Ratings Update: British Champions Day 2016

The place to start is with a deep renewal of the Group 1 Champion Stakes. The first four from last year were due to take part—the 2015 winner Fascinating Rock was a late withdrawal due to the good to firm ground—though both Timeform ratings and the betting pointed to the Prix du Jockey Club/Irish Champion Stakes winner Almanzor being the one to beat. So it proved as Almanzor confirmed himself as the best horse in Europe (rated 133) with a clear-cut, two-length success over the 129-rated Found, who had of course won the Arc since finishing runner-up in the Irish Champion.

With Godolphin’s pacemaker Maverick Wave not going as fast as he had in the same role 12 months earlier, the field were quite well grouped behind the front two—with the returning Jack Hobbs (129) staying on to take third from My Dream Boat (124) and the rejuvenated The Grey Gatsby (122 from 119)—which prevents a high view being taken of the bare form. Almanzor could have the Arc as his ultimate target in 2017 and certainly shapes as though a mile and a half will be within his reach, while Found could still attempt to defend her crown in next month’s Breeders’ Cup Turf; three Group/Grade 1 wins and 11 placed efforts in similar races really is a fantastic achievement.

The Group 1 Queen Elizabeth II Stakes featured a representative field of British- and Irish-trained milers, particularly among the three-year-olds, with six of the seven runners of that age having already won at Group 1/Grade 1 level, four of them classic winners. As it turned out, the three-year-olds filled five of the first six places, including the first two as Minding again showed herself to be one of the toughest and most versatile fillies seen in recent times—perhaps only her stablemate Found is above her for that particular honour—by beating Ribchester by half a length, improving by 4 lb to 127 in the process. Minding won her seventh Group 1 on Saturday with a decisive turn of foot and, if it proves to be her swansong, it was a memorable way to go out (though it's possible that, like Found did, she will come back at four).

Ribchester has had a cracking campaign, arguably unfortunate to have just one Group 1 win (Prix Jacques le Marois) to his name, and he produced another high-class performance here (up 1 lb to 129), despite taking a long time to settle. He’s set to stay in training for 2017 and the Lockinge may well offer him a good chance of another Group 1 win. Lightning Spear improved by 1 lb to 125 when taking third, faring best among the older brigade, while Awtaad (124) ran respectably in fourth, one place ahead of his old rival Galileo Gold (126).

The Champions Sprint Stakes is a race growing in status, and a worthy Group 1, but a few things stopped the latest renewal from being the all-defining sprint that it is intended to be. One was the absence of the 129-rated Limato, who still has a stronger claim than most to be considered the champion sprinter of 2016, but above that it wasn't an entirely level playing ground as it went. Any nominal bias towards the far side of the track was inflamed by Signs of Blessing (122), the hare who increasingly became the focal point, with a subtle swing turning into a definite one two furlongs out. The three lowest drawn finished in the first five, namely the winner The Tin Man (up 4 lb to 126), fourth Signs of Blessing and fifth Don’t Touch (117), while the four highest drawn—Shalaa (123 from 123p), Twilight Son (124 from 127), Mecca’s Angel (130 from 131) and Donjuan Triumphant (118 from 119)—finished in the last four places. The Tin Man’s performance here might be just fourth or fifth in the best sprinting performances of the year, but only now is he reaching the peak of his powers and he could find even more in 2017. Growl showed improved form (119 from 113) to take the runner-up spot from Brando (down 1 lb to 125), who had given Growl 9 lb and a beating when winning the Ayr Gold Cup in September.

Seventh Heaven (126 from 127) stood out on form for the Group 1 Fillies & Mares Stakes, but she wasn't at her best in fifth, with a daring move to race on the rail (from her wide draw) not working out. It’s worth noting that the first two, Journey and Speedy Boarding (117), did rather better with more conventional rides from the two adjacent stalls to Seventh Heaven, though even if Seventh Heaven had enjoyed a smoother time of things she would have needed to be at her best to beat Journey who showed improved form (123 from 119) to go one better than in last year’s renewal, doing so by four lengths. Speedy Boarding ran up to her best just 13 days after winning the l’Opera, showing herself effective at a mile and a half in the process (only ninth last year). She will now head off to the paddocks. The third Queen's Trust was plainly better than the result given she still had plenty to do entering the straight, and she would be well worth keeping in training at four.

A field featuring the winners of this year’s Gold Cup, Prix du Cadran, Doncaster Cup and Park Hill Stakes assembled for the Group 2 Long Distance Cup, so it was a strong renewal of an almost de facto Group 1 (Group 1 winners don’t have to carry a penalty). However, this was not a satisfactory affair, either, as the steady pace meant speed was tested more than stamina and position was crucial, as is so often the case on the round course at Ascot. Things were not ideal for eventual third and fourth, Simple Verse (121) or Order of St George (129), which left old foes Sheikhzayedroad (back up to 119) and Quest For More (118) to fight out the finish. Sheikhzayedroad had beaten Quest For More by a nose when winning the Doncaster Cup and, while Quest For More had won the Cadran in the meantime, Sheikhzayedroad was able to increase his winning margin to half a length here. Order of St George sweated up badly beforehand just 13 days on from the Arc and the winter break should do him good; he still remains the most likely winner of the 2017 Gold Cup.

The closing Balmoral Handicap was won by Timeform top-rated Yuften who had contested Group 1s as a three-year-old for William Haggas before things went wrong for him. He had a five-race spell with Johnny Murtagh in Ireland before joining Roger Charlton before last month’s return from three months off. Yuften confirmed the promise he showed that day when winning this race, and his new rating is 115, which is just 2 lb shy of his best. Now he’s in the zone it could be tempting to aim him at an all-weather programme, remembering that he beat Sir Isaac Newton on polytrack at Dundalk in the spring.

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There was top international action at Woodbine on Sunday, with the Grade 1 Canadian International Stakes going to France’s Erupt (back up to 125). Dartmouth (down 1 lb to 124) finished second, failing by a length to give Sir Michael Stoute a record fourth win in the race, while Idaho (123), the sole three-year-old in the line-up could finish only fifth. US-trained fillies filled the first two places in the Grade 1 E. P. Taylor Stakes with Al’s Gal (115) beating Suffused (115) by a nose (though the latter was trained by Roger Charlton in Britain last year). British raiders Swiss Range and Nezwaah could finish only sixth and seventh respectively, while Ballydoyle’s Best In The World finished last of the 12 runners.