Qipco British Champions Day did not disappoint, living up to its name in spectacular style. All three of the big early favourites duly obliged and by 3:30pm bookmakers were on the ropes - a sight we all love to see. Kyprios, Kalpana and Charyn were all comfortable winners of their races, returning at odds of 8/11, 10/3 and 13/8 respectively. Accumulators were brewing.
It was then time for the Champion Stakes, the race of the day. It had everything. Calandagan, the 6/4 favourite, missed the break and found himself trapped up the inside with nowhere to go. With favourite backers around the country screaming at their televisions, he finally spied a gap and forged his way to the front in dramatic fashion. Jim Crowley then produced Anmaat from nowhere to chin the favourite on the line and cause a 40/1 surprise; bookmakers breathing a sigh of relief.
It begs the question, should Anmaat ever have been 40/1? Statistically no. In his UK races he'd recorded five wins and two second place finishes from his seven attempts at the 1m2f distance. He clearly handles soft ground and had recorded solid Average Speeds across the board. It was also Jim Crowley's only ride of the day.
Those analysing THM Ground stats pre race will have noted conditions were ideal for Royal Rhyme. He had notched four wins from his five races on soft ground, so it was no surprise to see him run a huge race to finish third at 25/1. A nice each way pay day.
We all watched on as Oisin Murphy was deservedly crowned champion jockey for the fourth time in six years - congratulations to him. There was no winner for him on the day at Ascot; the closest he came was a near miss on Flora Of Bermuda in the Champion Sprint Stakes. James Doyle took the spoils here on Kind Of Blue, a really brave performance from a horse who was previously unraced on soft ground.
The weekend action continues as jumps action returns at Kempton racecourse today. A little Sunday treat for us.