at the close of the King George, it all comes together in a perfect blend on a perfect sunlit autumn afternoon for the latest QIPCO Champions Day. The headline race is a qualifier...

Saturday, Ascot, post time: 16:05, THE QIPCO CHAMPION STAKES-G1, £1,417,500, 3yo/up, 9f 212yT Field: Almaqam (GB) (Lope De Vega {Ire}), Calandagan (Ire) (Gleneagles {Ire}), Economics (GB) (Night Of Thunder {Ire}), First Look (Ire) (Lope De Vega {Ire}), Fox Legacy (GB) (Lope De Vega {Ire}), Ombudsman (Ire) (Night Of Thunder {Ire}), Prague (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), Almeric (GB) (Study Of Man {Ire}), Delacroix (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}), Devil's Advocate (GB) (Too Darn Hot {GB}), Mount Kilimanjaro (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}). TDN Analysis: The Champion Stakes as it should be but not always is, with...

Saturday's G1 Qipco Champion Stakes will feature all the big guns, with Ombudsman (Night Of Thunder), Delacroix (Dubawi), Calandagan (Gleneagles) and Economics (Night Of Thunder) set for a memorable showdown. There will be 11 in the line-up for the feature, where the draw has not been kind to Ombudsman and Economics in nine and 10 respectively but has been to the race's most intriguing runner Almaqam (Lope De Vega) in stall one. There will be 16 lining up for the G1 Queen Elizabeth II Stakes, with Juddmonte and the Gosdens'...

The majority of the season's stars have held their ground after the latest acceptance stage for Britain's richest race day, the QIPCO British Champions Day at Ascot on October 18. In the £1.3-million QIPCO Champion Stakes, the 2024 winner Anmaat (Awtaad) will lock horns with the G1 Princes Of Wales's Stakes/G1 Juddmonte International Stakes hero Ombudsman (Night Of Thunder) and G1 Eclipse Stakes winner Delacroix (Dubawi). Also entered in that contest is the G1 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes winner Calandagan (Gleneagles), 2024 G1 Irish Champion Stakes scorer...

Calandagan (Gleneagles), Delacroix (Dubawi), Field Of Gold (Kingman) and Ombudsman (Night Of Thunder) headline the entries for QIPCO British Champions Day at Ascot, which takes place this year on Saturday, October 18. The seven-race card boasts record prize-money of £4.35 million in 2025, with the £1.3-million G1 QIPCO Champion Stakes taking top billing as the most valuable contest staged on the afternoon. Last year's renewal was won by Anmaat (Awtaad), who could face a rematch with the runner-up, Calandagan, after that rival returned to Ascot recently to win the G1 King...

There was a sense of inevitability in the lead-up to Saturday's G1 Queen Elizabeth II Stakes and for the vast majority of the mile feature as Nurlan Bizakov's Charyn (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}--Futoon {Ire}, by Kodiac {GB}) capped a near-perfect season at Ascot. Adding to his G1 Queen Anne Stakes and G1 Prix Jacques le Marois successes, the 13-8 favourite had only Facteur Cheval (Ire) (Ribchester {Ire}) to concern him late on but ultimately subdued his latest challenger to record a two-length success. Needing the occasional niggle from Silvestre De...

It's QIPCO British Champions Day, so it stands to reason that we are talking about autumn soft ground as the European flat season continues to turn on its axis. Where the summer specialists City Of Troy (Justify), Auguste Rodin (Ire) (Deep Impact {Jpn}), Rosallion (Ire) (Blue Point {Ire}), Porta Fortuna (Ire) (Caravaggio) and Notable Speech (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) are missing for varying reasons, the way is open for those who relish the kind of test this surface provides. Every one of the five pattern races on Ascot's fixture boasts at...

Ascot's Qipco British Champions Day took its final shape on Thursday morning, with the middle-distance heavyweights Economics (GB) (Night Of Thunder {Ire}) and Calandagan (Ire) (Gleneagles {Ire}) heading a 12-strong cast for Saturday's £1.3-million G1 Qipco Champion Stakes. Isa Salman Al Khalifa's G1 Irish Champion Stakes winner and The Aga Khan's G1 Juddmonte International runner-up are joined by the G1 Irish Derby third Los Angeles (Ire) (Camelot {GB}), one of two for Ballydoyle, and another French raider in Iresine (Fr) (Manduro {Ger}) who gives to provide Marie Velon with a...

A total of 227 entries have been received for the five Group contests scheduled to take place on QIPCO British Champions Day at Ascot, it was announced on Tuesday. This is the largest number since 2018 and includes a record 56-strong entry for the G1 QIPCO Champion Stakes, the feature race on the card slated for Saturday, October 19. The 56 horses entered for the Champion Stakes have won 37 Group 1 races between them, with Auguste Rodin (Ire) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) boasting the most decorated CV as a six-time...