Group 1 race | |
Location | Ascot Racecourse Ascot, England (since 2011) |
---|---|
Inaugurated | 1877 |
Race type | Flat / Thoroughbred |
Sponsor | QIPCO |
Website | Ascot |
Race information | |
Distance | 1m 1f 212y (2,004 metres) |
Surface | Turf |
Track | Right-handed |
Qualification | Three-years-old and up |
Weight | 9 st 1 lb (3yo); 9 st 5 lb (4yo+) Allowances 3 lb for fillies and mares |
Purse | £1,278,210 (2022) 1st: £737,230 |
2024 | ||
Anmaat | Calandagan | Royal Rhyme |
Previous years | ||
---|---|---|
2023 | ||
King Of Steel | Via Sistina | Horizon Dore |
2022 | ||
Bay Bridge | Adayar | My Prospero |
2021 | ||
Sealiway | Dubai Honour | Mac Swiney |
1970–1969 | ||
---|---|---|
1970 | ||
Lorenzaccio | Nijinsky | Hotfoot |
1969 | ||
Flossy | Park Top | Lorenzaccio |
The Champion Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Ascot over a distance of 1 mile 1 furlong and 212 yards (2,004 metres), and it is scheduled to take place as part of British Champions Day each year in October.
The event was established in 1877, and it was originally held at Newmarket. The inaugural running was won by Springfield. By the end of the century it had been won by five Classic winners.
The present system of race grading was introduced in 1971, and the Champion Stakes was classed at the highest level, Group 1.
The race was included in the Breeders' Cup Challenge series in 2009 and 2010. The winner earned an automatic invitation to compete in the Breeders' Cup Turf.
The Champion Stakes was transferred to Ascot in 2011. It became part of a newly created fixture called British Champions Day. It now serves as the middle-distance final of the British Champions Series.
With an increased prize fund of £1,300,000, the Champion Stakes was Britain's richest horse race in 2011. The status was reclaimed by The Derby in 2012. [1]
Most successful horse (3 wins):
Leading jockey (6 wins):
Leading trainer (8 wins):
Leading owner (6 wins):
Dam of two winners:
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Neil Gow (1907–1919) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and sire who won the classic 2000 Guineas in 1910. In a racing career that lasted from spring 1909 until July 1910 the colt ran ten times and won seven races, attracting attention both for his racing ability and for his difficult and unpredictable temperament. He raced four times against the 1910 Epsom Derby winner Lemberg, winning twice outright and dead-heating on a third occasion. Neil Gow was one of the best British two-year-olds of 1909, when he won the National Stakes at Sandown Park, the Imperial Produce Stakes at Kempton Park and the Champagne Stakes at Doncaster. After winning the Craven Stakes on his first appearance of 1910 he overcame a strong field to win the 2000 Guineas at Newmarket. He finished fourth in the Derby and then dead-heated in the Eclipse Stakes. He was injured in training later that year and was retired from racing at the end of the season. He had limited success as a breeding stallion before his death in 1919.
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Tetratema was an Irish-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. In a racing career which lasted from May 1919 until October 1921 he won thirteen of his sixteen races, include the all twelve of his starts over the sprint distances of five and six furlongs. He was unbeaten in five races in 1919, including the Molecomb Stakes, Champagne Stakes, and Middle Park Stakes, and was the highest-rated two-year-old in Britain by a record margin. In the following year he had enough stamina to win the Classic 2000 Guineas over a mile, but failed to stay when unplaced in both The Derby and the Eclipse Stakes. He then returned to sprinting and won his remaining two races of 1920 and all four in 1921. His successes in this phase of his career included the King's Stand Stakes, July Cup and two runnings of the King George Stakes.
Minoru was an Irish-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse who won two British Classic Races. In a career which lasted from June 1908 to April 1910 he ran thirteen times and won seven races. After showing moderate form as a two-year-old he improved to become one of the best colts in England in the early part of 1909. He won his first five races including the 2000 Guineas and The Derby. His win at Epsom Downs Racecourse made his owner King Edward VII the first reigning British monarch to win a Derby and was greeted with unprecedented celebration. Minoru's bid to win the British Triple Crown ended when he was beaten by Bayardo in the St Leger. He was retired to stud in 1910 and was soon afterwards exported to Russia, where he disappeared during the Revolution in 1917.
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Picaroon (1922–1926) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse. He was the leading British two-year-old colt of his generation, winning all three of his races in 1924 including the Imperial Produce Stakes and the Middle Park Stakes recording victories over Manna and Solario in the process. In the following spring he won the Craven Stakes and was favourite for the 2000 Guineas and The Derby but then began to suffer from leg problems which ruled him out of both races. He returned in autumn to finish fourth in the St Leger and then won his last four races including the Champion Stakes. He remained in training in 1926 but his leg problems intensified and he was euthanised at the age of four.
My Dear was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and broodmare. In 1917 she showed top-class form, winning both her races including the prestigious Dewhurst Stakes. In the following year she finished second in the 1000 Guineas and was then awarded the New Oak Stakes on the disqualification of Stony Ford. She went on to win the Champion Stakes, Lowther Stakes and Liverpool Autumn Cup as well as finishing second in the wartime substitute St Leger. She was not a great success as a broodmare but did produce at least two winners before her death in 1933.
Mr Jinks was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. He was one of the best two-year-olds in England in 1928 when he won five of his seven races including the New Stakes, July Stakes, Lavant Stakes and Prendergast Stakes. In the following spring he took the Severals Stakes before recording his biggest success in the 2000 Guineas. He failed when favourite for the Epsom Derby but returned to form to win the St James's Palace Stakes. His performances subsequently deteriorated and he was retired from racing at the end of the year. He made little impact as a breeding stallion.