QIPCO British Champions Day

William Haggas was still reeling on Tuesday from the defeat of Economics (GB) (Night Of Thunder {Ire}) in Saturday's G1 QIPCO Champion Stakes at Ascot, with the trainer confessing that he "couldn't see him being beaten" as his stable star went in search of a fifth success from as many starts in 2024. Economics, who went into the race having gained his first Group 1 win in the Irish Champion Stakes at Leopardstown on his previous outing, was reported to have bled from the nose after finishing only sixth of...

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...

It's been tricky to focus on the racing of late with all the theatrics at Tattersalls, so let's call this fourteen days and attempt a catch-up in the brief period between the sales starting up again at Arqana on Tuesday. The extraordinary prices of Books 1 and 2 at the October Yearling Sale tell only half the story, and we all know that in any sales season there are tales of the haves and the have-nots. Perhaps the most interesting element of the top end is what feels like a...

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...

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...

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...

World Pool's contribution to British and Irish racecourses has surpassed £50 million since its inception in 2019, the Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC) announced on Thursday. A total of 580 races across nine different tracks in the UK and Ireland have been globally commingled by the HKJC since the World Pool's inaugural fixture at Royal Ascot in 2019, with the Curragh, Epsom Downs, Goodwood, Leopardstown, Newbury, Newmarket, Sandown Park and York all hosting World Pool racedays. Since its inauguration, the number of World Pool races has increased dramatically, from 30...

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)...

His Highness The Aga Khan's homebred Calandagan (Ire) (Gleneagles {Ire}) is progressing well toward a start in the G1 QIPCO Champion Stakes at Ascot on Oct. 19, according to trainer Francis-Henri Graffard. The gelding, a winner of the G2 King Edward VII Stakes at Royal Ascot and a strong second in the G1 International Stakes behind City Of Troy (Justify) at York, is fresh and well ahead of his QIPCO British Champions Day assignment. He will likely face William Haggas trainee Economics (GB) (Night Of Thunder {Ire}) the winner of...

A total of 151 horses remain in the five QIPCO British Champions Day races after the second entry stage, the highest number in the past six years. The event will be staged at Ascot on Saturday, Oct. 19. The G1 QIPCO Champion Stakes sees G1 Irish Champion Stakes hero Economics (GB) (Night Of Thunder {Ire}) square off with Franci-Henri Graffard's G1 International Stakes runner-up Calandagan (Ire) (Gleneagles {Ire}), and Jean-Pierre Gauvin's Iresine (Fr) (Manduro {Ger}). Joseph O'Brien's Group 1 winner Al Riffa (Fr) (Wootton Bassett {GB}) remains in the entries,...

Owners Club, a mobile horse racing game featuring a contest leading up to QIPCO British Champions Day, was launched by the QIPCO British Champions Series, who teamed up with mobile gaming company Invincible GG. The free-to-enter competition aims to enhance the reach and engagement of horseracing to a digitally-minded audience of racing fans. The QIPCO British Champions Day Challenge enables UK and global entrants to own, train and race their very own thoroughbred for a chance to win an exciting prize experience. The interactive racing competition is free to download...