Economics and Charyn headline Champions Day fields

PA Sport Reporters
October 1, 2024 3:57 pm

Champion Stakes and QEII the highlights at Ascot later this month.

Economics and Charyn are two of the star names still in contention following the second entry stage for the five Group races on Qipco British Champions Day at Ascot.

A total of 151 horses have stood their ground across the Champion Stakes, the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes, the British Champions Sprint, the Long Distance Cup and the Fillies & Mares Stakes, with several mouthwatering clashes in prospect.

The William Haggas-trained Economics is the likely favourite for the Qipco Champion Stakes as he bids to supplement his victory in the Irish Champion Stakes at Leopardstown last time out. He may not have things all his own way, however, with French ace Calandagan chief among his likely rivals.

Calandagan in action at York (Mike Egerton/PA)

Aidan O’Brien’s top-class trio of City Of Troy, Los Angeles and Auguste Rodin are also among the 36 horses still in the mix, but all are being readied for alternative targets, namely the Breeders’ Cup Classic, the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe and the Japan Cup respectively. As expected, King George hero Goliath has been taken out.

Roger Varian’s Charyn will bid to put the seal on his excellent campaign in the QEII, having already struck Group One gold in the Queen Anne at Royal Ascot and the Prix Jacques le Marois at Deauville. He was only narrowly denied a top-level hat-trick in the Prix du Moulin on his most recent outing.

Varian said: “He’s in great form and Ascot, where he was very good in the Queen Anne, is the plan.

“He’s had a terrific season and it might have been even better, as he was arguably a bit unlucky at Longchamp in the Moulin, but at the start of the year we’d have been very happy to settle for what he’s already achieved.”

A big smile from Silvestre de Sousa as he returns aboard Charyn in Deauville (PA)

Charyn’s potential opponents among a total of 27 remaining entries include last year’s brilliant winner Big Rock (Maurizio Guarnieri), Metropolitan (Mario Baratti) and Notable Speech (Charlie Appleby).

The October 19 card kicks off with the Qipco British Champions Long Distance Cup, in which Kyprios is the star attraction, although he must first come through the Prix du Cadran this weekend.

Last year’s Long Distance Cup hero Trawlerman (John and Thady Gosden) is also among the 26 hopefuls for this season’s renewal, as is his Doncaster Cup-winning stablemate Sweet William and the ever-popular Trueshan (Alan King), who claimed this prize in 2020, 2021 and 2022.

The new kid on the staying block is Al Nayyir, who was touched off by Vauban on his first start for Tom Clover in the Lonsdale Cup at York in August and confirmed that was no fluke with a runaway success in the Listed Rose Bowl at Newmarket last week.

“Al Nayyir looks to have come out of his race at Newmarket nicely and he looks great, so all being well we are heading to Champions Day with him,” said Clover.

“Luke Morris had felt after riding work on him before Newmarket that he’d come forward for York, but even so I can’t say I expected him to win in quite the style he did.

“You sometimes get exaggerated distances on that easy ground, but with a smooth run I hope we can have a good crack at the Long Distance Cup.”

Kinross (Ralph Beckett), Mill Stream (Jane Chapple-Hyam) and Montassib (William Haggas) are three of 33 going forward for the Qipco British Champions Sprint.

Montassib returns under Cieren Fallon after winning the Sprint Cup at Haydock (PA)

Montassib won the Sprint Cup at Haydock last month, narrowly defeating the James Fanshawe-trained Kind Of Blue, who has since been snapped up by the Wathnan Racing team.

Fanshawe said: “Kind Of Blue has been in good form since his second in the Betfair Sprint Cup and James Doyle came and had a sit on him on Saturday as he’s now owned by Wathnan Racing. The Champions Sprint at Ascot is the plan for him and it’s a race we’ve won before with both Deacon Blues and The Tin Man.

“Kind Of Blue is out of a sister to Deacon Blues and a half-sister to The Tin Man, so he’s their nephew if you like. They were both four-year-olds when they won on Champions Day and Kind Of Blue is only three, but he’s by Blue Point and a big, strong colt. He hopefully has a bright future.”

The Qipco Champions Fillies & Mares Stakes sees 29 remain in contention with high-profile names such as Bluestocking (Ralph Beckett), Kalpana (Andrew Balding), Opera Singer (Aidan O’Brien), Content (Aidan O’Brien) and Emily Upjohn (John and Thady Gosden) all included.