QIPCO CHAMPION

STAKES (GROUP 1)

THE very worst of the weather missed Ascot but the going was still very soft on Champions Day. A huge crowd witnessed some memorable performances and one truly outstanding one as John Gosden’s Cracksman routed the opposition in the Qipco Champion Stakes.

How close Cracksman is in ability to his stable-companion Enable is a discussion for long winter evenings but he was mighty impressive here, hitting the front for Frankie Dettori before the two-furlong pole and surging seven lengths clear of Poet’s Word, with Highland Reel a neck away in third.

The last-named has been a model of consistency for Aidan O’Brien in top-class races around the world but is arguably better over a mile and a half on faster ground. Even so, the form speaks for itself.

Shane Foley made it a good gallop on 40/1 outsider Success Days but Cracksman, 13/8 favourite, was never far away and clearly had the measure of the opposition some way from home. Recoletos tried to go with him but was blinded for speed and eventually finished fourth as Poet’s Word battled back to regain second inside the final furlong.

It is unrealistic to expect every horse to reproduce its best form deep into autumn and Arc fifth Brametot, only sixth this time, was possibly reappearing too soon.

The main disappointment was Richard Hannon’s Barney Roy, who beat only Success Days home. Winner of the St James’s Palace at the royal meeting and placed in both the Eclipse and the Juddmonte International, he was clearly a long way below his best but the good news from Godolphin is that he will remain in training next year with the Lockinge at Newbury an early target.

The story was all about Cracksman, however, with Dettori, who was landing his first Champion Stakes, already looking forward to future assignments.

“He put a good field to bed in the manner of a champion,” the jockey enthused. “He’s been working so sweetly and it’s fantastic. He’s a true champion and he deserves it; there’s a lot more to come from him.”

“He seems to have got bigger and stronger, like a fighter weighing more now,” Gosden added.

“He’s definitely improved a lot. He handles this ground and he handles good to firm as well. Coming down from Tattenham Corner he got into a dreadful muddle in the Derby but he’s learning to race. I trained the dam (Rhadegunda) and she was very tough and got better later in the year.

“It’s great for Frankel to have a son win the race he won himself and sire his first Group 1 winner in Europe.” (Frankel has already sired a Group 1 winner in Japan.)

The trainer has worked things out to perfection and has no regrets about leaving the Arc to Enable with Cracksman waiting for next year.

“I just felt she was a bit more streetwise and Chantilly is very different from Longchamp,” he explained. “You have to have tactical awareness at Chantilly and Andre Fabre says the best horse often gets into trouble.”

The decision was probably made easier for Gosden with Cracksman’s owner Anthony Oppenheimer happy to wait. As things stand, Enable is generally a 3/1 chance for the 2018 Arc, back at Longchamp, with Cracksman around 6/1.

Highland Reel is as tough as they come and was going on again at the finish after being kept wide under the trees by Ryan Moore early on.

“He was off a long time and he’s not a soft ground horse so we’re over the moon,” O’Brien said. “Hopefully he’ll go to America and try for a repeat in the Breeders’ Cup Turf.”