Ascot Saturday

British Champions Long Distance Cup (Group 2)

KYPRIOS (Aidan O’Brien/Ryan Moore) capped a perfect campaign with a comprehensive two-and-a-quarter length victory in the Group 2 Qipco British Champions Long Distance Cup, which kicked off Saturday’s Champions Day card, and the superstar stayer is set to return next season for a similar campaign.

The 8/11 favourite was always well positioned and pressed on early in the straight to prove too strong for the consistent Sweet William (John and Thady Gosden/Rab Havlin) with the runner-up’s stablemate Trawlerman (William Buick) another half-length back in his bid for back-to-back victories in the contest.

Victory here was a seventh in succession this term for Kyprios, while it also ended a rare barren run for O’Brien, whose most recent Champions Day winner came in 2019.

In total control

“He is a very special horse,” said O’Brien after typically giving all credit to the Ballydoyle team. “Ryan was in total control on him after the first furlong, and it was a joy to watch it.

“He is relentless and has an unbelievable amount of quality, so it doesn’t matter if you go slow or if you go fast, he just goes there and he switches off. Ryan rides him incredibly and knows him inside out.

“He is very relaxed, loves racing, and he loves this distance and finds it very comfortable. Credit to the lads for leaving him at this distance – he enjoys it. You wouldn’t have known he’d had a race the last day and he didn’t lose any weight.

“He is so laid back – you can see him now, having a buck – but it takes a race to get his blood up. The plan was to come here, give him the winter off, then give him two trials before the Gold Cup next year.”

British Champions Sprint Stakes (Group 1)

THE 10/1 shot Kind Of Blue (James Fanshawe/James Doyle) followed in the footsteps of relatives The Tin Man and Deacon Blues by winning the Group 1 Qipco British Champions Sprint in gritty fashion.

A grandson of the Fanshawe-trained racemare Persario, Kind Of Blue was providing the trainer with his third win in the Champions Sprint, with his previous winners both sons of Persario, a remarkable achievement by both trainer and broodmare. Unraced before this year, Kind Of Blue has progressed with every run and built on an excellent second to Montassib in the Sprint Cup at Haydock to gain his first Group 1 success on the softest ground he’s encountered, and having been acquired by Wathnan Racing since his previous outing.

The son of Blue Point travelled strongly from his high draw and responded willingly to his rider’s urgings to lead well over a furlong from home.

It was tough going in the final furlong, but he showed a most willing attitude to hold on by a head and a neck to strong-finishing pair Swingalong (Karl Burke/Billy Loughnane) and Flora Of Bermuda (Andrew Balding/Oisin Murphy).

Family values

Fanshawe said: “Kind Of Blue is the third close relation that has won this race, all from the same family and all bred by the Hoppers, the Grundys and the Morrises. All trainers get attached to families that do them well and this is a family that has done us tremendously well.

“Wathnan Racing bought him three weeks ago and he’s a really exciting horse for them going forwards. He’s got the Group 1 under his belt now. It’s been a big team effort to get him here. Dan Muscutt has ridden him in all his races and done all the homework on him; obviously to all the team back home, I’m really grateful.

“Kind Of Blue will be done for the year now. Obviously, we’ll talk with Richard Brown and the connections, but he’s had a long season, and we’ll look forward to next spring.”

Doyle said: “He was very brave. For a very inexperienced horse to lead a furlong and a half out and still knuckle down when he felt the second horse come, to me, is a true testament to not only his ability but the heart that he has.”

British Champions Fillies & Mares Stakes (Group 1)

SOFT ground was an unknown for 100/30 favourite Kalpana (Andrew Balding/William Buick) in the Group 1 Qipco British Champions Fillies & Mares Stakes, but Juddmonte’s progressive three-year-old not only coped with conditions, but produced a sparkling career best to clear away from the pace-setting pair Wingspan (Aidan O’Brien/Sean Levey) and Tiffany (Sir Mark Prescott/Luke Morris) by two lengths and three lengths, with none of the other runners getting a serious look-in.

Kalpana, like sprint winner Kind Of Blue, was unraced as a juvenile, making her debut at Wolverhampton in January and doing remarkably well to keep progressing through what has been a rigorous campaign which has seen her run once in eight different months.

A wide-margin handicap winner at Newmarket’s Craven meeting, she ran into another top-class filly when second to Friendly Soul in the Pretty Polly Stakes there and was third in the Ribblesdale at Royal Ascot.

Rapid improvement

Since that run she has gone unbeaten, taking the Glasgow Stakes and September Stakes against the boys before claiming this first Group 1 success.

A justifiably proud Andrew Balding said: “I have never known a horse improve as much as Kalpana. Every time we started doing more with her, she’s just improved and improved, from Wolverhampton to here in 10 months.

“I don’t think she’d even done any fast work at this time last year, so it has been a pretty steep trajectory from Wolverhampton to here. I very much hope she’ll stay in training, that was the plan anyway unless something has changed tonight.

“She is an absolute diamond, as you can see afterwards. She has a very special temperament and is by an exciting young stallion. She’s from the first crop of Study Of Man, so it’s pretty exciting for them as well.”

Buick was taking the ride as Oisin Murphy was claimed for Queen Of The Pride, and he explained that this win had some personal significance, saying: “It is a very special moment because it is my first Group 1 winner for Andrew. I started with Andrew, and his whole family have played a huge part in my career so thank you to him and, obviously, Kalpana; what she did there was very good and she’s only going to improve.

“Kalpana has an incredible mind and is a jockey’s dream. I parked her up three wide with no cover, but she was always comfortable, never wasted any energy and saved the whole way in that ground.”

British Champions Mile (Group 1)

CHARYN (Roger Varian/James Doyle) has been one of the revelations of the season and grabbed a third Group 1 win when shrugging aside the challenge of 2023 runner-up Facteur Cheval (Jerome Reynier/Maxime Guyon) in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes.

The 13/8 favourite went on to win by two lengths, with the front pair four and a quarter lengths clear of Sun Chariot winner Tamfana (David Menuisier/Oisin Murphy) in third, underlining the merit of the winner’s performance.

Charyn, on the go since winning the Doncaster Mile on the opening day of the turf season, has been notably tough and consistent, and looked a picture in the paddock despite his strenuous campaign.

Any worry that several gruelling battles might have left a mark was cast aside as Charyn travelled with all his usual zest, and he got first run on Facteur Cheval as he cruised past leader Henry Longfellow over two furlongs out.

Not strong enough

The runner-up then launched a strong challenge and got to Charyn’s girth, but the winner refused to be passed, edging out from the rail, and intimidating his rival before asserting his superiority. To his credit, Facteur Cheval made a race of it, but ran into a real warrior on the day.

Charyn, earlier successful in the Queen Anne Stakes and the Prix Jacques Le Marois, may race once more but is due to retire to owner Nural Bizakov’s Sumbe stallion operation at Haras de Montfort et Preaux.

Varian said: “Charyn is a super horse and that was fantastic. Everything went very smooth, and it was a lovely race to watch. You could see the second coming, and then Charyn had to get to work, and he showed his battling qualities. He’s got everything, that horse.

“I promise you he’s got the most amazing constitution. Every time I’ve run him in his life, I’ve thought he was too heavy, because he just holds his condition like no other horse. Touch wood, he’s sound, he loves his work, he loves his racing. He’s just got such a good mentality for the game, and an engine to go with it.

“I think it’s already been announced that he will retire at the end of this season. I would love him to stay in training, but I think that’s not going to be the case. We’ll have to see how he comes out of this race - we might just contemplate one more international run.”

Highs and lows

On being asked about a season of highs and lows, including well-publicised splits with Amo Racing and Sheikh Mohammed Obaid Al Maktoum, Varian was typically sanguine.

“I think the game matches Charyn,” he replied. “It’s a tough game with ups and downs every month and every week but I’ve got great people around me, great people at home, and some wonderful owners. I am very lucky to train some special horses, and you pick yourself up when you take a knock, and you get on with it.

“I could reflect on the year and say yes, it’s had its challenges, but it’s been a fantastic year; we’ve got one of the top milers in Europe, if not the world, and we’re housing an English classic winner amongst plenty of other good stuff, so we’ve had a good year. It’s had its ups and downs but we’re here again in the winner’s enclosure on Champions Day.”

QIPCO Champion Stakes (Group 1)

CHAMPIONS Day has a habit of throwing up the occasional surprise, and it came this year in the Champion Stakes, a race seen largely as a match between Irish Champion Stakes winner Economics and King Edward VII hero Calandagan.

It fell instead to 40/1 outsider Anmaat (Owen Burrows/Jim Crowley) who did well to overcome crowding in the straight to beat Calandagan (Francis-Henri Graffard/Stephane Pasquier) by half a length after the latter had muscled his way to the front after his own traffic problems.

Royal Rhyme (Karl Burke/Clifford Lee) finished third, with Economics disappointing although reported to have bled after the race, as he did when winning the Dante at York.

Calandagan missed the break from the inside stall and Pasquier had to use plenty of the gelding’s acceleration to take a reasonably good position going into the bend, but he would almost certainly have preferred to save that speed for the finish, and the International Stakes runner-up had to quicken again to take a gap near the rail in the straight, looking sure to win briefly, but left vulnerable at the finish.

Group 1 record

The winner has now won both starts in Group 1 company having landed the Prix d’Ispahan last year but disappointed in the Prix Dollar on ‘Arc’ weekend and was unconsidered here as a result.

Owen Burrows, saddling his first Champions Day winner said: “We’ve always thought a lot of this horse. I know it sounds easy afterwards, but last year after he won his Group 1 in France, I did really fancy him for the Eclipse – but he had a very complex foot injury, which took a long time to come right.

“Credit to the team back at Shadwell, and obviously Sheikha Hissa’s patience with him as well. It just went wrong in France two weeks ago. It was a muddling old race, and I think Jim will admit it probably wasn’t his finest hour, but the horse came back fine.

“I had to convince Sheikha Hissa to come today but credit to her, I spoke to her on Monday morning and sent her a video of an easy piece of work he did last Saturday. She was happy with it and so was I.”