Queen Elizabeth II Stakes (Group 1)

THERE was no debate over the human star of the occasion, but on a day where the winners were largely worthy rather than spectacular, Big Rock (Christopher Head/Aurelien Lemaitre) provided the wow factor needed with a facile success in a Queen Elizabeth II Stakes where a few of the expected contenders failed to give their running.

The contest could easily have been an anticlimax with Paddington and Chaldean both flopping, but it’s debatable whether either could have lived with the winner, even on a going day, as the 5/1 shot was totally dominant in winning by six lengths from Facteur Cheval (Jerome Reynier/Mikael Barzalona) and Tahiyra (Dermot Weld/Chris Hayes).

Looking magnificent in the preliminaries, Big Rock took control from the outset, and simply galloped his rivals into submission, with only Tahiyra looking likely to land a blow at any point.

Dermot Weld’s filly tried to set off in pursuit with three furlongs left, but couldn’t get near the runaway winner, and was caught on the line for second by Facteur Cheval.

Faster

The winner was faster than every one of his rivals for each of the first five furlongs, and while he inevitably slowed up in the final quarter mile, the damage was done, and only the runner-up made any headway in the closing stages.

This was, remarkably, a first Group 1 win for Big Rock, with the son of Rock Of Gibraltar having finished second on his three previous races at Group 1 level - the Prix du Jockey Club, the Prix Jacques le Marois, and the Prix du Moulin.

With many of the season’s better performers having already been earmarked for retirement, it was refreshing to hear owner/breeder Leopoldo Fernández Pujals express a desire to keep Big Rock in training, and this imposing colt promises to be even better as a four-year-old.

“Big Rock was tremendous,” said a happy Christopher Head after the race. “Today was pretty much the best mile race of the season and seeing him win this way is crazy.

“What a horse, what a season. He’s really doing very well on that type of ground, but that was very, very impressive.

Tremendous work

“I am really happy for the owner because he has done tremendous work with the breeding and this horse is the pinnacle of the breeding system.

“You are always a bit scared that the rest of the runners will come on to you, but he was always going faster and faster. We had faith because we have known him all throughout the season and he has always been like this.

“It is very nice to see him winning this race, because it is one of the best mile races in Europe. We need to discuss with the owner about whether he will stay in training and Leo will decide what we do.”

Qipco British Champions Fillies & Mares Stakes (Group 1)

ONCE again, the Qipco British Champions Fillies & Mares Stakes produced a surprise result with horse and rider gaining a first win at the highest level, and it was Poptronic (Karl Burke/Sam James) who this time underlined the benefit of getting on the front end on the rain-affected turf.

The 22/1 chance looked to go hard enough in the early stages, but kept wide initially, she was able to build a cushion over her rivals which allowed her to relax in the middle stages, and while the pack closed menacingly from the turn, she kept going well to withhold the late thrust of Bluestocking (Ralph Beckett/Rossa Ryan) by a neck, with favourite Jackie Oh (Aidan O’Brien/Ryan Moore) the same distance back in third.

The winner was bouncing back from a non-staying run behind Sea Silk Road in the Prix de Royallieu at ParisLongchamp and had beaten that filly in the Lancashire Oaks earlier in the season to prove her credentials.

Poptronic, sporting the silks of owner/breeders David and Yvonne Blunt, typically raced freely as she broke from a wide stall, but she was well handled by James, who managed to keep her from over-racing and she was able to get a breather round the bend before holding on all-out.

Coped well

Prior to this, Poptronic had done the majority of her racing on quick turf, but she coped well with the good to soft ground on the inner track, the fact that this part of the racecourse has been unwatered through the summer making conditions less testing than on the straight track.

“This is once in a lifetime for us,” said David Blunt after this Group 1 breakthrough. “We’re against big battalions today and the small owner-breeder comes up trumps, which is unbelievable.

“Poptronic is as tough as old rope. She had been a bit unfortunate in a couple of her previous races, we felt anyway; I didn’t think she deserved to be the outsider that she was and she’s proved us all right in that regard.

“To have a runner in a Group 1, never mind the breeder of a Group 1 winner, is amazing.”