Tag Archive for: Qipco Champion Stakes

Outsider Anmaat stuns Champion Stakes field

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Anmaat stunned the field to sweep to a surprise victory in the Qipco Champion Stakes at Ascot.

A 40-1 chance for Owen Burrows and Jim Crowley, the bay was overlooked in the build-up to the contest as it was presumed to be a clash between Economics and Calandagan.

The latter horse was making progress on the inside up the straight, but picking his way through the field behind him was Anmaat.

Crowley was forced to wait for a gap to launch his challenge, but when the space came, Anmaat showed a fine turn of pace to seize the opportunity.

He then swept past 6-4 favourite Calandagan in the dying strides to win by half a length, with 25-1 shot Royal Rhyme back in third.

Anmaat (right) challenged wide at Ascot
Anmaat (right) challenged wide at Ascot (Nigel French/PA)

Anmaat previously tasted Group One glory in last year’s Prix d’Ispahan at ParisLongchamp but subsequently suffered an injury that kept him on the sidelines for 439 days.

The six-year-old was restored to full health by the Shadwell team and Burrows, prevailing in a Haydock Group Three on his return before disappointing in the Prix Dollar back in Paris earlier this month.

Burrows said: “We’ve always thought a lot of this horse and I know it’s easy for me to say it now, but I quite fancied him for the Eclipse last year after he won in France.

“Of course, he picked up that complex foot injury which kept him off for the rest of last season and the first part of this.

“He disappointed in France two weeks ago but I felt it was a muddling race, Jim said he could have ridden him a bit better so as long as he was OK, which he was, Sheikha Hissa (of Shadwell) very kindly said we could roll the dice again and she’s been vindicated.”

Ascot has been a happy hunting ground for Burrows, with the Shadwell-owned Hukum winning last year’s King George, and the trainer felt the market had underestimated his contender.

He said: “That was a massive performance, I felt. It’s up there with Hukum winning the King George as my best ever day – Ascot’s quite a lucky place for me!

“There were a few people who rang me this morning who couldn’t believe what sort of price he was – it was the first time he’d ever been out of the first three and I felt he had excuses.

“I’m not a betting man, but I thought 33-1 was a solid each-way price.

“He was locked away and I’ll be honest halfway up the straight I put my binoculars down, I thought he had no chance.

Winning connections at Ascot
Winning connections at Ascot (Nigel French/PA)

“Then it looked like he’d got a bit of room and he’d be placed but to pick up like he did in the ground. Like Jim said, all the time he was locked away he was actually filling him up because he couldn’t do anything so it sometimes works in your favour.

“Of course you still need the luck then to get the gap and it worked out well.”

Burrows is unsure what the plan will be with Anmaat now, given he only started his season in August.

He added: “He’s taken some big scalps today, it’s that time of year I suppose and we are a fresh horse, it’s only his third run.

“It’s massive to have winners on a day like today. Whether he goes abroad or not, we’ll have to see.”

Los Angeles looking to shrug off Arc exertions at Ascot

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Los Angeles will bid to give his successful season a Hollywood ending when he lines up in the Qipco Champion Stakes at Ascot on Saturday.

Aidan O’Brien’s son of Camelot made a winning return at Leopardstown in May, before finding only stablemate City Of Troy and James Fanshawe’s Ambiente Friendly too good in the Derby at Epsom.

With no City Of Troy standing in his way on his next start, he turned the tables on Ambiente Friendly to scoop Classic honours in the Irish Derby and then added to his tally when bravely landing the Great Voltigeur at York.

His winning run was snapped when only a length and a quarter behind the reopposing Economics in the Irish Champion Stakes and since Leopardstown, Los Angeles attempted to make all in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, putting up a bold show in third.

He now returns to the track less than two weeks later to face off against the might of William Haggas’ Economics and French raider Calandagan, seeking a fourth victory of the season.

“He ran a good race in the Arc, we were happy with him. Ideally, we’d have preferred not to have to make the running with him, but that’s the way it fell,” explained O’Brien.

“It probably wasn’t ideal for him but he ran well and he seems to have come out of it well. He ran well against Economics at Leopardstown but we know he is a very good horse, obviously.”

Aidan O’Brien has only once won the Champion Stakes
Aidan O’Brien has only once won the Champion Stakes (Damien Eagers/PA)

Remarkably, O’Brien has only won the Qipco British Champions Day feature once, with Magical in 2019, and Los Angeles will be joined in the race by Continuous, another to take part in the Arc at ParisLongchamp earlier this month.

O’Brien continued: “Continuous ran in the Arc too, but it was a bit of a non-event, as he ran into the horse that was injured coming down the hill.

“Christophe (Soumillon) said we could put a line through it, and he rides again. He’s had an easy season and his action suggests he’ll handle the ground, even though he handles fast ground as well.”

Prior to running in the Arc, Continuous finished the best part of three lengths adrift of Iresine in the Prix Foy, with Jean-Pierre Gauvin’s seven-year-old a part of the powerful French raiding party.

Marie Velon (centre) rode at Ascot in the Shergar Cup earlier in the year
Marie Velon (centre) rode at Ascot in the Shergar Cup earlier in the year (Steve Paston/PA)

Iresine will be partnered by regular pilot Marie Velon, who returns to Ascot after being part of the winning team in the Shergar Cup in August.

She said: “I’m very excited to be returning to Ascot. My first experience of it was amazing. I didn’t win, but my team did!

“To ride in the Champion Stakes on Iresine is a dream, as he is the best horse of my life. We grew up together, so to run in this big race is unbelievable, for both me and the team. Calandagan and Economics are the best horses of the season, but I will count on Iresine’s experience to beat them.

“It’s a beautiful challenge and we will do our best. He is in great form, better than last time. He will be 100 per cent for Saturday and the ground will be perfect for him.”

Anmaat rarely puts in a poor performance
Anmaat rarely puts in a poor performance (Nigel French/PA)

Another horse returning to the track swiftly following an appearance on Arc weekend is Owen Burrows’ Anmaat, who misfired in the Prix Dollar but is given the chance to quickly bounce back to his best.

“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,” explained his jockey Jim Crowley.

“He has to take a big step up on even his best form, but he’s a Group One winner and he likes cut in the ground.”

Oisin Murphy will be crowned champion jockey for the fourth time prior to racing and he has picked up the ride on Harry Charlton’s King’s Gambit, who has been knocking on the door at group level since winning the London Gold Cup in May.

Charlton said: “His form has been solid all year – second to Jayarebe in the Hampton Court at Royal Ascot and third to Arc third Los Angeles at York – and coming back to 10 furlongs after York will suit. He fully deserves his chance and I don’t think he will be far away.”

John and Thady Gosden’s Nashwa returns to 10 furlongs having blown away the cobwebs in the Sun Chariot Stakes, while one sure to appreciate underfoot conditions is Karl Burke’s Royal Rhyme.

The four-year-old thrives when the mud flies and has some smart form figures to his name.

Royal Rhyme winning at Sandown
Royal Rhyme winning at Sandown (John Walton/PA)

“He is in great form and I am praying the ground is soft or even heavier,” said Burke.

“On faster ground, he was only three 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.”

Royal Rhyme’s jockey Clifford Lee agrees and added: “He will love the ground and has been running on the wrong ground all year. He has good form on soft ground and will really enjoy it.”

Dettori signs off with Champion Stakes glory aboard King Of Steel

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King Of Steel provided Frankie Dettori with the perfect send-off as they combined for a fairytale success in the Qipco Champion Stakes at Ascot.

Roger Varian’s Derby runner-up was the Italian’s final mount on British soil before jetting off for his new venture in California and they proved a match made in heaven in the British Champions Day feature.

Dettori’s historic achievements at Ascot need no introduction, but it is also the scene of some of King Of Steel’s finest performances this term, including a victory in the King Edward VII Stakes at Royal Ascot.

Placed towards the rear of the field as a lit-up My Prospero took the field along, Dettori had to be at his very best as he steered the son of Wootton Bassett from last to first.

The duo still had plenty of ground to make up as the final furlong loomed, but the stamina reserves of the 3-1 favourite kicked into top gear when it mattered most, to ensure the Dettori swansong got its ultimate conclusion and the crowds burst into raptures chanting the Italian’s name.

Owned by Amo Racing, King Of Steel came home three-quarters of a length clear of George Boughey’s filly Via Sistina, with French raider Horizon Dore back in third.

Frankie Dettori soaks up the applause
Frankie Dettori soaks up the applause (John Walton/PA)

Dettori said: “It’s emotional really, I don’t know what to say. I cannot believe it, the crowd have been sublime. I was doing my best on top and the scream that I got was just incredible, thanks to all of you.

“To win this race is fantastic. It was all in the script! It’s unbelievable. I know don’t know to feel, I don’t know if it’s real. It’s incredible.

“I struggled from the beginning, I couldn’t get him to travel and he was stumbling. Then I decided to get behind Mickael (Barzalona, on Horizon Dore) as I thought he was on the horse to beat, but then I though Oisin was looking good.

“He just found a second wind and he dug deep and the crowd were behind me. The last 100 yards I thought I was going to get there, not before then!

“What a feeling, the crowd! For the first race I thought the crowd were good but they took it to another level, it was honestly incredible.

“It’s a fairytale ending to me, Ascot is my home. I’m pretty emotional to be honest, but happy tears!”

Frankie Dettori celebrates
Frankie Dettori celebrates (John Walton/PA)

Always calm and considered whatever the occasion, Varian conceded the ground was a concern.

“He’s a good horse isn’t he, a tough horse, but he’s run great all year,” said Varian.

“I was (worried about the ground), you have to be, it’s hard work and it’s tough. He’s done well to come from the back, very tough. It was a good performance, and a good ride and a good effort from the team. I haven’t really had a debrief, I’ve had plenty of hugs, but I think I’ll have to watch it again.

“He’s a very agile horse and I don’t think his size has stopped him. The ground is hard for all of them, but he has a big engine, big set of lungs and he’s got through the line – a big heart and a big effort.

“It was a tough watch and I spent most of it thinking, ‘they haven’t been making up ground all day, he could struggle from there’. He came off the bridle turning from home and I thought, ‘don’t drop out, don’t drop out’, and then I thought from the two pole, ‘actually he’s staying on’, and inside the final furlong he did look like he was going to get there.”

He added: “What a story and what a moment to be involved in for us and for everyone. What a great moment for racing.”

Jockey Frankie Dettori and winning owner Kia Joorabchian celebrate King Of Steel's Ascot triumph
Jockey Frankie Dettori and winning owner Kia Joorabchian celebrate King Of Steel’s Ascot triumph (John Walton/PA)

Amo Racing supremo Kia Joorabchian was quick to pay tribute to Dettori after guiding his string’s star performer to a deserved first Group One triumph.

He said: “I’m sorry, I’m so emotional. Frankie the king of Ascot, King Of Steel, he deserved that. What a ride, what a ride. Why is he retiring? What a ride. What an emotional moment, my family is here.

“I’m so happy for Frankie, he deserved this more than anything in the world. To finish like that, I mean, he called me and said, ‘can I ride King Of Steel’, and I said, ‘what can I say to that, of course you can’.

“It’s wonderful, what an incredible atmosphere and this is all for Frankie and he deserves it. What a career he has had and what an incredible performance.

“This guy (King Of Steel) deserves it too, he’s come second in the Derby and we’ve put him in some really tough tests and he’s come through and I’m so happy for the both of them. What an amazing training performance by Roger Varian and Alex Elliott who first bought the horse.”