QIPCO British Champions Long Distance Cup upgraded

Fame And Glory was triumphant in the inaugural QIPCO British Champions Long Distance Cup in 2011. Image courtesy of racingfotos.com.

The QIPCO British Champions Long Distance Cup, the opening race on QIPCO British Champions Day at Ascot on Saturday 18 October which was previously a Group 3 race worth £200,000, has been upgraded to Group 2 status.

Prize money for the two-mile contest has been increased to £300,000 leaving QIPCO British Champions Day now worth £3.5m in total prize money (including the QIPCO Future Stars Apprentices Handicap), by far the richest raceday in Britain.

The day now has three Group 1 races and two Group 2 races. The £500,000 QIPCO British Champions Fillies & Mares was upgraded to Group 1 status last year to join the £1.3m QIPCO Champion Stakes and £1m Queen Elizabeth II Stakes sponsored by QIPCO.

The £350,000 QIPCO British Champions Sprint and the £300,000 QIPCO British Champions Long Distance Cup are now both at Group 2 level, though with their levels of prize money and no penalties to be carried, they are effectively Group 1 races in all but name.

The QIPCO British Champions Long Distance Cup already has a glittering roll of honour with previous Group 1 winners triumphant in all three runnings to date. The 2011 Gold Cup winner with a total of five Group 1 victories to his name, Fame And Glory, was victorious in the inaugural year of 2011; the 2010 Gold Cup winner, Rite of Passage, emerged triumphant in 2012; and the 2012 Irish St Leger winner, Royal Diamond, was successful last year.

Rod Street, Chief Executive of British Champions Series, said: “The upgrade of the stayers’ race to Group 2 on QIPCO British Champions Day reflects the continued progress of this event, following the upgrade of the Fillies and Mares race to Group 1 last year.

“An additional £100,000 will be added to the race value, taking it to £300,000, making it the second most valuable staying race in Britain after the Gold Cup at Royal Ascot.”