Qipco British Champions Day - full results

The results of the races at Qipco British Champions Day 2015, Ascot


12.45 Qipco Long Distance Cup
1st Flying Officer 6/1
2nd Clever Cookie 8/1
3rd Wicklow Brave 10/1


13.20 Qipco Sprint Stakes
1st Muhaarar 5/2f
2nd Twilight Son 4/1
3rd Danzeno 12/1


13.55 Qipco Fillies and Mares Stakes
1st Simple Verse 5/1
2nd Journey 7/1
3rd Beautiful Romance 20/1


14.30 Queen Elizabeth 11 Stakes
1st Solow 11/10f
2nd Belardo 33/1
3rd Gabrial 66/1


15.05 Qipco Champion Stakes
1st Fascinating Rock 10/1
2nd Found 9/2
3rd Jack Hobbs Evs f


15.45 Balmoral Handicap
1st Musaddas 7/1
2nd GM Hopkins 10/1
3rd Master The World 14/1
4th Donncha 20/1

Qipco Champion Stakes

Going is good to soft and soft in places on the round course.

Betting:

Jack Hobbs Evs
Found 5/1; 9/2
Vadamos 7/1; 8/1
Fascinating Rock 11/1; 10/1
The Corsican 12/1
14/1 bar

Going behind
Loading

OFF


Maverick Wave pacemaker leads early
Jack Hobbs second

Found in rear

Order: Maverick Wave, Jack Hobbs, Vadamos, The Corsican


Turn for home
Jack Hobbs, The Corsican, Air Pilot

Pack waiting in behind - Found, Fascinating Rock, Air Pilot


FASCINATING ROCK WINS

Found second
Jack Hobbs third

1st Fascinating Rock (10/1) Pat Smullen
2nd Found (9/2) Ryan Moore
3rd Jack Hobbs (Evs f) William Buick

Queen Elizabeth II Stakes

Going is good to soft and soft in places on the round course.

Betting:

Solow 11/8; 5/4; 6/5; 11/10
Gleneagles 15/8; 2/1; 9/4; 5/2
Kodi Bear 7/1
Territories 9/1; 8/1
16/1 bar


Going down
Going behind
Loading

OFF

Elm Park early lead
Then Kodi Bear

Solow third, 3L back


Half-way point
Order: Elm Park, Kodi Park, Solow

Solow challenges

SOLOW wins

Belardo second


1st Solow (11/10f) Maxime Guyon 
2nd Belardo (33/1) James Doyle
3rd Gabrial (66/1) Paul Hanagan

Qipco British Champions Fillies and Mares Stakes

Going is good to soft and soft in places on the round course.

Betting:

Candarliya 9/2
Simple Verse 5/1; 9/2
Covert Love 11/2; 9/2
Sea Calisi 6/1
Journey 13/2
12/1 Bar


Loading

OFF

Arabian Queen prominent on inside

Journey follows in second

Arabian Queen still leads

Coming to final turn
Order: Arabian Queen, Journey, Simple Verse


Arabian Queen folds
Journey leads
Simple Verse challenges

SIMPLE VERSE WINS

Journey in second
Beautiful Romance takes third


1st Simple Verse (5/1) Andrea Atzeni
2nd Journey (7/1) Frankie Dettori
3rd Beautiful Romance (20/1) James Doyle

Qipco British Champions Sprint Stakes

Going is good to soft and soft in places on the round course.


Betting:

Muhaarar 5/2
Twilight Son 9/2; 4/1
The Tin Man 8/1; 7/1; 15/2; 8/1; 9/1
Strath Burn 8/1; 15/2; 8/1; 9/1; 10/1
Lightning Moon 20/1; 14/1; 12/1
Danzeno 14/1; 12/1; 14/1; 12/1
20/1 bar

Loading

OFF

Muhaarar fast away
Lancelot Du Lac up front

Muhaarar going well, strikes lead

Muhaarar goes away

MUHAARAR WINS

Twilight Son in second

Danzeno in third


1st Muhaarar (5/2f) Paul Hanagan
2nd Twilight Son (4/1) Ryan Moore
3rd Danzeno (12/1) Frankie Dettori

Qipco British Champions Day 2015 schedule

The schedule for the six races on British Champions Day 2015 at Ascot is as follows:

12.45 Group 2 Long Distance Cup
13.20 Group 1 Sprint Stakes
13.55 Group 1 Fillies and Mares Stakes
14.30 Group 1 Queen Elizabeth II Stakes (Champions Mile)
15.05 Group 1 Middle Distance Stakes
15.45 Balmoral Handicap 

Stobart Flat Jockeys Championship 2015

The new format of the Stobart Flat Jockeys Championship means that the competition now runs from 2 May 2015 (QIPCO 2000 Guineas Day) until Saturday 17 October 2015 (QIPCO British Champions' Day).

There was a lot of fanfare at the start of the season about the revamped format with Stobart carrying the names of various jockeys in a launch at Ascot racecourse.

Stobart lorry launch at Ascot
https://vimeo.com/126433596

But as the season has gone on, interest in the title has not been sparked. Injury to Ryan Moore and the mid-season retirement of Richard Hughes have not helped the situation.

At the launch Hughes was quoted as saying some PR guff: “I have made it clear from the start that I
won’t be giving up my title without a fight and will doing my best to win it for a fourth and final time. I have backed the new format since it was first announced and we are grateful to Stobart for their sponsorship and support.”

This was all true until something more important came along - i.e. retiring to start a training career mid-season.

As August comes to a close the leader in the race is Silvestre De Sousa - whose name was not on one of the launch lorries, too long perhaps? - who has reached 100 winners from 489 rides. 28 wins behind in second place are William Buick and Paul Hanagan.

If the general public were asked to name the current top 3 riders in the jockeys championship, not many respondents would be able to name any, even if they were racing fans.

The jockey most people would guess, Frankie Dettori, is not even in the top 20. But he does lead the list if the championship were measured by total prize money. Dettori has amassed nearly GB£ 3.5 million in prize money, some way ahead of De Sousa's GB£ 1.6 million.

Stobart is the sponsor on a one-year deal. The choice to take up the option to extend the association or not will be revealing as to the value the company places on the new format.

Stobart Jockeys Championship (as at 31 Aug 2015)

1. Silvestre De Sousa (100 wins)
2.= William Buick (72)
2.= Paul Hanagan (72)
4. Luke Morris (68)
5. James Doyle (66)

BHA Horseracing bettors forum

The inaugural meeting of the Horseracing bettors forum will take place on 4 September 2015. The nine members who will comprise the forum were announced on Monday 17 August and include its chairman Simon Rowlands (Timeform) and Tanya Stevenson (Channel 4 Racing).

The purpose of the forum is to "deliver proposals and recommendations to the BHA and the BHA Racing and Betting Group for developments to British Racing that would be of benefit to the wider community that bets on British Racing".

http://www.britishhorseracing.com/bha/horseracing-bettors-forum/ 

Judging by the BHA's response to its role in the Speculative Bid shambles at Ascot and the publication of the results of its internal investigation, the forum will have its work cut out to improve the punter's lot.

In that publication the BHA said:

"Rule (B) 10.5.2

The Rule itself is a relatively new one, established to protect betting operators and bettors in the event that a horse is denied a run in particular circumstances. The fact that this was a relatively new (and little-used) Rule certainly contributed to its failure to be delivered effectively.

The BHA will review whether Rule (B) 10.5.2 should remain in place, or is in effect unwieldy to operate even in straightforward circumstances. The Horserace Bettors Forum, set to hold its first meeting next month, will be asked for its views in this area, and in relation to associated on-course announcements."


http://www.britishhorseracing.com/press_releases/bha-publishes-findings-of-internal-investigation-relating-to-speculative-bid-incident/

GBR Fantasy Jumps Series 2014-2015

Reve de Sivola (13/2) battled to victory for a third time in the JLT Long Walk Hurdle at Ascot on Saturday, defeating Paul Nicholls' Zarkandar (4/6f) in the process.

Our leading stable picked up 125 points in the race and has leapt inside the top 650 stables, which is our best performance to date in any of the fantasy racing games.

But it could all change - for the better or worse - in the busy Christmas and New Year racing programme. December still has the King George VI Chase (Kempton Park) on Boxing Day and the Coral Welsh National (Chepstow) the day after to come. Only then can changes be made to our stables to prepare them for the busy January programme which starts at Sandown Park on 3 January 2015 with the HBLB Handicap Chase.

Let's hope we haven't peaked too soon - the Grand National is a long way off!

British champions series: fantasy racing 2014

It was a case of "Mission accomplished" for our two fantasy stables on the British Champions Day at Ascot on Saturday.

With five races to tackle and double points on offer, this one meeting can really salvage the entire performance of the stable.

We put most of our eggs in the Lady Cecil/Noble Mission partnership in the QIPCO Champions Stakes and the gamble paid off, although Al Kazeem threatened to spoil it.

The horse-trainer combination earned 430 points for the returned price of 7/1 and the second selection of Free Eagle (third at 5/2) added a further 90 points with Dermot Weld also in our leading stable.

Our first stable earned over 1,200 points on the day and leapt up into the the top 3,000, finishing just inside 2,900th place with a total of almost 3,600 points.

The second stable earned 898 points on British Champions Day and finished back around 8,000th place.

It looks like the winning stables were up around the 5,000 points mark for the competition overall, so there is improvement needed for next year.

Racing review: Saturday 26 July 2014

Taghrooda topples Telescope in King George

The 2014 running of the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes went to John Gosden’s filly Taghrooda (7/2), who remains unbeaten in four races.

It was a strongly run race, with a good pace set by Leitir Mor and Taghrooda was at the back of the field for much of the contest. But she made good progress through the field in the home straight under Paul Hanagan, who is having a dream season.

As a three-year-old filly, Taghrooda received a substantial weight allowance from several of her older, male rivals and this could have made all the difference. The favourite Telescope (5/2f) carried 9-7 to the filly’s 8-6 and the winning distance was three lengths at the post.

Haggas fires in the winners

Trainer William Haggas had winners across the country on Saturday an added five victories to his tally for the season.

Zaraee (5/2jf) kicked things off at Newcastle (2.30), then Mange All (10/1) won the one-mile handicap at Ascot (2.40). These wins were followed by the impressive Muthmir (4/1f) and Valley Of Fire (9/2) at York (3.30 & 4.05).

Daydreamer (7/4f) rounded off a successful day in the in 8.05 at Lingfield. Before the race Daydreamer was the only horse in Haggas’ stable rated below 70. The eight-length win will likely take the gelding above that mark.

Mark Johnston was not far behind with three winners around the UK, including Heavy Metal (33/1) in the valuable Longines International Stakes at Ascot. It bodes well for Glorious Goodwood next week.

Seven million pound Scoop6

The Tote Scoop6 was not won last weekend and Saturday 10 May will see punters seek to find the six winners that could make them a millionaire.

Scoop 6 races Saturday 10 May:

Leg 1: 1.50 Haydock
Leg 2: 2.20 Lingfield
Leg 3: 2.40 Ascot
Leg 4: 2.45 Nottingham
Leg 5: 3.30 Haydock
Leg 6: 3.50 Ascot

The rollovers continue but the races get no easier.

Saturday's Scoop6 is a mix of jumping and Flat races. Leg 1 is a handicap hurdle at Haydock with 14 runners that is 11/2 the field. Then there is the Oaks trial at Lingfield.

The fourth leg is a Class 5 (0-75) 17 runner sprint at Nottingham (2.45), 6/1 the field.

And if you're still alive by the final leg, it is just the small matter of the Victoria Cup at Ascot (3.50). 29 runners from which to choose, 11/1 the field.

But as the prize pool gets bigger, it becomes of more interest to the big syndicate bettors and it is 4/6 that the Scoop6 will be won; 5/4 it won't.

A Day At The Races: Qipco British Champions Day

It was an excellent day out for British Champions Day at Ascot on Saturday. There were some exciting finishes, a good crowd, and some shock results.

The winning SPs for the six races were: 20/1, 7/1, 16/1, 11/2, 11/4, and 12/1. The fact that there were no winning favourites could be interpreted in two ways, depending on your view about Champions Day taking place in mid-October.

Either: it shows how competitive the racing is, which it should be given the prize money on offer

Or: the soft ground (not unexpected in autumn) deters the fast ground horses from turning up at all and favours those who handle the conditions the best on the day but who are not necessarily the ‘best’ horse.

The presence of Frankel in previous years did set a very high standard but, in general, Saturday did not feel like great champions were being crowned.

Hot Snap and Talent in the parade ring

But that is not to deny the fact that there was some great entertainment. The finish to the Qipco Champion Stakes was a suitably close one for Champions Day – Farhh (11/4) holding on by a nose from Cirrus Des Aigles with Derby winner Ruler Of The World half a length back in third.

Farhh returns victorious

Similarly, the opening race, the Qipco British Champions Long Distance Cup, had another tight finished with Royal Diamond (20/1) coming back to pip Harris Tweed by a nose on the line. The winner was both ridden and trained by Johnny Murtagh, who was had a successful time at Ascot this year.

Olympic Glory (11/2) was very impressive against his opposition in the British Champions Mile under Richard Hughes, with 2/1 favourite Dawn Approach back in fourth place.

 

Olympic Glory streaks clear

 

Away from the track, the exhibition of objects and memorabilia from Sir Henry Cecil’s life and racing career was very popular with race goers as was the collection of sporting trophies in the grandstand.
 

Frankel's trophies

At the end of a long day’s betting, cheering, and going up and down escalators in the grandstand, the delicious steak burger from the Cock n Bull Rotisserie was a much needed restorative before the journey home.

Trend Spotting

One method of trying to narrow down a field and find the potential winner of a race is to follow trends. The gambler will look at the previous winners (and losers) of the race to try and determine if there is a particular type of horse that does well or badly in the contest year after year.

Specific trends could include:

• The fate of the favourite each year
• Horses entered by a particular trainer (you might hear analysts talking about a trainer who ‘farms’ a particular race, meaning they win it regularly)
• Horses carrying a particular weight – maybe no horse carrying more than a certain weight has ever won the race
• Horses that have won or run well in a specific race earlier in the season and come on to run well in the race under consideration
• Horses that have won over the same distance, or maybe are trying this distance for the first time
• The age of horses that win the race or do not do well in the race

This last factor is of particular interest in assessing the 2013 running of the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot in Saturday and shows some of the strengths and weaknesses of relying solely on trends.

The favourite is Cirrus Des Aigles, who is seven years old.

Looking back at the last 12 runnings of the race, going back to 2001, the following trends occur:

• 4-year-olds have won 9/12 races
• 3-year-olds have won 3/12 races
• No horse aged 5 or older has won the race in the last 12 years

On the face of it, therefore, the trends system would dismiss Cirrus Des Aigles’ chances – he is too old.

But, as always, you have to dig a bit deeper and ask a few more questions:

• How many older horses have actually run in the race over that period?
• What profile did those older horses have?
• 4-year-olds dominate the winners but how many take part and is it a good strike rate?

Between 2001 and 2012:

• There were 107 runners
• 16 (15%) were three-year-olds
• 51 (48%) were four-year-olds
• 27 (25%) were five-year-olds
• 9 (8%) were six-year-olds
• 2 (2%) were seven-year-olds

So, in fact, it is five-year-olds who have underperformed most in the race, given the ratio of runners to winners. Four-year-olds accounted for almost 50% of runner and supplied 75% of winners in the last 12 years.

In addition, Cirrus Des Aigles’ profile is very different to the two previous seven-year-olds who have run in the race. Youmzain (third at 12/1 in 2010) and Warrsan (4th at 66/1 in 2005) were both coming to then end of their careers when contesting this race.

By contrast, Cirrus Des Aigles is a better performer than either of those horses and was second only to Frankel in the World Thoroughbred Rankings for the period 1 May to 6 November 2012. He is also rated some 11 lbs better than his rivals on Saturday.

This is not to say that he is a definite winner but it just highlights how dismissing certain runners based on the bare trends alone is not always a recipe for success.

Racing Preview: King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes

The King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes was first run in 1951 and over the decades has been won by some of the great racehorses. Previous winners of the prestigious race include: Nijinsky (1970), Mill Reef (1971), Troy (1979), and Galileo (2001). Dahlia (1973, 1974) and Swain (1997, 1998) are the only two horses to have won the race twice.

The winner of the 2013 running of the race will collect just over GB£ 600,000 and the French-trained Cirrus Des Aigles is the favourite to win. The gelding has run twice at Ascot before, winning the Qipco Champions Stakes in 2011 and was beaten in the same race a year later by Frankel by one and three-quarter lengths.

Speaking after defeat to Frankel last year, Cirrus Des Aigles’ trainer Corine Barande-Barbe said: "They were very close. We lost two lengths but we'll be better next year!”

The seven-year-old has only run once since that defeat in October 2012, when fifth and well beaten in the Grand Prix de Saint Cloud in late June 2013. Andreas Wohler’s Novellist won the race and lines up against Cirrus Des Aigles again on Saturday.

Jim Bolger’s Irish Derby winner Trading Leather is also in the eight-strong field, as is Sir Michael Stoute’s Hillstar, who was supplemented for the race earlier in the week. The colt was the winner of the King Edward VII Stakes over course and distance at the Royal Ascot meeting last month.

The shape of Saturday’s race changed suddenly on Tuesday morning when St Nicholas Abbey was injured on the gallops in preparation for the race. The fractured leg has ended the colt’s racing career and he underwent surgery on Wednesday to try and save him for a career at stud.

The consequence for the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes is that Cirrus Des Aigles is now clear of his rivals on official ratings. But he will have to overcome the trend that a horse aged older than four has not won this race since Daylami in 1999 and no horse aged seven has ever won the race.

Telegraph Fantasy Racing Update

Our stables have continued to pick up points here and there in BCS races so far in July but we don’t seem to making inroads into the leaders. Out leading stable is some 2,000 points off the top spot in around 5,000th place.

Unfortunately, the Falmouth Stakes was a bit of a non-event for fantasy points because there were only four runners and most players will have picked the winner as one of their two selections.

Upcoming in the Qipco British Champions Series are the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot and then we are into Glorious Goodwood with three races eligible for points: Qipco Sussex Stakes, The Artemis Goodwood Cup, and the Markel Insurance Nassau Stakes.

Qipco British Champions Series - Fantasy Racing Game

There is still plenty of time to submit a stable for the Daily Telegraph's Fantasy Racing game, which runs throughout the Qipco British Champions Series over the summer.

The game begins on Saturday 4 May with the Qipco 2000 Guineas at Newmarket and finishes on Saturday 19 October with Qipco British Champions Day at Ascot.

Over the six months the Qipco British Champions Series takes in the 2000 and 1000 Guineas, the Yorkshire Cup at York, the Epsom Derby and Oaks, seven races at the Royal Ascot Meeting, and the Coral Eclipse Stakes at Sandown, to name but a few.

Enter the competition here: http://fantasyracing.telegraph.co.uk/

Royal Ascot Raises The Stakes

Ascot racecourse has announced that total prize money to be won at the Royal meeting in June 2013 will reach £5 million for the first time. There is now a minimum prize pool of £60,000 across all races at the five-day Royal meeting.

On the Tuesday the St James’ Palace Stakes now has prize money of £350,000, an increase of £100,000 from 2012, whilst the Coventry Stakes has risen from £85,000 to £120,000 in 2013.

The Windsor Forest Stakes has been renamed the Duke of Cambridge Stakes and has had the prize money increased by £25,000 to £125,000.

On the Friday the Coronation Stakes is also now worth £350,000.

The Diamond Jubilee Stakes remains the most valuable race at the Royal Ascot meeting with a prize pool of £500,000.

Charles Barnett, Chief Executive at Ascot, explained:
“We have worked hard to make the international races competitive globally in recent years and our focus this year has been to enhance the top three-year-old races, the feature handicaps, the two-year-old championships and the programme generally. It is very important to us to have a significant minimum amount on offer, and we have set that at £60,000.”

“We have seen some remarkable racing at Ascot in recent years and whilst the importance of winning at Royal Ascot both in terms of prestige and in value to the bloodstock industry can't be denied, increasing prize money is equally crucial to attracting the best horses to run in a highly competitive market.”