Meet the Contenders: Saturday’s British Champions Day at Ascot

Ascot hosts one of the world’s most important international race meetings Saturday when England’s richest day of racing returns for British Champions Day. The prestigious lineup extends to seven races for the first time in its 15-year history, featuring five Group 1 events. First post is 7:55 am ET with the featured Champions Stakes (Race 6) set for 11:05 am ET.

Horseplayers with 1/ST BET and Xpressbet be sure to take part in Saturday’s Breeders’ Cup Bankroll promotion. Bet $25 on the featured Champions Stakes (Race 6) and earn a $5 bonus to be deposited into your account for the opening of the Breeders’ Cup on October 31.

Let’s meet the contenders for the British Champions Day races at Ascot:

TRAWLERMAN (Race 1): The British Champions Long Distance Cup winner from 2023 and last year’s runner-up set a course record locally in winning the 2025 Group 1 Gold Cup at Royal Ascot at age 7 and doesn’t look to be slowing down. He’s won 3 straight all at the Cup’s 2-mile distance or farther. William Buick guides the Godolphin home-bred by Epsom Derby & Arc de Triomphe hero Golden Horn for John and Thady Gosden.

WORDS OF TRUTH (Race 2): Group 2 Mill Reef winner for Godolphin takes on Aidan O’Brien and company in the British Champions Day Two-Year-Olds Condition Stakes. Charlie Appleby and Willam Buick team with the Lope De Vega colt who has won 3 straight since being gelded after a disappointing debut in May. His half-brother Ancient Truth won last year’s Group 2 Superlative and placed in the Group 1 Dewhurst.

KIND OF BLUE (Race 3): Defending champ in the British Champions Sprint Stakes is third choice among the bookmakers to defend his title. He’s lost all 4 starts this season but perked back up last out with a runner-up in the Group 1 Haydock Sprint Cup. Trainer James Fanshawe is a 3-time Sprint winner. The race will also include 8-year-old Art Power, who scored this trophy in 2023, though favoritism is expected to go between Group 1 Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee winner Lazzat and his Group 1 Haydock Sprint Cup conqueror Big Mojo.

KALPANA (Race 4): Winner of last year’s British Champions Filly & Mares Stakes wheels back on 13 days’ rest from her Arc de Triomphe seventh-place run. The Andrew Balding trainee hasn’t won in 5 starts on the campaign, but placed in the Group 1 Tattersalls Gold Cup, Group 1 Pretty Polly and Group 1 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth II Stakes. Competition figures to be strong from Yorkshire Oaks runner-up Estrange, who previously had won 3 straight.

FIELD OF GOLD (Race 5): The Queen Elizabeth II Stakes headliner won this year’s Irish Two Thousand Guineas and St. James’s Palace at Royal Ascot. He’s ranked co-#2 in the Longines World’s Best Racehorse Rankings for John and Thady Gosden and Juddmonte Farm. The chief rival figures to be Rosallion, runner-up in Royal Ascot’s Queen Ann as well as the Sussex and Prix du Moulin de Longchamp, all Grade 1s. American export Carl Spackler exits back-to-back sixth-place runs since his relocation to the UK.

OMBUDSMAN (Race 6): The current #1 in the Longines World’s Best Racehorse Rankings headlines the British Champions Stakes. He’s won 6 of 8 with a pair of seconds for Godolphin, most recently victorious in the Group 1 Juddmonte International. He tallied the Group 1 Prince of Wales’s over this course at Royal Ascot in June. He’s 1-and-1 in head-to-head matchups with Delarcroix and Saturday will be the decider. Ombudsman’s presence caps what could be a huge day for John and Thady Gosden.

DELACROIX (Race 6): The British Champions Stakes will be the expected final career start for the regally bred Dubawi-Tepin colt who has been first or second in 10 of 11 starts. Recent victories in the Group 1 Irish Champion and Group 1 Coral-Eclipse have washed away some of the disappointment from his Epsom Derby ninth in June. Trainer Aidan O’Brien looks for a rather elusive second win in this race, having scored in 2019 with Magical.

CALANDAGAN (Race 6): Last year’s British Champions Stakes runner-up eyes the big prize Saturday. Because geldings aren’t permitted to run in the Arc de Triomphe, his connections have been eyeing this race to once again cap his season. Enters off wins in the Group 1 Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud and the Group 1 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes, the latter over this course at Ascot. Mickael Barzalona rides for Francois-Henri Graffard.

NATIVE WARRIOR (Race 7): A straightway mile wraps the program with the Balmoral Handicap in its traditional anchor spot for British Champions Day. A whopping 47 entered with 20 to start, headlined by Native Warrior, a winner in 3 of his last 4 starts. The last 3 winners of the Balmoral Handicap have popped 80-1, 25-1 and 14-1 prices -- and the favorite has not won this race since 2017.

‍