Champions Day races amongst best in the world

Attendees at QIPCO British Champions Day last year were treated to two of the best races in the world in the space of a 35 minutes, ratings have today revealed.

The QIPCO Champion Stakes, won in dazzling style by Almanzor was named the best race to be run in Britain last year and was the fifth best contest anywhere on the planet whilst the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes was named the tenth best contest in the world at the Longines World’s Best Racehorse & Best Horse Race Ceremony held at Claridges in London earlier today.

QIPCO British Champions Day was the only raceday in Europe which saw two of the top 10 races contested on a single day.

Rod Street, Chief Executive of British Champions Series said: “Our aspiration for Champions Day has always been to put on a world class race day with the finest equine talent battling it out in true Championship races. With the QIPCO Champion Stakes and the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes both in the top ten, together with a card that included the Group 1 Sprint and Fillies and Mares races, the Group 2 Long Distance Cup and the richest mile handicap in Europe, it was arguably the best single race day in the world last year.

“It’s easy to forget that Champions Day was only six years old last October and yet it has established itself as a fitting finale to the European Flat season. We continue to go from strength to strength and are looking forward to the start of this year’s British Champions Series at Newmarket for the QIPCO 2000 Guineas.”

With £1.3m up for grabs, there was no surprise to see a strong line-up for the Champion Stakes. With a field which included Found – winner of the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe – and Almanzor – winner of the QIPCO Irish Champion Stakes – as well as the Prince Of Wales’s Stakes winner My Dream Boat, it was a star-studded cast and one of the most hotly-anticipated clashes of the season as Found looked to reverse her defeat to the French colt in Ireland earlier in the campaign. In the end, however, Jean-Claude Rouget’s charge proved too strong and dashed clear to win in impressive fashion, leaving the high-class field in his wake.

Earlier in the day, superstar filly Minding swooped to take the honours in the £1.1m QIPCO-sponsored Queen Elizabeth II Stakes, beating Ribchester by half-a-length as well as QIPCO 2000 Guineas and St James’s Palace Stakes winner Galileo Gold. Fellow Classic winners Awtaad and Jet Setting were also unable to land a glove on Aidan O’Brien‘s fabulous filly.

This year’s QIPCO British Champions Series gets underway with the QIPCO 2000 Guineas on May 6th at Newmarket and culminates at Ascot on British Champions Day on October 21st. Tickets to racing’s explosive finale are already available to buy.