Ascot Racecourse

Owners Club hosted the world's first-ever virtual Champions Day race at Ascot on Saturday. Over 10,000 players participated from across the UK, with 600 qualifying for the tournament, 60 making the finals and the top 12 participating in the live race, broadcast live on all screens across the racecourse. The virtual race was called by announcer Mike X, with In Her Majesty's Service, the virtual horse, winning for owner Vermdrago. The virtual race was powered by Owners Club's AI and Web3 technology. Each horse in the game boasts unique genetics,...

James Fanshawe trainee and G1 King's Stand Stakes fourth Kind Of Blue (GB) (Blue Point {Ire}--Blues Sister {GB}, by Compton Place {GB}) was acquired by Wathnan Racing after a posting a second-place finish in last month's G1 Haydock Sprint Cup and provided an immediate return on investment with a brave success in Ascot's G1 Qipco British Champions Sprint Stakes. The 10-1 chance and 'TDN Rising Star' employed patient tactics from flagfall and settled off the tempo through halfway. Cruising into contention at the quarter-mile marker, he was ridden to the...

Two weeks on from completing a facsimile of his banner 2022 season by notching a second victory in ParisLongchamp's G1 Prix du Cadran, Europe's dominant stayer Kyprios (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}--Polished Gem {Ire}, by Danehill) added lustre to a perfect 2024 campaign with a decisive success in Saturday's G2 Qipco British Champions Long Distance Cup at Ascot. Ballydoyle's star went postward as the 8-11 favourite to gain compensation for a neck defeat in this two-mile contest last year and stalked pacesetting stablemate The Euphrates (GB) (Frankel {GB}) until turning for home....

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)...

Over 300 delegates among the racing industry attended the Racing Foundation Conference at Ascot Racecourse on Wednesday, Oct. 2. The main themes of the conference were to build understanding and prompt collaboration around racing's social licence challenges. Bob Langert, the former vice president of corporate social responsibility and sustainability at McDonald's, TedTalk speaker and author, delivered the keynote address. Langert said, "During my time at McDonald's, we faced many detractors in the form of activist campaigns, books and movies and media coverage on multiple issues...One central reason for McDonald's not...

Aidan O'Brien trainee Ballet Slippers (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}), the first foal produced by multiple Group 1-winning distaffer Magical (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), shed maiden status at the third attempt in Friday's Wesco Anixter EBF Fillies' Novice Stakes at Ascot. She had previously encountered the 'TDN Rising Star' displays of Red Letter (GB) (Frankel {GB}) and Falling Snow (Ire) (Justify) in outings at the Curragh in July and August and, without anything of that calibre in opposition, justified 1-4 favouritism with a one-length defeat of Music Piece (Ire) (Camelot {GB}) in the...

It's usually the jockeys who dominate the headlines at Ascot's Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup fixture, but the Jim Goldie-trained Jordan Electrics (GB) will be well worth a few column inches of his own should the eight-year-old continue his remarkable winning sequence when he teams up with the British-born, Australian-based Rachel King in Saturday's 'Dash' run over five furlongs. When Jordan Electrics made his first appearance of 2024 at Musselburgh in April, he did so as an admirable sprinter--the sort of horse anybody would love to own as the winner...

Coolmore and Westerberg's dual Derby hero Auguste Rodin (Ire) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) heads a field of nine for Saturday's G1 King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Qipco S. after final declarations were confirmed for Ascot's midsummer showpiece on Thursday morning. Aidan O'Brien trimmed his team from five to three for the GI Breeders' Cup Turf "Win and You're In", sidelining Continuous (Jpn) (Heart's Cry {Jpn}) and Point Lonsdale (Ire) (Australia {GB}), and will also saddle Hans Andersen (GB) (Frankel {GB}) and Luxembourg (Ire) (Camelot {GB}). Auguste Rodin, who has hit...

Ascot Racecourse is set to return record prize-money of £17.5 million to the sport in 2024, having announced on Monday its financial results for the 12 months ended December 31, 2023. Turnover for that period rose by 9% to £110.9 million, with a pre-tax profit of £5.9 million--up from £3.4 million in 2022. The 2023 business summary highlighted several other points of interest: Gross profit percentage fell from 34.5% to 33.8%, reflecting increased costs and general inflationary economic conditions. Profit before tax increased by £2.5 million but EBITDA (Earnings Before...

QIPCO is to relinquish its sponsorship of the British Champions Series, the 2,000 and 1,000 Guineas at Newmarket, and the King George meeting at Ascot. It will, however, remain involved as the principal backer of British Champions Day and as a partner of Ascot Racecourse to 2026. David Redvers, Qatar Racing's Manager, and the sponsor's representative said, "Their Royal Highnesses Sheikhs Hamad and Fahad Al Thani's earliest involvement in British Racing came with the commitment to helping promote the top-tier of the sport. They remain proud of the success of...

Wathnan Racing's dual Classic-placed acquisition Haatem (Ire) (Phoenix Of Spain {Ire}--Hard Walnut {Ire}, by Cape Cross {Ire}) went postward for Saturday's G3 Jersey Stakes at Royal Ascot lumbered with a three-pound Group 3 penalty and defied that impost in game fashion to register a narrow victory in the seven-furlong test. Haatem was swiftly into stride and settled into a comfortable rhythm slipstreaming fellow Wathnan contender Native American (Ire) (Sioux Nation) in a prominent fourth from the outset. Tanking forward on the bridle to lead approaching the quarter-mile pole, the 7-2...

Victorious Racing's Isle Of Jura (GB) (New Approach {Ire}--Falls Of Lora {Ire}, by Street Cry {Ire}), who enjoyed a lucrative winter campaign snagging four of five starts in Bahrain, made a winning European comeback in last month's Listed Festival Stakes and stepped forward to secure an emotional victory for rider Callum Shepherd in Saturday's G2 Hardwicke Stakes at Royal Ascot. The 16-1 chance was positioned fifth through the initial strides and improved one spot after the opening exchanges of this 12-furlong contest. Easing closer on the home turn and moving...