Champion stakes

The GI Breeders' Cup Turf on Nov. 4 remains under consideration for Amo Racing's G1 QIPCO Champion S. winner  King Of Steel (Wootton Bassett {GB}). "He appears to have come out of the race physically in good shape, but he would have had a hard race yesterday and we can't ignore that. We just have to see how he is over the next week," said the colt's trainer Roger Varian.  "I know Kia is very keen on the Breeders' Cup anyway, in general, and if he could get a good...

William Haggas is looking to the future after Baaeed's shock swansong defeat in the Qipco Champion S. at Ascot on Saturday by revealing the six-time Group 1-winning superstar's younger brother is set to make his debut soon.  Baaeed (GB) (Sea The Stars {GB}) lost his unbeaten record on his 11th and likely final start on Champions Day when finishing fourth, beaten a little under two lengths, behind Bay Bridge (GB) (New Bay {GB}). That was despite being sent off as a prohibitively short-priced favourite at odds of 1-4. Haggas was...

Last year's Derby winner Adayar (Ire) (Frankel [GB}) is set to take on Baaeed (GB) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) in the G1 QIPCO British Champion S. on Oct. 15. Godolphin confirmed the news on Twitter on Tuesday in a post that read, "Following discussions yesterday, it has been decided that Adayar will miss the [G1] Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe and will head instead to the Champion S. at Ascot where conditions are likely to suit him better." Following his Classic triumph at Epsom last June for Charlie Appleby, Adayar...

If confirmation was needed that Ascot's QIPCO British Champions Day is what it says it is, a glance at the most recently-published Longines World's Best Racehorse Rankings reveals all. Of the 11 Europeans occupying the top 20 in the list, five are in action on Saturday with four of the remaining either injured or retired at this point. Heading the A-list quintet at present are the inseparable G1 QIPCO Champion S.-bound Adayar (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) and Mishriff (Ire) (Make Believe {GB}), with the G1 Queen Elizabeth II S. favourite Palace...

York's G1 Juddmonte International S. didn't just provide the world's best 130-rated performance of 2020 for Ghaiyyath (Ire) but, with its stellar back-up cast of seven-time Group 1 winner Magical (Ire), the G1 St James's Palace S. winner Lord North (Ire) and 2000 Guineas hero Kameko, the race was also judged to be the Longines World's Best Horse Race last year on ratings. Along with announcing the World's Best Racehorse Rankings on Tuesday, Longines and the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities (IFHA) also published the list of top 100 Group...

King Of Change (GB), a Group 1 winner and Classic-placed son of Farhh (GB), will stand his first season at Derrinstown Stud in 2021 for €7,000. He was a model of consistency throughout his career and Stephen Collins, general manager of Derrinstown, tells TDN's Alayna Cullen more about him. AC: Stephen, King Of Change is an exciting addition to the Derrinstown Stud roster. How is it that he came to stand at Derrinstown? SC: We were approached by Ali Abdullah Saeed, King Of Change's owner, and he asked would it...

   Still in its infancy but already firmly established as a staple of racing's culinary experience, Ascot's Qipco British Champions Day is back on Saturday with the first of possibly several editions set in the COVID-19 era. No crowds, none of the hoopla that characteristically greets the collection of luminaries in all categories, no atmosphere other than that created by the races themselves. Back in June, the Royal meeting was the first of the country's major festivals to take place in the current void and it came through thanks largely...

Trainer Charlie Appleby has confirmed that Ghaiyyath (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) is likely to bypass the Oct. 4 G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe in favour of the G1 Qipco Champion S. on Oct. 17 or the GI Breeders' Cup Turf on Nov. 7. The 5-year-old beat just two home in last year's Arc, but since then has won four of his five starts including the G1 Coronation Cup, G1 Coral-Eclipse and G1 Juddmonte International. Ghaiyyath suffered his first defeat of the season when second to Magical (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) in...

Pyledriver (GB) (Harbour Watch {Ire}) will turn back to a mile and a quarter for the Oct. 17 G1 Qipco Champion S. after finishing third in Saturday's G1 Pertemps St Leger. "He's come home safe and sound," said trainer William Muir on Sunday. "I wondered whether the race might have taken a bit out of him, but he's eaten everything and he's in great shape." Pyledriver won the G2 King Edward VII S. and the G2 Great Voltigeur S. earlier in the season. "I don't want to be dogmatic and...

G1 Prix du Jockey Club and recent G2 Prix Guillaume d'Ornano winner Mishriff (Ire) (Make Believe {GB}) will bypass the Oct. 4 G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe in favour of the G1 Champion S. at Ascot two weeks later, Racing Post reports. "After discussions with owner Prince Faisal and his team, Mishriff is to have his next outing in the G1 Qipco Champion S. at Ascot in October," trainer John Gosden told Racing Post. "We discussed the possibility of running him in the Arc, for which he would have...