Tag: Champion stakes

Addeybb On Course To Bid For Repeat In QIPCO Champion Stakes

Last year's winner Addeybb is firmly on course for a bid to become the second dual winner of the QIPCO Champion Stakes since it was moved to Ascot in 2011 as the centerpiece of QIPCO British Champions Day. The Champion Stakes is a “Win and You're In” for the Breeders' Cup Turf at Del Mar on Nov. 6.

Addeybb is set to face stellar opposition, with Cazoo Derby and King George VI & Queen Elizabeth QIPCO Stakes winner Adayar still a possible runner, alongside Juddmonte International winner Mishriff and the winners of many more of the world's top middle-distance races.

William Haggas, who also plans to run the talented but frustrating Al Aasy and the supplemented three-year-old Dubai Honour, reports the popular 7-year-old “in as good shape as we could possibly have him”. If successful he would become the Champion Stakes' oldest winner since 1887, when Bendigo won a Newmarket running of the race at the same age.

Addeybb, who was also second to Magical two years ago, is among 14 possibles for the race, 10 of whom are already winners at Group 1 level.

Haggas said: “We are very pleased with Addeybb's condition. We'd like rain for him, and the more the better, but it doesn't look as if we are going to get it. I'd be surprised if it was quick ground though, as it was so wet there at the last meeting, and he'll run.

“I'd have loved him to have had a run, as it's a top, top race, but he goes well fresh and he can win off a lay-off. His last two weeks have been really good.”

He added: “Dubai Honour is a nice young horse who has won two Group 2s. He's doing very well physically and he's a pretty useful horse. This will be a big rise in class for him but we've got nothing to lose. I'm running Al Aasy too, and he's not without hope, dropping back in trip. Everyone questions him bar me, but he's a very, very talented horse.''

Mishriff was down the field 12 months ago but has had a massive year, taking his earnings past the £11m mark with wins in the Saudi Cup, the Dubai Sheema Classic and the Juddmonte International as well as places behind St Mark's Basilica in the Coral-Eclipse and Adayar in the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth QIPCO Stakes.

John Gosden, who is now in partnership with son Thady and is looking to add to his two runaway wins with Cracksman, has freshened Mishriff up since his stunning six-length defeat of Alenquer and Love in the Juddmonte International at York and is pleased to see the ground drying up.

Gosden said: “We've been happy with Mishriff since York and we are looking forward to running him again. It's always one race at a time, but we wanted to space his races in case we go on to run later in the year, possibly at the Breeders' Cup.

“It looks like being a good race and we should get better ground than last year, when he really didn't like it. He can handle soft, but last year it became specialists' ground. Full marks to all of the winners that day, but it's hard to quicken on that stuff.”

A decision upon the participation of Adayar is unlikely to be made until later in the week, but the Charlie Appleby-trained Qatar Prix De L'Arc De Triomphe fourth would be a fascinating contender for Godolphin, who were last successful with Farhh in 2013. Only Sir Ivor (1968) and New Approach (2008) have won both the Derby and the Champion Stakes in more than 50 years.

Aidan O'Brien, who won with Magical two years ago, can choose between two outstanding fillies in Love and Snowfall, both of whom are dual Classic winners, but they have also been confirmed for the QIPCO British Champions Fillies & Mares Stakes. O'Brien has also confirmed his Belmont Derby Invitational Stakes winner Bolshoi Ballet.

Other possibles include the Irish 2000 Guineas winner Mac Swiney and the high-class French three-year-old Sealiway, who was one place behind Adayar in the Arc, having won a Group 1 on the same weekend 12 months previously, plus Qatar Nassau Stakes winner Lady Bowthorpe, who has also been confirmed for the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes (sponsored by QIPCO).

Full Entries

  • Addeybb (IRE)
  • Al Aasy (IRE)
  • Euchen Glen (GB)
  • Helvic Dream (IRE)
  • Mishriff (IRE)
  • Lady Bowthorpe (GB)
  • Love (IRE)
  • Adayar (IRE)
  • Bolshoi Ballet (IRE)
  • Dubai Honour (IRE)
  • Foxes Tales (IRE)
  • Mac Swiney (IRE)
  • Sealiway (FR)
  • Snowfall (JPN)

The post Addeybb On Course To Bid For Repeat In QIPCO Champion Stakes appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Prize Money For British Champions Day Boosted By 60 Percent

Prize money for this year's QIPCO British Champions Day will be £4 million (US$4.88 million), cementing its position as the richest raceday in the British calendar. The QIPCO Champion Stakes is set to be the richest race in the UK this year with £1.2 million (US$1.47 milion) in prize money. The Queen Elizabeth II Stakes (sponsored by QIPCO) will also run for in excess of £1 million (US$1.22 million). The three remaining pattern races on the card each will offer a prize fund of £500,000 (US$610,000). In all, prize money across the card will increase by 60 percent on 2020 levels, which were impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Champion Trainer John Gosden said: “We are very grateful to QIPCO and British Champions Series for putting up such a valuable raceday. It is so important for British racing that there is internationally competitive prize money on offer for owners who are the bedrock of our sport. Champions Day has quickly become one of the most important racedays in the global racing calendar and with such generous prize money, I am sure that it will continue to thrive.”

Sheikh Fahad bin Abdullah Al-Thani, director of QIPCO Holding said: “We are proud to sponsor QIPCO British Champions Day, the most valuable day in the British racing calendar and are pleased that this year's raceday, which marks the tenth anniversary of our sponsorship, will be run for £4 million. The day has established itself at the pinnacle of the global racing calendar and it is only fitting that the prize money reflect that.”

Richard Hannon, who won the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes (sponsored by QIPCO) with King of Change in 2019 said, “You always want to have runners on QIPCO British Champions Day and it'll be even more important this year with such fantastic prize money on offer. All credit to QIPCO and the team for making it happen – it's a real boost for everyone in the game.”

This year's QIPCO British Champions Day takes place on Saturday Oct. 16 at Ascot Racecourse, and marks the 10th Anniversary of QIPCO's sponsorship of the event and the wider QIPCO British Champions Series.

QIPCO British Champions Day Prize Money 2020 vs 2021

2020 2021 % difference
QIPCO British Champions Long Distance Cup (Group 2) £300,000 £500,000 +67%
QIPCO British Champions Sprint (Group 1) £350,000 £500,000 +43%
QIPCO British Champions Fillies & Mares (Group 1) £350,000 £500,000 +43%
Queen Elizabeth II Stakes (sponsored by QIPCO) (Group 1) £650,000 £1,100,000 +69%
QIPCO Champion Stakes (Group 1) £750,000 £1,200,000 +60%
Balmoral Handicap (sponsored by QIPCO) £100,000 £200,000 +100%

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York On Top Of The World

York's G1 Juddmonte International S. didn't just provide the world's best 130-rated performance of 2020 for Ghaiyyath (Ire) but, with its stellar back-up cast of seven-time Group 1 winner Magical (Ire), the G1 St James's Palace S. winner Lord North (Ire) and 2000 Guineas hero Kameko, the race was also judged to be the Longines World's Best Horse Race last year on ratings.

Along with announcing the World's Best Racehorse Rankings on Tuesday, Longines and the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities (IFHA) also published the list of top 100 Group 1 and Grade 1 races of the year. It is the first time that the Juddmonte International has achieved this accolade and its rating of 125.25 was derived from the average rating of the first four finishers in the race.

William Derby, chief executive and clerk of the course at York Racecourse, said, “This is a huge honour and a thrill. It's what we're all about at York Racecourse in terms of trying to attract the very best horses and jockeys to race on the Knavesmire. We're thrilled to be named number one against all the wonderful races around the global sport of horseracing.”

He continued, “We're incredibly grateful to Longines and the IFHA for compiling these ratings, ranking every [Group/Grade 1] race around the world based on the first four horses home. To come top of that pile is a huge honour. We're delighted and grateful for their support, and that of the connections of every horse, and Juddmonte Farms, without whom we wouldn't be able to stage such a magnificent race for everyone to enjoy.”

The QIPCO Irish Champion S. at Leopardstown, in which Magical turned the tables on Ghaiyyath, was the second highest-rated race in the world last year on 124.75, with Armory (Ire) and subsequent Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe winner Sottsass (Fr) completing the first four.

With Japan's darling of the racecourse, Almond Eye (Jpn) set to make her swansong, the Japan Cup of 2020 was always going to be special, not least because the field also featured the two best 3-year-olds in the country, Triple Crown winner Contrail (Jpn) and Triple Tiara winner Daring Tact (Jpn) (Epiphaneia {Jpn}). The star trio crossed the line in that order in Tokyo, with Curren Bouquetd'or (Jpn) (Dee Impact {Jpn}) in fourth to make the Japan Cup the third top race of the year on 124.50.

Japan had two races in the top five, the other being the Tenno Sho, which was joint-fourth with the Breeders' Cup Turf at Keeneland on 123.75. Also making the top ten were the Coral-Eclipse at Sandown, Tokyo's Yasuda Kinen, the Prix Jacques le Marois at Deauville, the QIPCO Champion S. at Ascot, and the Arima Kinen, run at Nakayama.

Churchill Downs staged both the highest-rated race in the world for fillies only, the Kentucky Oaks (119.25), won by Shedaresthedevil (Daredevil), and the highest-rated race reserved for 3-year-olds, the Kentucky Derby (121.25), won by subsequent Breeders' Cup Classic hero Authentic.

Among the 11 countries in the list of top Group/Grade 1 races run at 40 different racecourses, Australia, with 25, was the world leader, followed by Britain (18), Japan (14), America (13), France (9), Hong Kong (9), South Africa (6), Ireland (4), Germany (3), Argentina (1), and New Zealand (1). The 2020 list of top races stretches to 103 contests owing to a six-way tie for the 98th spot.

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An Irish Throne For King Of Change

King Of Change (GB), a Group 1 winner and Classic-placed son of Farhh (GB), will stand his first season at Derrinstown Stud in 2021 for €7,000. He was a model of consistency throughout his career and Stephen Collins, general manager of Derrinstown, tells TDN‘s Alayna Cullen more about him.

AC: Stephen, King Of Change is an exciting addition to the Derrinstown Stud roster. How is it that he came to stand at Derrinstown?

SC: We were approached by Ali Abdullah Saeed, King Of Change’s owner, and he asked would it be possible to send the horse to Derrinstown. Of course, Sheikh Hamdan was delighted to oblige and the team here at Derrinstown were extremely happy to do so too. He is a lovely looking horse. He’s got a tremendously athletic walk and a very attractive head. I think he is a horse who is very well priced in the market and he’s a horse that could go places and do the breeders a very good turn.

AC: How is he finding life at Derrinstown?

SC: Very well, he’s a very nice horse to work with and he has taken to his surroundings very well. He enjoys being out in the paddock and obviously now it is onwards and upwards for the breeding season.

AC: He was highly competitive throughout his racing career. What were some of his best performances?

SC: He was an outstanding racehorse. He ran six times and was either first or second in all his starts. As a 2-year-old he ran in two maidens and finished second, both very good runs. He reappeared as a 3-year-old and won his maiden, a novice, at Nottingham. From there he went straight to the English 2000 Guineas. This was a huge step up in class for King Of Change to go from a novice to a Group 1. He ran a fantastic race, finishing second to Magna Grecia (Ire). He had a very hard race and Richard Hannon Jr decided to give him a break and bring him back for an autumn campaign. He reappeared in the Listed Fortune S. at Sandown, over a mile in September and then ran in the Queen Elizabeth II S. on Champions Day at Ascot. He beat a magnificent field of eight individual Group 1 winners by 3 1/2 lengths. It was an absolutely top-class performance and it marks him as one of the best of his generation.

AC: His sire line hasn’t really been prevalent in Ireland before. Can you tell us more about it?

SC: Farhh was an exceptionally good racehorse himself. He was a dual Group 1 winner which included winning the Champion S. As a stallion, and from limited crops in England, he has had 15% stakes winners to runners. That, by any merit, is an absolutely outstanding statistic.

His yearling sell very well too, and I think the commercial breeder in Ireland will hugely support King of Change. He is one of very few by the stallion in Ireland so I imagine he will be popular.

AC: There is also good depth to his family. What are the highlights of his pedigree?

SC: His half-brother Century Dream (Ire) (Cape Cross {Ire}), was a Group 2 winner and Group 1 placed. But if you look at the pedigree page as a whole it is a very good and sturdy black-type family. I think it is also the sort of family that is versatile, too.

AC: Do you have any indication as to the level of support King Of Change may receive?

SC: I expect breeders in Ireland will really like him. He is attractively priced and he is a first-season sire. He was also a top miler and was Timeform rated 126 be the end of his career so I think he will get very good support. I know Derrinstown Stud will be sending him some mares and Rabbah will be sending some too along with support from the Maktoum family. I think he will be busy next year.

AC: Describe the excitement and anticipation when a new stallion joins the ranks.

SC: I think every stallion farm always tries to get a new recruit every year as it freshens up the stallion portfolio. We have had Tamayuz (GB) quite a while and Awtaad (Ire) and Markaz (Ire) had their first runners this year so it is nice to get some new blood in. It also gets breeders back into the farm so they can see the new horse and then they renew their acquaintances with other stallions at the same time. Also, each time we get a new stallion, there are young people coming to the stud who may never have been before and I think that is very important for our industry’s future. We need young breeders as well as our established farms.

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