{"id":28958,"date":"2025-10-18T17:02:59","date_gmt":"2025-10-18T17:02:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/?p=28958"},"modified":"2025-10-18T17:02:59","modified_gmt":"2025-10-18T17:02:59","slug":"champions-day-horse-racing-at-ascot-shock-winners-at-200-1-and-100-1-as-it-happened-horse-racing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/?p=28958","title":{"rendered":"Champions Day horse racing at Ascot: shock winners at 200-1 and 100-1 \u2013 as it happened | Horse racing"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Greg Wood\u2019s report from Ascot<\/p>\n

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Champions Day pain for punters<\/strong><\/p>\n

All eyes were on the Champions Stakes ahead of Champions Day at Ascot and while Calandagan was a worthy winner and may have put up the Flat racing performance of the season it was the big-priced winners on the day who made the headlines with Powerful Glory, at 200-1, and Cicero\u2019s Gift, at 100-1, pulling off almighty shocks on a day when the racegoers flocked to the track to supposedly crown \u201cchampions\u201d.<\/p>\n

With the ground riding fast after a prolonged dry spell this was not what was supposed to be expected. However, those sorts of results can come at the end of a long season and is partly the reason why Champions Day doesn\u2019t always prove to be the day when the best come to the fore. Good night for now \u2013 we\u2019ll be back with a live blog on Boxing Day as the focus now turns to jump racing.<\/p>\n

<\/span>Oisin Murphy poses with the trophy after being crowned champion jockey during the British Champions Day at Ascot.<\/span> Photograph: Steven Paston\/PAShare<\/p>\n

Updated at\u00a012.10 EDT<\/p>\n

4.40 BALMORAL HANDICAP result<\/h2>\n

1 Crown Of Oaks <\/strong>5\/1
2 Ebt\u2019s Guard <\/strong>10\/1
3 Holloway Boy <\/strong>16\/1
4 Shout <\/strong>6\/1<\/p>\n

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Updated at\u00a011.51 EDT<\/p>\n

4.40 BALMORAL HANDICAP betting<\/strong><\/p>\n

ShareGreg Wood<\/span><\/p>\n

4.40 BALMORAL HANDICAP preview<\/strong><\/p>\n

A fiendishly trappy handicap to conclude the card, and a race that has often piled on the pain for losing punters hoping to get out of trouble with winners at 80-1, 25-1 and 14-1 in the last three seasons. Simon and Ed Crisford\u2019s Shout, <\/strong>a ready winner over this track and trip in early September, has been well supported today and is likely to set off as favourite at around 6-1, but he is 9lb higher in the weights for today\u2019s race and there are plenty of very credible alternativese, including Crown Of Oaks, <\/strong>from the William Haggas stable, and Native Warrior, <\/strong>another recent winner on the straight course in a seven-furlong handicap two weeks ago. I thought the 25-1 about Oliver Show <\/strong>was a fair price when I went through the race on Friday and it seems there were at least a few punters who agreed with me, as George Boughey\u2019s Lincoln runner-up is now down to around 12-1. He is a quirky type but definitely has the talent to win this if he is in the mood and Billy Loughnane could be just the jockey to deliver him in the nick of time.<\/p>\n

SELECTION: OLIVER SHOW<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Calandagan victorious in Champion Stakes<\/h2>\n

Calandagan was all class to stride to a smart success in the Champion Stakes at Ascot. The 15-8 French raider, trained by Francis-Henri Graffard and owned by the Aga Khan Studs, was ridden by Mickael Barzalona in a quality field of 11.<\/p>\n

John and Thady Gosden\u2019s Ombudsman was the 13-8 favourite and the two horses were at the fore in the home straight, but it was Calandagan who held the upper hand to prevail by two and a quarter lengths, upgrading last year\u2019s second place behind Anmaat.<\/p>\n

Ombudsman was second with 28-1 shot Almaqam a further length and three-quarters back in third.<\/p>\n

Barzalona said afterwards: \u201cIt was a tough race but when he found his action and he was ready to go I let him go. I\u2019m very proud to be part of the team.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Updated at\u00a011.22 EDT<\/p>\n

4.05 CHAMPION STAKES result<\/h2>\n

1 Calandagan <\/strong>15\/8
2 Ombudsman <\/strong>13\/8 fav
3 Almaqam<\/strong>28\/1<\/p>\n

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Updated at\u00a011.14 EDT<\/p>\n

4.05 CHAMPION STAKES<\/strong><\/p>\n

And they\u2019re off \u2026 Fox Legacy leads early but Mount Kilimanjaro then takes it up \u2026 Ombudsman is last at halfway \u2026 they are on the home turn \u2026 Almaqam makes ground \u2026 Ombudsman and Calandagan fight it out and Calandagan bravely fights off his foe to win!<\/p>\n

<\/span>Mickael Barzalona riding Calandagan win the Champion Stakes at Ascot.<\/span> Photograph: Alan Crowhurst\/Getty ImagesShare<\/p>\n

Updated at\u00a011.22 EDT<\/p>\n

4.05 CHAMPION STAKES<\/strong> betting<\/strong><\/p>\n

ShareGreg Wood<\/span><\/p>\n

4.05 CHAMPION STAKES<\/strong> preview<\/strong><\/p>\n

There are plenty of sub-plots and potential storylines in the 15th running of the Champion Stakes since its switch from Newmarket to Ascot, from the seasonal head-to-head between Ombudsman <\/strong>and Delacroix <\/strong>to Francis-Henri Graffard\u2019s chance to cap a remarkable season both in France and elsewhere, but form is the key factor in finding the winner and plenty of races to ponder before the field goes to post.<\/p>\n

Delacroix <\/strong>landed the first blow in his match-up with Ombudsman in the Eclipse at Sandown in July, but Ombudsman turned the tables in style \u2013 once William Buick realised that the pacemaker was getting away, at any rate \u2013 in the International Stakes at York the following month. Calandagan, meanwhile, has recorded both his Group One wins at a mile-and-a-half but has an exceptional turn of foot and went down only narrowly in this race last year.<\/p>\n

Economics <\/strong>has not run since finishing down the field 12 months ago but has an obvious chance on his winning form in the Irish Champion Stakes in September 2024, while Andrew Balding fields an interesting under-the-radar outsider in the three-year-old Almeric, <\/strong>who will be making just the fifth start of his career today after an impressive success in the Listed Doonside Cup last time out. Do not forget to give Almaqam <\/strong>a once-over too: Ed Walker\u2019s colt was the first horse to finish in front of Ombudsman when he took the Brigadier Gerard Stakes at Sandown in May and he too is lightly-raced for his age and within striking distance of the market leaders on ratings.<\/p>\n

SELECTION: OMBUDSMAN<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Updated at\u00a010.44 EDT<\/p>\n

Cicero’s Gift shocks in Group One QEII at 100-1<\/h2>\n

Cicero\u2019s Gift was another shock winner on British Champions Day at Ascot with a 100-1 strike in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes. Trained by Charlie Hills and ridden by Jason Watson, the bay was an outsider in a field of 16 with a draw of stall one.<\/p>\n

From there he hugged the rail throughout and began to make real progress from the two-furlong marker, hitting the front with a furlong left to run and holding off all challengers as The Lion In Winter was second and Alakazi was third.<\/p>\n

Cicero\u2019s Gift\u2019s surprise win followed on from 200-1 shot Powerful Glory\u2019s triumph in the British Champions Sprint earlier in the afternoon.<\/p>\n

Watson, who was in tears on his returns to Group One-winning glory after a long absence from the top table, stated: \u201cHe came into this so well. My mum and dad have been great supporters and I\u2019ve been grafting for a long time to get back into the position I know I\u2019m capable of. My mum says you can only win it if you\u2019re in it!\u201d<\/p>\n

Victorious trainer Hills said: \u201cThat\u2019s amazing. I am so pleased for Jason and the owners have been brilliant. We were hoping for some rain as he\u2019s not been the soundest of horses.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/span>Cicero\u2019s Gift, ridden by Jason Watson, on their way to winning the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes at Ascot.<\/span> Photograph: Steven Paston\/PAShare<\/p>\n

Updated at\u00a010.52 EDT<\/p>\n

3.25 QUEEN ELIZABETH II STAKES result<\/h2>\n

1 Cicero\u2019s Gift <\/strong>100\/1
2 The Lion In Winter <\/strong>12\/1
3 Alakazi <\/strong>22\/1<\/p>\n

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Updated at\u00a010.39 EDT<\/p>\n

3.25 QUEEN ELIZABETH II STAKES<\/strong><\/p>\n

And they\u2019re off \u2026 Dancing Gemini and Fallen Angel are up with the leaders in the early stages \u2026 Marvelman now goes for home \u2026 Field Of Gold has a lot to do \u2026 Cicero\u2019s Gift leads and wins for another major shock on Champions Day! And that winner returns at 100-1!!<\/p>\n

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Updated at\u00a010.28 EDT<\/p>\n

3.25 QUEEN ELIZABETH II STAKES betting<\/strong><\/p>\n

ShareGreg Wood<\/span><\/p>\n

3.25 QUEEN ELIZABETH II STAKES preview<\/strong><\/p>\n

A big welcome back to Field Of Gold, <\/strong>who seemed certain to be one of the big stars of the summer when he ran out an emphatic winner of the St James\u2019s Palace Stakes on the round course at the Royal meeting in June. He then let his supporters down in no uncertain terms when only fourth, at odds of 1-3, in the Sussex Stakes at Goodwood, a race that was won by his pacemaker, Qirat, at 150-1. Any assessment of today\u2019s Group One contest revolves around the question of which Field Of Gold will turn up, and while the noises coming out of his stable are very positive, he was a real let-down last time out and had his first race of the season as long ago as mid-April, so while many punters will look at his current price of around 2-1 and think that it\u2019s a steal, my personal inclination is to look elsewhere. Rosallion <\/strong>has a string of good efforts in Group Ones to his name so far this season, including close seconds in the Queen Anne over this track and trip at the Royal meeting behind Docklands, who is also in today\u2019s field, but his habit of finding one or two too good is increasingly irksome. Never So Brave, a big improver throughout the season after joining Andrew Balding following Sir Michael Stoute\u2019s retirement, is a big runner aftergetting off the mark at Group One level at York last time, but personal preference is for the recent Group One-winning form of Karl Burke\u2019s Fallen Angel. <\/strong>The Sun Chariot Stakes often passes almost unnoticed thanks to its scheduling on the Saturday of Arc weekend in Paris, but Fallen Angel posted arguably her best performance of the year in this year\u2019s renewal a fortnight ago. It was her fifth win at Group One level and while all five have come in races restricted to fillies and mares, she has looked much improved since finishing sixth of eight on her reappearance in the Lockinge at Newbury.<\/p>\n

SELECTION: FALLEN ANGEL<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/span>Harry Redknapp is in the Ascot Authority box.<\/span> Photograph: Alan Crowhurst\/Getty ImagesShare<\/p>\n

Updated at\u00a009.55 EDT<\/p>\n

2.45 CHAMPIONS FILLIES & MARES STAKES result<\/h2>\n

1 Kalpana <\/strong>11\/8 fav
2 Estrange <\/strong>6\/1
3 Quisisana <\/strong>6\/1<\/p>\n

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2.45 CHAMPIONS FILLIES & MARES STAKES
<\/strong>
And they\u2019re off \u2026 Ballet Slippers has an early lead with favourite Kalpana second \u2026 Quisisana is third and Wemightakedlongway just behind \u2026 Bedtime Story is being held up \u2026 Estrange is in midfield \u2026 on the turn for home now \u2026 Kalpana goes for home \u2026 and kicks clear \u2026 and it\u2019s all over \u2026 an easy winner!<\/p>\n

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Updated at\u00a009.48 EDT<\/p>\n

2.45 CHAMPIONS FILLIES & MARES STAKES betting<\/strong><\/p>\n