Champions Day may not officially end the flat season, but the array of riproaring races taking place at Ascot on Saturday brings a conclusive feel which ultimately heralds the return of the jumps. The big players have all been declared too, with 11 runners in contention for the headline contest, the Group 1 Qipco Champion Stakes.
They are headed by two horses who have formed a tremendously exciting rivalry this season in Delacroix and Ombudsman. It is 1-1 between the pair, with Delacroix storming home from last to first in the Eclipse at Sandown past his Godolphin-owned rival before Ombudsman gained revenge courtesy of a tactical masterclass from the Gosden team and William Buick in the Juddmonte International Stakes at York.
Last year’s runner-up and two-time Group 1 winner this term Calandagan is also among the 11. The Francis-Henri Graffard-trained four-year-old ended a long run of runner-up finishes when winning the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud in June, then backed it up when claiming the King George over 1m4f at Ascot.
Other runners include 2024 Irish Champion Stakes hero Economics, off since disappointing when sixth in this a year ago, Almaqam, who beat Ombudsman in the Brigadier Gerard Stakes earlier this season, and the supplemented First Look, a three-time winner since August for Andre Fabre. Devil’s Advocate, as pre-empted by John Gosden, has been supplemented as well as a pacemaker for his stablemate.
2025 Champion Stakes Runners
| Number | Horse | Trainer |
| 1 | Almaqam | Ed Walker |
| 2 | Calandagan | Francis-Henri Graffard |
| 3 | Economics | William Haggas |
| 4 | First Look | Andre Fabre |
| 5 | Fox Legacy | Andrew Balding |
| 6 | Ombudsman | John & Thady Gosden |
| 7 | Prague | Dylan Cunha |
| 8 | Almeric | Andrew Balding |
| 9 | Delacroix | Aidan O’Brien |
| 10 | Devil’s Advocate | John & Thady Gosden |
| 11 | Mount Kilimanjaro | Aidan O’Brien |
Queen Elizabeth II Stakes Runners 2025
16 horses are among the line-up for the Group 1 Queen Elizabeth II Stakes, the 1m championship which takes place the race before the Champion Stakes. It provides a chance for Field Of Gold to gain redemption for his shock turnover in Goodwood’s Sussex Stakes after his breathtaking spring in which he annihilated his rivals in the Irish 2000 Guineas and St James’s Palace Stakes.
He will take on this season’s hard luck story in Rosallion. He is without a win in five starts this term for Richard Hannon, but has been denied by a nose at Royal Ascot, a neck at Glorious Goodwood, and then a short-head in the Prix du Moulin at Longchamp. His connections will be desperate for him to claim a contest of this nature this season.
Other intriguing contenders include Fallen Angel, who is on a superb run of form for Karl Burke, which includes setting the 1m course record on Newmarket’s Rowley Mile during her Falmouth Stakes success earlier this month, Never So Brave, also seeking a four-timer after a debut Group 1 victory in the City Of York Stakes, and Docklands, the Queen Anne winner over track and trip earlier this campaign at the royal meeting.
2025 Queen Elizabeth II Stakes Runners
| Number | Horse | Trainer |
| 1 | Carl Spackler | John & Thady Gosden |
| 2 | Cicero’s Gift | Charles Hills |
| 3 | Dancing Gemini | Roger Teal |
| 4 | Docklands | Harry Eustace |
| 5 | Facteur Cheval | Jerome Reynier |
| 6 | Never So Brave | Andrew Balding |
| 7 | Quddwah | Simon & Ed Crisford |
| 8 | Rosallion | Richard Hannon |
| 9 | Alakazi | Johnny Murtagh |
| 10 | Fallen Angel | Karl Burke |
| 11 | Field Of Gold | John & Thady Gosden |
| 12 | Marvelman | Andrew Balding |
| 13 | Tamfana | David Menuisier |
| 14 | The Lion In Winter | Aidan O’Brien |
| 15 | Exactly | Aidan O’Brien |
| 16 | January | Aidan O’Brien |
Other Champions Day Runners
Gold Cup hero Trawlerman is the clear headline act in the Group 1 British Champions Long Distance Cup, the first time the contest will be raced as a Group 1. It will also be the first of the top level races on the card, with stablemate and Doncaster Cup winner Sweet William and the supplemented three-year-old Stay True the most notable pair of dangers.
The British Champions Sprint Stakes is next up on the card. Lazzat has surprisingly blotted his copybook the last twice, including when only fifth in the Sprint Cup at Haydock, but his success in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes was in the strongest sprint field of the season over course and distance. Owners Wathnan Racing and trainer Jerome Reynier will be hoping his authority is stamped here once again.
However, against him, the Sprint Cup hero Big Mojo has been improving all season, while last year’s winner Kind Of Blue was second in that Haydock event and has been steadily coming back to his best form. Other former Group 1 winners in the running are Montassib, Insiherin, No Half Measures and the eight-year-old Art Power, who won this in 2023.
The Champion Fillies & Mares Stakes field could yet be among the strongest on the day too. The dazzling grey Estrange was beaten by Minnie Hauk in the Yorkshire Oaks, but had previously gone unbeaten this season for David O’Meara. Any rain would help her chances, though Arc seventh and King Geroge second Kalpana is still among the ten potentials for this contest despite only a 13-day break since Longchamp.
The Britannia Handicap will conclude the card with Native Warrior the clear favourite, though the likes of Shout and Fifth Column have also enjoyed successful seasons and are likely challengers. Champions Day also has a new opening contest this year with a two-year-old conditions race attracting 13 runners. Mill Reef Stakes winner Words Of Truth is the big name, though Saturday’s Rockingham Stakes winner at York, Division, will make a quick turnaround here too.
British Champions Long Distance Cup Runners 2025
| Number | Horse | Trainer |
| 1 | Al Qareem | Karl Burke |
| 2 | Sweet William | John & Thady Gosden |
| 3 | Trawlerman | John & Thady Gosden |
| 4 | Saratoga | Aidan O’Brien |
| 5 | Stay True | Aidan O’Brien |
British Champions Sprint Stakes Runners 2025
| Number | Horse | Trainer |
| 1 | Art Power | Tim Easterby |
| 2 | Iberian | Charles Hills |
| 3 | Inisherin | Kevin Ryan |
| 4 | James’s Delight | Clive Cox |
| 5 | Kind Of Blue | James Fanshawe |
| 6 | King’s Gamble | Ralph Beckett |
| 7 | King Cuan | Paddy Twomey |
| 8 | Lazzat | Jerome Reynier |
| 9 | Montassib | William Haggas |
| 10 | Quinault | Stuart Williams |
| 11 | Run To Freedom | Henry Candy |
| 12 | Ten Bob Tony | Ed Walker |
| 13 | Witness Stand | Dr Richard Newland |
| 14 | Big Mojo | Mick Appleby |
| 15 | Powerful Glory | Richard Fahey |
| 16 | Spy Chief | John & Thady Gosden |
| 17 | Flora Of Bermuda | Andrew Balding |
| 18 | No Half Measures | Richard Hughes |
| 19 | Rosy Affair | George Boughey |
| 20 | Rayevka | Francis-Henri Graffard |
British Champions Fillies & Mares Runners 2025
| Number | Horse | Trainer |
| 1 | Danielle | John & Thady Gosden |
| 2 | Estrange | David O’Meara |
| 3 | Kalpana | Andrew Balding |
| 4 | Latakia | Francis-Henri Graffard |
| 5 | One Look | Paddy Twomey |
| 6 | Quisisana | Francis-Henri Graffard |
| 7 | Ballet Slippers | Aidan O’Brien |
| 8 | Bedtime Story | Aidan O’Brien |
| 9 | Waardah | Owen Burrows |
| 10 | Wemightakedlongway | Joseph O’Brien |