Ratings Update: Champions Day 2017

As it had done last year, British Champions Day began with Order of St George starting at odds-on for the Long Distance Cup, and like last year he was below his best in that race. This time around, however, he managed to justify his short odds, beating Torcedor (up 6 lb to 118), who’d been nine lengths behind him in the Irish St Leger, by half a length. Though below his best (rated 128), Order of St George showed a very determined attitude under testing conditions to master his rivals – most of which were going better than he was turning in – just 20 days after running another huge race in the Arc. Stradivarius (remains on 123) was also below his best back in third, but his campaign this season is very much one to be positive about, and he looks set to challenge for top staying honours in 2018.

The first Group 1 of the day was the Champions Sprint Stakes, where Librisa Breeze finally made the pattern-level breakthrough that he had promised with his performances from big weights in top handicaps last term. The pick of those efforts had come over the seven-furlong course at Ascot, but he stepped up on the best of those efforts on Saturday with everything falling ideally for him (played late in a race which suited such tactics). Now Timeform rated 125 (from 120), he should continue to give a good account at this level, though due to the testing conditions the form itself is perhaps not as strong as it would seem, with Harry Angel (remains on 133) pressing on too soon and better judged on his Sprint Cup win. Tasleet (124) ran his race in second, filling that position in a Group 1 for the third time in four starts, with Caravaggio (down 3 lb to 125) again not quite as good as he looked like he might be when winning the Commonwealth Cup back in the summer.

The Fillies’ and Mares’ Stakes was predictably the weakest of the Group 1 events on the day, with no Enable, Winter or Rhododendron in attendance, but there was proven Group 1 form on display, with the first and second from the Prix Vermeille, and the Matron Stakes winner featuring. Prix Vermeille second and the winner of this race last year Journey (down 6 lb to 119) was below form (admittedly on the softest ground she’d faced), and the race was fought out between Bateel, and Matron winner Hydrangea. The former (now down 1 lb to 122) has been much improved this season for her new yard and ran well in second, but was denied by the tough Hydrangea (up 7 lb to 123), who relished the step up in trip to post a significant career best.

There was another minor upset in the QE II when the standard-setting Ribchester (down 2 lb to 129) could only manage second, running below the form of his wins in the Lockinge, Queen Anne and Prix du Moulin for the second time in his last three starts (though testing ground was probably a big factor here as it had been at Goodwood). This paved the way for the gambled-on Persuasive (up 4 lb to 123) to finally land a Group 1, having placed at the level against her own sex on her last two starts. She will now head to stud, which would also be a possibility for Churchill (remains on 126), though he probably has unfinished business over further than a mile should his connections keep him going next season.

With some notable disappointments (most attributed to the testing conditions) Champions Day had been somewhat devoid of a true champion before the Champions Stakes itself, but that changed drastically when Cracksman put up one of, if not the best performances seen in Europe this season. He is now Timeform rated 136 (from 130p) and given that he had just one start at two and has progressed with nearly every one of his starts during his three-year-old campaign (still didn’t look the finished article even in the Derby), he promises even more for his four-year-old season, a potential clash with his stablemate Enable a mouth-watering prospect.

The failure of one or two of the more likely challengers to deliver (including Barney Roy, who didn’t appear to handle the ground) is negated by Cracksman’s performance on the clock, and he actually ran the final furlong quicker than in any other race on the card, which of course included two Group 1s run over shorter distances.

The final race on the card, the Balmoral Handicap, is well worth a mention, too, with the well-backed winner Lord Glitters (118p from 116p) looking a pattern-race winner waiting to happen for next season given how well he did to win a highly competitive handicap from a BHA mark of 102 having been poorly, having had to pass the whole field inside the final quarter mile.

Further Reading: How Timeform Handicaps Horses