Tag: QIPCO British Champions Day

Record Prize Money of £17M at Ascot in 2023

Ascot Racecourse announced total prize money will be a record £17 million across 25 racedays in 2023, an increase of £1.33 million (8.5%) from 2022. The overall figure excludes the industry-owned QIPCO British Champions Day. Prize money for Royal Ascot 2023 will also be a record £9.52 million, up from £8.65 million (10%).

All Group 1 races will be run for a minimum of £600,000 for the first time with increases to the King's Stand S., St James's Palace S., Gold Cup, Coronation S. and Commonwealth Cup (all £500,000 in 2022), while the Queen Anne S. will be worth £750,000 (£600,000 in 2022).

The Group 2 King Edward VII S. will be increased to £250,000 (£225,000 in 2022) while two Group 2 races for fillies and mares–the Duke of Cambridge S. and Ribblesdale S.–are raised to £225,000 (from £175,000 and £200,000). Both the Group 3 Hampton Court S. and Jersey S. also receive increases to £150,000 (from £100,000 and £110,000).

As in 2022, no race at Royal Ascot will be run for less than £100,000.

Outside Royal Ascot, the Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup meeting will be worth £640,000, a 15% increase, with all eight races run for £80,000 in addition to £25,000 in stable prizes. The same stable prize bonus will also be in place on QIPCO King George Diamond Day.

Nick Smith, Director of Racing and Public Affairs at Ascot Racecourse, said: “Against a backdrop of reduced central funding, an increase of more than £1.1 million or almost 14% in Executive Contribution has been required to get to this figure. That represents a significant investment and whilst many of the headline increases are at Royal Ascot, there are also boosts to Class 2 and Class 3 Handicaps on the Flat driven by the welcome increase to Minimum Values in this area. We have focused again on raising the profile of the Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup which attracts international jockey talent from around the world and are delighted that each of the eight races will be worth £80,000.”

For more information, visit www.ascot.co.uk

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Buick Crowned Champion Jockey, As Godolphin And De La Sayette Also Receive Season-Ending Honours

Jockey William Buick, Godolphin and apprentice jockey Benoit de la Sayette were crowned Champion Jockey, Champion Owner and Champion Apprentice Jockey, respectively on QIPCO British Champions Day at Ascot on Saturday. Former champion jockey Willie Carson, who along with the late Sir Henry Cecil was inducted into the QIPCO British Champions Series Hall Of Fame, presented both jockey trophies.

Buick, a three-time runner-up (2015, '21 and '21), secured 157 winners, 67 clear of Hollie Doyle and Tom Marquand, his nearest pursuers for the title. A former champion apprentice, a title he shared with David Probert in 2008, the 34-year-old has been the retained rider for Godolphin since 2015.

Buick said, “18-year-old me would say what's taken you so long. It is great and personally it's something I've really wanted to achieve for quite a long time and obviously it's taken me a few years, but it's fantastic.

“My father was an eight-time Champion Jockey in Scandinavia so it's great to be able to achieve it and I feel I've achieved it in the way that I would like to do it–to balance it with the big races, the big meetings, my main employer Godolphin, making sure that's at the forefront of my focus.

“It's very satisfying and, when every jockey starts out, that's what you want to achieve–you want to win the Derby and you want to become Champion Jockey.”

He added, “You can never expect it to go as it has. You can only hope and work towards it, but you can never expect it, so it's great and there's a lot of people involved in it all.

“It's hard work, it's every day and every race and everything that comes with it, but I've loved every minute of it. When it's going well and you're riding winners, riding nice horses, you're at the big meetings, when it goes like that it's great, there is no

This was Godolphin's 15th owner title, and their runners banked over £6 million. Some of the highlights were the late Coroebus (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) and Native Trail (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}) running one-two in the G1 QIPCO 2000 Guineas, with the latter also taking the Irish equivalent later that spring. Also, the leading owner at Royal Ascot, the royal blue was carried to victory in five races at that iconic meeting, among them Coroebus's score in the G1 St James's Palace S. and Naval Crown (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) landing the G1 Platinum Jubilee S. The operation also enjoyed success with its juveniles, led by G2 Gimcrack S. hero Noble Style (GB) (Kingman {GB}) and other group wins by Silver Knott (GB) (Lope De Vega {Ire}) and Flying Honours (GB) (Sea The Stars {Ire}).

Hugh Anderson, Managing Director of Godolphin (UK and Dubai), said, “Godolphin is immensely proud to receive the Champion Owner trophy at Ascot on such a prestigious day for our sport.

“It has been another season of great excitement with numerous wins at the highest level and I must pay tribute in particular to Charlie Appleby and the team at Moulton Paddocks who have led the charge. Saeed bin Suroor and John and Thady Gosden have also made a big contribution to a season that has showcased our homebreds and our stallions.

“Thank you to every single Godolphin employee, all of whom have played their part. Our greatest thanks must of course go to our principal, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed, for his endless loyalty, enthusiasm and passion for the Thoroughbred.

“Finally, it is a particular thrill to collect this trophy alongside William Buick. He is at the very sharp end of Team Godolphin and all of us congratulate him on his outstanding horsemanship, determination, bravery and skill. He is a Champion Jockey for a Champion Owner, and we could not be more delighted to end the UK season on such a high note.”

Receiving the Champion Apprentice title was Benoit de la Sayette, who fought off a determined Harry Davies in the closing weeks of the Flat season. The first apprentice jockey to be added to John Gosden's books for 29 years in 2020, he rode his first winner that December. Formerly a pony racing graduate, he was banned for six months after testing positive for cocaine, but his career rebounded in 2022.

De La Sayette said, “I am thrilled to win the Champion Apprentice title. It has felt like such an amazing season, and I've really enjoyed the battle with Harry [Davies]. I wish him all the very best for the future and hope we're riding against each other for many years to come.

“There have been plenty of highlights, starting with Vafortino (Ire) (New Bay {GB}) winning the Victoria Cup at Ascot in May. I was also lucky enough to ride a winner at the July Festival [Adjuvant (Ire) (New Bay {GB})] and have victories at Glorious Goodwood. At the start of this month, I rode my first-ever three-timer and that was another day I'll never forget.

“None of those moments–or the other winners I've had– would've been possible without the fantastic support I've received from so many owners and trainers throughout the year. I'm especially grateful to John and Thady Gosden, as well as the whole Clarehaven team. I have learnt so much from the amazing team there.

“The input and advice from my agent Paul Clarke has been so valuable as well. He has worked tirelessly to get me opportunities. I'd also like to thank the PJA [Professional Jockeys' Association] for all their ongoing support.

“Last but not least is my family. I want to say a big thank-you to all of them, especially my mum and dad for everything they do…this one's for them.”

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Sea The Stars’s Emily Upjohn Dominates The Fillies & Mares

Nursed back from a deflating heavy defeat in the King George by John and Thady Gosden, TDN Rising Star Emily Upjohn (GB) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) returned to Ascot's same mile and a half with a flourish to capture Saturday's G1 QIPCO British Champions Fillies & Mares S. and complete a Frankie Dettori double on QIPCO British Champions Day.

Keen initially as she had been last time, the newly-hooded bay was restrained to race halfway down the field trapped wide throughout the early stages. Travelling strongly on the turn into the straight, the 3-1 favourite, who was sporting the Lloyd Webber silks, took command passing two out and was soon clear and in control.

At the line, she had three lengths to spare over the 50-1 shot Thunder Kiss (Ire) (Night Of Thunder {Ire}), with the 80-1 shot Insinuendo (Ire) (Gleneagles {Ire}) a further half-length away in third as the Irish contingent performed with credit.

“It would have been heartbreaking not winning a Group 1 with this filly,” Dettori said. “Nothing went right at Epsom and she ran no race in the King George for whatever reason, but the team have done a great job with her and she had given me the 'wow factor' again in her last pieces of work.”

Prior to her no-show in this track's midsummer showcase, Emily Upjohn had looked one of the better middle-distance fillies of recent times with comparisons to her stable's Taghrooda (GB) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) and Enable (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}) not out of place. Her slim defeat by Tuesday (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) in the Oaks came after she had blown the start, having powered to ante-post favouritism in York's G3 Musidora S. at the May Dante meeting and this was her rolling back the clock to that moment.

Pulling too hard in the King George, she looked to be potentially over-racing again in the first two furlongs but those fears were ultimately put to bed as she tanked around the final bend with most of her rivals at work.

“We were all very nervous, but we knew she had it in her,” Lady Lloyd Webber said. “Frankie rode a peach of a race, we're very lucky to have him.”

John Gosden added, “I will never work out the King George as long as I live. The whole team have done a great job to get her confidence back, that's the thing as when you run a race like that and finish a distance last you're going to be a little shaken mentally. She is a big girl and hasn't fully strengthened in her frame. She is still quite light and I thought 'will she handle the ground?', but she's handled it well. Mind you, she was so wide she was probably on fresh ground. She stays in training and the aims next year will be the King George and the Arc.”

Shane Lyons said of Thunder Kiss, “She has been retired now, so her last run was her best run. The conditions suited her–ease in the ground, a mile and a half and a good pace. I thought she'd be in the mix somewhere, because these type of races suit her. The better the race, the better she runs. Maybe we should have run her in more Group 1 races, but anyway she has been a star for us, very consistent.”

Insinuendo's rider Gary Carroll said, “I had a lovely position–I had Frankie on my outside and he stole first run on me and his filly was the better on the day, but my filly ran her heart out. We are delighted.”

 

Pedigree Notes

Emily Upjohn, who was snapped up by Blandford Bloodstock for a remarkable 60,000gns at the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale Book 2, is a granddaughter of The Aga Khan's Hazaradjat (Ire) (Darshaan (GB) who boasts an abundance of top-class descendants. Her progeny list is headed by Hazarista (Ire), a full-sister to Emily Upjohn's listed-placed dam Hidden Brief (GB) (Barathea {Ire}) who captured the G3 Blue Wind S. and was third in the G1 Irish Oaks and G1 Yorkshire Oaks. Her G3 Athasi S.-winning half-sister Hazariya (Ire) (Xaar {GB}) was the other black-type scorer out of Hazaradjat and she provided her owner-breeder with the Derby and Irish Derby hero Harzand (Ire) by Emily Upjohn's sire Sea The Stars, as well as three other notables including including the G1 Moyglare Stud S. third Harasiya (Ire) (Pivotal {GB}) and the Listed Finale S. winner Hazarafa (Ire) (Daylami {Ire}) who in turn produced the G3 Derrinstown Stud Derby Trial and G3 Amethyst S. scorer Hazapour (Ire) (Shamardal).

Emily Upjohn becomes the second QIPCO British Champions Day winner for the family after the G1 Fillies & Mares S. heroine Seal of Approval (GB) (Authorized {Ire}), a half to the dam of last year's G1 Irish Derby, G1 St Leger S. and G1 Grand Prix de Paris hero Hurricane Lane (Ire) (Frankel {GB}). Also related to the group scorers Hunaina (Ire) (Tamayuz {GB}), Swashbuckling (Ire) (Raven's Pass), Vadream (GB) (Brazen Beau {Aus}) and Hamariyna (Ire) by Sea The Stars's son Sea The Moon (Ger), Hidden Brief's yearling daughter of Cappella Sansevero (GB) is named Hidden Jewel (Ire).

 

Saturday, Ascot, Britain
QIPCO BRITISH CHAMPIONS FILLIES & MARES S.-G1, £500,000, Ascot, 10-15, 3yo/up, f/m, 11f 211yT, 2:33.76, g/s.
1–EMILY UPJOHN (GB), 127, f, 3, by Sea The Stars (Ire)
                1st Dam: Hidden Brief (GB) (SP-Fr), by Barathea (Ire)
                2nd Dam: Hazaradjat (Ire), by Darshaan (GB)
                3rd Dam: Hazy Idea, by Hethersett (GB)
   1ST GROUP 1 WIN. 'TDN Rising Star'. (60,000gns Ylg '20
TATOCT). O-Lloyd Webber, Tactful Finance, S Roden;
B-Lordship Stud & Sunderland Holding Inc (GB); T-John &
Thady Gosden; J-Frankie Dettori. £283,550. Lifetime Record:
6-4-1-0, $586,117. Werk Nick Rating: A. Click for the
   eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree, or click for the
   free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Thunder Kiss (Ire), 133, m, 5, Night Of Thunder (Ire)–Desert
Snow (GB) (MSP-Eng), by Teofilo (Ire). O-Newtown Anner Stud
Farm; B-Newtown Anner Stud (IRE); T-Ger Lyons. £107,500.
3–Insinuendo (Ire), 133, m, 5, Gleneagles (Ire)–Obama Rule
(Ire) (GSW-Ire), by Danehill Dancer (Ire). 1ST GROUP 1 BLACK
   TYPE. (€110,000 Ylg '18 GOFOR). O-Deegan Racing Syndicate;
B-Mount Armstrong Stud. (IRE); T-Willie McCreery. £53,800.
Margins: 3, HF, HF. Odds: 3.00, 50.00, 80.00.
Also Ran: Eshaada (GB), Rosscarbery (Ger), Emily Dickinson (Ire), Lilac Road (Ire), Albaflora (GB), Verry Elleegant (NZ), Sea La Rosa (Ire), Sweet Lady (Fr), Mimikyu (GB), Eternal Pearl (GB), Stay Alert (GB). VIDEO.

 

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Look To The Stars on Champions Day

Just 11 years old in its reconstructed state, Ascot's QIPCO British Champions Day is not yet the supermassive black hole it longs to be, but its gravitational waves are enough to draw in a sufficient quantity of racing's brightest year upon year to justify its title. Saturday's binary stars are the turf overlord Baaeed (GB) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) and the miling dame Inspiral (GB) (Frankel {GB}), whose orbits have been steadily coming closer into view over the past weeks. In the case of the former, this final act of his stellar career in the feature contest serves as a benediction while the filly is here to serve notice of what is to follow in 2023.

Baaeed's work over the past 16 months has led him to this point of valediction and enhanced rank that only very few enjoy. That it comes a rounded 10 years after Frankel's parting moment lends it an even greater solemnity and few will accept anything other than a last stately flourish from Shadwell's prodigy. The product of four decades of nurture by the late Sheikh Hamdan's celebrated organisation beginning with that seminal acquisition of The Queen's Height Of Fashion (Fr), William Haggas's model pupil returns to Berkshire and the human hubbub that such a day generates armed with his usual supreme proficiency.

“Staying unbeaten is terribly important now that we are nearly there,” Haggas said. “Everything so far this year has gone exactly as we wanted it to go when we sat down in March to decide our programme. It's been half a miracle to get to this situation in the position we are in. It's up to him now.”

What Of Adayar?

There are a clutch of colts in opposition to Baaeed that have at times shown a sufficient level of dexterity in this type of company to command respect despite his overarching presence. After what Bay Bridge (GB) (New Bay {GB}) did at Sandown in the G3 Brigadier Gerard S. back in May, it is scarcely believable that he has dwindled to the role of bit-player here while even the likes of the big horse's stablemate My Prospero (Ire) (Iffraaj {GB}), who hinted at his latent ability in the summer, is generally disregarded as a genuine threat.

Despite the obvious merits of this select crew, most view the greatest stumbling block to the inevitable coming from Frankel's Adayar (Ire), a towering colossus last midsummer who was dragged into the mire in Paris and here during the autumn. Rebuilt and renewed during a painstaking spell spanning months at Moulton Paddocks, it seems strange to say that he represents a still-unknown quantity, but the fact is that nobody can confidently predict what his limitations are heading to this moment of truth.

“He's had harder home gallops than the race at Doncaster, so theoretically we are going into this weekend as our first start of the year against proper competition,” Charlie Appleby said of Adayar. “We have seen what Adayar can do and he looks in great shape. Last year, we ended up being in front in the Arc and missing his prep race probably told in the end and then he ran in this like a horse whose previous start had gotten to him slightly.”

“Going into it this year, it's a different ball game,” his notably bullish trainer added. “Can we beat Baaeed? We are going there a fresher horse this year in conditions that we are quite relaxed about. It's going to be a fantastic race and hopefully one that will go down in the history books as being one of the great races that we have seen over the past few years.”

Marking The Occasion

In the year of the loss of the UK's longstanding monarch, this renewal of the G1 Queen Elizabeth II S. almost demands something special to stamp it and Cheveley Park Stud's G1 Coronation S. and G1 Prix Jacques Le Marois heroine Inspiral is the most obvious fit. Bar her eclipse on sun-tightened ground in the G1 Falmouth S., the Gosdens' elite performer of 2022 has set the bar among her age group at this trip while all the time suggesting a deal more to come.

In each of the four occasions that Gosden Sr. has prevailed in this, it has been from left field. After upsetting Giant's Causeway and Henrythenavigator with Obervatory and Raven's Pass, respectively, he delivered Cheveley Park's nearly horse Persuasive (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}) to down Ribchester (Ire) before diverting Roaring Lion from middle-distances for his crowning moment. No such guile is needed when it comes to Inspiral, whose claims are as obvious as those of the stable's Palace Pier (GB) (Kingman {GB}) who was denied in the past two editions by the deep-ground specialist The Revenant (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) and by Baaeed.

“She's been a superstar this season,” commented Frankie Dettori, who after a mixed year will be hoping to compensate for Palace Pier's eclipse 12 months ago. “She's been doing very well at home since and everyone is pleased with how she's coming into the race. Apart from a blip on the July Course, she's been a model of consistency and will hopefully prove hard to beat.”

Let The Games Commence

Charlie Appleby has gone through 2022 with the kind of precision strikes that have become the norm at his Newmarket base in recent years and despite the no-show of his Frankel heavyweights Adayar and Hurricane Lane (Ire) and the demise of Coroebus (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) arrives at Champions Day still poised to win another trainers' championship. In the QEII, the hardy transatlantic entrepreneur Modern Games (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) represents key opposition to Inspiral, while the select crew also includes the defending G1 QIPCO British Champions Sprint S. titleholder and favourite Creative Force (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) and the prime G1 QIPCO British Champions Fillies & Mares S. contender Eternal Pearl (GB) (Frankel {GB}). His biggest “outsider” of the day is Naval Crown (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}), who returns to the scene of his course-and-distance personal best in the June 18 G1 Platinum Jubilee S., so it is safe to say he is here with a notable party.

“How do you split Creative Force and Naval Crown?,” Appleby asked. “One's been there and done it on the occasion on this ground and that may be Creative Force's edge. Eternal Pearl has been strengthening throughout the year and that's why we purposefully have not dipped our toe into group one company already. She goes into this with a lovely profile and we are quite relaxed ground-wise. Staying is her forte, and if it came up testing it would play to her strengths. Modern Games can do Champions Day and the Breeders' Cup–it has been done many times before. He had a nice break after the Sussex Stakes and found it all very easy in Canada, so it doesn't worry me at all.”

Up For Grabs

With the Champion and QEII featuring strong favourites promising great excitement but little return for the currently beleaguered pound in their pockets, value-hunters will be looking at the first three races on the card. In the last five editions, eight of the 25 group races have been won by horses with double-figure odds and so at a time of year when there is great change in external and internal factors there is all to play for. In the Sprint, which is particularly prone to upsets, Chasemore Farm's G2 Greenlands S. winner Brad The Brief (GB) (Dutch Art {GB}), Ballydoyle's G1 Prix Jean Prat and G1 Cheveley Park S. heroine Tenebrism (Caravaggio) and Susan Roy's G1 Prix Maurice de Gheest third Garrus (Ire) (Acclamation {GB}) all trade at inflated odds given their high level of form.

A True Test

The opening G2 QIPCO British Champions Long Distance Cup sees the treble-seeking Trueshan (Fr) (Planteur {Ire}) bid to put a rare defeat on his favoured easy surface in the Sept. 11 G2 Doncaster Cup behind him. Having looked so ill-at-ease behind Coltrane (Ire) (Mastercraftsman {Ire}) there, the doubt is that he can deal with two unexposed 3-year-olds in Ballydoyle's Irish Cesarewitch winner Waterville (Ire) (Camelot {GB}) and KHK Racing's St Leger hero Eldar Eldarov (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}). The latter is adding an extra element as the first winner of the Doncaster Classic to come here, with trainer Roger Varian having meticulously weighed up the pros and cons of tackling this at such a fledgling stage of his career. “We think his best is still to come, hopefully on Saturday and beyond into next year,” he said of the colt, who looks to become the first of his age group to win this. “He shapes like he'll stay two miles and looks like he might be better over it.”

Return Journey

Six years ago, Frankie Dettori steered George Strawbridge's Journey (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) to Fillies & Mares glory as one of the seven Champions Day winners which make him the meeting's leading jockey since its inception, but he has deserted her full-sister Mimikyu (GB) in this year's renewal, with the lure of the long-absent 'TDN Rising Star' Emily Upjohn (GB) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) too strong. That leaves Rab Havlin to seek a second career Group 1 in the space of just eight days, having deputised for the suspended Italian on Commissioning (GB) (Kingman {GB}) in the Fillies' Mile. Frankie's call is a brave one, with Mimikyu having beaten last year's winner Eshaada (GB) (Muhaarar {GB}) comprehensively in Doncaster's G2 Park Hill S. Sept. 8 and every bit of her profile suggests she is one of those autumn improvers in which Clarehaven specialises. Emily Upjohn was undone over this course and distance in the King George and will need to cut an entirely different figure on this attempted rival with the conservation of energy essential in the early downhill section.

“Emily has had a long lay-off since the King George, where she never really turned up, and her homework since has been very good,” Dettori said. “She's been working well at home with a hood on to help settle her and she'll have it on for Saturday. She was extremely keen in the King George, so hopefully this helps. Mimikyu is running well and improving a lot, but we've always thought Emily was our number one filly, so I've decided to stick with her. She definitely has the class.”

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