QIPCO British Champions Day at Ascot was staged under attritional conditions, which undoubtedly affected the results. Three races were conducted on the straight course, which the data tells us was worse than heavy.

The other three races were on the inner round course, which is rarely used for flat racing, and it rode better than the straight course and could be rated as soft. The raceday produced some interesting data and I have picked out some of the most salient points from the five group races on the card.

Anmaat overcame trouble in running in the Qipco Champion Stakes to be the last horse to challenge and run down Calandagan, who also had a troubled trip.

Anmaat was the only horse at the meeting to record a final furlong that was faster than the previous one. His final furlong of 12.80s is rated as being Par and compares with his penultimate furlong of 12.92s, which is rated as slow.

His strong finish was probably helped by him being hampered, which enabled him to save energy and then come home marginally quicker than his rivals. His final three furlongs of 38.79s was a 10th of a second faster than Calandagan and meant that he recorded an FSP of 99.74% (Par 102.51%).

This was not a fast finish, courtesy of the first six furlongs being run strongly with no pause in the tempo. Anmaat did remarkably well to win, given the trouble he found and having run poorly at Longchamp last time out, this goes down as a tremendous training performance from Owen Burrows.

Whilst a lot of focus has been on the end of the race, it was the start that put Calandagan on the back foot and he may have won had he got a better start. The Race IQ break speed data shows that he was 10th fastest in the race to reach 20mph, whereas Anmaat was faster into stride being the third fastest. Their break speeds are below.

Anmaat: 0-20mph: 2.07s

Calandagan: 0-20mph: 2.36s

Blue passes sprint endurance test

The Qipco British Champion Sprint Stakes was the first of three races on the straight course, with Kind Of Blue clocking a final time of 1m 17.22s, which can be rated against historical data for a Group 1 sprint at Ascot on heavy ground and such comparison gives the winner a Race IQ Time Index score of 3.22 out of 10.

A very low score, suggesting that the ground was at least heavy, even though the official description was soft. A fast early gallop led to a slow-motion finish, with the winner recording a final furlong of 14.29s, which was slower than Kyprios, whose final furlong was clocked at 13.34s.

Art Power and Audience set a strong gallop, the first two furlongs of 12.41s and 11.65s rated as very fast and fast, as against what would be expected in the conditions. This meant that 19 of the 20 runners recorded their fastest splits in the second furlong.

Kind Of Blue recorded an FSP of 94.49% (Par 99.46%), as he just kept going better than his rivals and didn’t slow down as quickly as his nearest pursuers in the conditions. This was not a test of speed, more a test of endurance at the six-furlong trip and Kind Of Blue, from the family of The Tin Man and Deacon Blues, who were best in soft conditions, was able to deal with this attritional scenario better than his rivals.

THE Qipco British Champions Fillies and Mares Stakes was back on the round course, where Kalpana laid claim to being the most progressive and improved filly in training. She won a handicap at Newmarket off a mark of 78 and is now a Group 1 winner.

The fast early pace was courtesy of Wingspan, who was the fastest horse in the race to reach 20mph (2.26s) and went a strong gallop for three furlongs, before Sean Levey took a pull in front. The pace then increased in the final four furlongs, with Kalpana dominating the finish by being the fastest horse through each of the final four furlongs.

This strong finish meant that she recorded an FSP of 102.18%, seeing the trip out strongly in conditions that were not certain to suit her. Three of her final four furlongs are rated as being fast against Par.

Kalpana’s final four furlongs:

F9: 12.57s (Fast)

F10: 12.29s (Fast)

F11: 12.33s (Fast)

F12: 13.27s (Par)

Charyn’s hard work pays off

The Queen Elizabeth II Stakes was another attritional test won by the admirable Charyn, who was winning his third Group 1 of the season. This was a race of two halves. Rather like the sprint, they went fast for the first half of the race, which led to a slow finish.

All horses recorded their fastest splits in the second or third furlong, symptomatic of that strong early gallop. Charyn raced close to the strong tempo and his first four furlongs are rated as being fast or very fast, as against the Race IQ Par.

Charyn’s first four-furlong splits:

F1: 13.68s (Fast)

F2: 12.12s (Very Fast)

F3: 12.33s (Very Fast)

F4: 12.76s (Fast)

Two of his final three furlongs were very slow at 12.83s and 13.64s and the final furlong was slow at 13.38s. Nonetheless, he was the only horse in the race to dip under 14.00s in the final furlong.

Rather like Kind Of Blue, the conditions and strong early gallop made this hard work for all and Charyn was good enough to win whilst tiring in the final two furlongs, as evidenced by his below Par FSP of 96.38%.

Too easy for Kyprios

The Qipco British Champions Long Distance Cup was another stroll in the park for Kyprios. The final time of 3m 29.51s is hard to evaluate, as we do not have enough historical data from the rarely used inner course, but given that the first four home recorded a Finishing Speed Percentage (FSP) higher than the Race IQ Par, we can be sure that this race was evenly run, allowing horses to finish their races relatively strongly.

Finishing Speed percentages:

1. Kyprios: 102.85%

2. Sweet William: 102.31%

3. Trawlerman: 101.99%

4. Caius Chorister: 102.82%

These relatively strong finishes were courtesy of a stop/start gallop for the first 10 furlongs allowing horses to conserve energy. The pace then picked up at the six-furlong point, with Kyprios recording faster than Par sectionals for five of those final six furlongs. This relentless gallop was too much for his rivals. His final six furlongs are below and rated against the Race IQ Par sectionals.

F11: 13.08s (Fast)

F12: 12.86s (Fast)

F13: 12.30s (Very Fast)

F14: 12.49s (Fast)

F15: 12.73s (Fast)

F16: 13.34s (Par)