Big Names Remain Among QIPCO British Champions Day Entries

[Wandering Eyes]

The majority of the season's stars have held their ground after the latest acceptance stage for Britain's richest race day, the QIPCO British Champions Day at Ascot on October 18.

In the £1.3-million QIPCO Champion Stakes, the 2024 winner Anmaat (Awtaad) will lock horns with the G1 Princes Of Wales's Stakes/G1 Juddmonte International Stakes hero Ombudsman (Night Of Thunder) and G1 Eclipse Stakes winner Delacroix (Dubawi). Also entered in that contest is the G1 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes winner Calandagan (Gleneagles), 2024 G1 Irish Champion Stakes scorer Economics (Night Of Thunder) and dual top-level winner Goliath (Adlerflug) are among the 25 acceptors.

G1 Irish 2000 Guineas and G1 St James's Palace Stakes winner Field Of Gold (Kingman) leads the 27 entries for the £1.1-million Queen Elizabeth II Stakes sponsored by QIPCO. Docklands (Massaat), the victor of the G1 Queen Anne Stakes at Royal Ascot, and multiple Group 1 scorer Rosallion (Blue Point) remain among the entries as does dual Queen Elizabeth II Stakes runner-up Facteur Cheval (Ribchester). Delacroix has been cross-entered here.

The £500,000 QIPCO British Champion Sprint Stakes features last year's winner Kind Of Blue (Blue Point) among its 30 acceptors. G1 Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes winner Lazzat (Territories) and Flora Of Bermuda (Dark Angel), third here last year are all entered on behalf of Wathnan Racing. Mohaather's Big Mojo, a winner of the G1 Sprint Cup at Haydock last out and G1 July Cup winner No Half Measures (Cable Bay) have also stood their ground.

Kalpana (Study Of Man) won the 2024 edition of the £500,000 QIPCO British Fillies & Mares Stakes and she retains her 2025 entry, as do fellow ParisLongchamp runners Estrange (Night Of Thunder) and G1 Oaks/G1 Irish Oaks/G1 Yorkshire Oaks heroine Minnie Hauk (Frankel). The two-dozen fillies and mares set to take part also include G2 Ribblesdale Stakes winner Garden Of Eden (Saxon Warrior) and Bedtime Story (Frankel), third in the G1 Prix Vermeille earlier this month. The G2 Lillie Langtry Stakes one-two of Waardah (Postponed) and Danielle (Cracksman) are also set to compete.

Trawlerman (Golden Horn) leads 15 rivals in the newly elevated £500,000 G1 QIPCO British Champions Long Distance Cup. The Godolphin runner broke the track record when winning the G1 Gold Cup at Royal Ascot and won this race in 2023. G1 Goodwood Cup and G1 St Leger hero Scandinavia (Justify) has been entered. Aidan O'Brien has also left Gold Cup second Illinois (Galileo) and King George fourth Jan Brueghel (Galileo) in the race. Sunday's G1 Preis von Europa winner Sibayan (Blame) has also been left in the Long Distance Cup by trainer Francis-Henri Graffard.

For the first time this year, the £250,000 QIPCO British Champions Day Two-Year Old Conditions Stakes will open the card and it is concluded by the £200,000 Balmoral Handicap, Sponsored by QIPCO.

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