Ascot

ASCOT, UK -- Six months ago David Howden was in the winner's enclosure celebrating success at Royal Ascot with his G2 Duke of Cambridge Stakes winner Running Lion (GB) (Roaring Lion). On Friday the owner-breeder was back at the racecourse to espouse his passion for sport horses, and more specifically how racehorses can be retrained for other disciplines. Howden's principal interest in horses came through eventing. He hosts Cornbury Horse Trials at his Oxfordshire home every September and his daughter Jemima is one of the rising stars of the young...

Turnover on World Pool bet types across the 12 races from Randwick, Caulfield and Ascot on Saturday reached a record high for a single day's racing, the Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC) announced on Tuesday. A total of HK$424.1m (around £48m) was staked from over 28 countries, eclipsing the previous record of HK$385.2m (£38m) set when 12 races from the Queensland and Epsom Derby meetings took place under the World Pool banner earlier this year. Ascot's six races on QIPCO British Champions Day generated HK$200m (£19.75m) of the HK$424.1m. Turnover...

Saturday's G1 QIPCO Champion Stakes threw up a major shock as Shadwell's Anmaat (Ire) (Awtaad {Ire}--African Moonlight {UAE}, by Halling) swooped late to register a 40-1 success and provide further evidence of the skill and guile of Owen Burrows. Contesting his second group 1 having scored on his only previous try in the Prix d'Ispahan last May, the 6-year-old was coming off a below-par fifth in the G2 Prix Dollar 13 days ago but at least had his favoured testing ground to aid his cause. Travelling strongly in a pocket...

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...

Saturday's G1 QIPCO British Champions Fillies & Mares Stakes looked there for the taking beforehand, with no standout performer in the line-up and in the end it came down to who was the most progressive. Step forward Juddmonte's Kalpana (GB) (Study Of Man {Ire}--Zero Gravity {GB}, by Dansili {GB}), who had made a significant advance last time in the G3 September Stakes and who successfully carried that momentum into this mile-and-a-half test, a "Win and You're In" for the GI Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf next month. Tracking the...

A total of 40 networks, covering over 170 territories, will broadcast QIPCO British Champions Day. Racecourse Media Group (RMG) and HBA Media (HBA), working with QIPCO British Champions Series, have secured global coverage of the £4.1m raceday, which includes four Group 1 races. Fox Sports US will showcase the full card for the first time on Fox Sports 1, while ESPN / Disney + and SuperSport will broadcast to their significant South American and African audiences. The Green Channel (Japan) and HKJC, Cable TV, TVB and Now TV (Hong Kong)...

Oisin Murphy will officially be named champion Flat jockey in Britain for the fourth time in his career on Saturday. This year the jockeys' championship began on Saturday, May 4 and ends with QIPCO British Champions Day at Ascot where Murphy will receive his prize. Before racing at Chelmsford on Thursday, Murphy had ridden 162 winners and held an unassailable lead over his closest pursuers, Rossa Ryan (108) and Tom Marquand (103). The 29-year-old succeeds dual champion jockey William Buick, adding to his three consecutive championship wins in 2019, 2020...

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...

French jockey Marie Velon is counting down the days until her return to Ascot on Saturday when she reunites with her beloved Iresine (Fr) (Manduro {Ger}) in a red-hot edition of the G1 QIPCO Champion Stakes, with top-class three-year-olds Economics (GB) (Night Of Thunder {Ire}) and Calandagan (Ire) (Gleneagles {Ire}) featuring among the likely opposition. Trained by Jean-Pierre Gauvin, Iresine provided his rider with a landmark success in October 2022 when winning the Prix Royal-Oak, the first Group 1 victory of Velon's career. The pair struck again last year in...

Invincible GG (IGG), a competitive gaming platform and technology company, has announced that it will celebrate the partnership between its Owners Club racing game and the QIPCO British Champions Series, by showcasing its flagship virtual race, the Champions Stakes, on the big screens at Ascot on Saturday. The Owners Club community, totalling around 10,000 players, has been actively training their AI-powered virtual horses, with the aim of qualifying for the in-game Champions Series Challenge races. The Champions Stakes will be shown as-live on prominent video screens around the various Ascot...

Following Monday's confirmation stage, 17 horses remain in contention for Saturday's G1 QIPCO Champion Stakes at Ascot, including the top-class three-year-olds Economics (GB) (Night Of Thunder {Ire}) and Calandagan (Ire) in what has the makings of a blockbuster clash. Trained by William Haggas, Economics is unbeaten in four starts this season, culminating with a first Group 1 victory in last month's Irish Champion Stakes at Leopardstown, while French challenger Calandagan confirmed himself a major force to be reckoned with when filling the runner-up spot behind the outstanding City Of Troy (Justify)...

Williams Haggas has issued a positive bulletin on star three-year-old Economics (GB) as he prepares for his showdown with French challenger Calandagan (Ire) (Gleneagles {Ire}) in Saturday's G1 Qipco Champion Stakes at Ascot. Economics heads the ante-post betting for the £1.3 million feature contest at a general 5-4, having gained his fourth victory from as many starts this season when making the breakthrough at the top level in last month's Irish Champion Stakes at Leopardstown. Magical (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) was the last horse to complete the Leopardstown/Ascot double in 2019,...