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Awful ground, run on a NH track. Underwhelming races, do we think ANY race was won by a ‘Champion’? Not for me. This feels like its an inconvenience, squeezed in between Longchamp and the BC.
Surely this must be classed as a total failure, the old Newmarket Champions Day including the Dewhurst and Rockfel was immensely superior in my opinion.
BUY THE SUN
It might be more accurate to call it Ascot Consolation Day. A special meeting for those whose season needs rescuing at this late stage.
Indeed it is,but you wouldn’t guess by listening to or reading the usual cheerleaders in the racing media.
Newmarket champions day was a fabulous day and yes the day now attracts 14,000 extra “racegoers” but that’s not enough to justify running a wrecking ball through the later stages of the flat season.True, overall this year’s Champions Day didn’t exactly live up to the name, but the vast majority of previous years have. You can’t really have a Champions Day at the start or middle of a season – the programme should build up to the day… And the natural place for it is between the Arc (unnoficial French Champions Day) and the Breeders Cup (unnoficial USA Champions Day). Otherwise it would not get enough top quality racehorses in any year. However, that obviously means sometimes it’s run on very soft ground. Quite a few horses don’t act on it and don’t run. Therefore sometimes (like yesterday) fewer Champions turn up. But there were other reasons:
2019 may have seemed a poor Champions Day, but may be that was more because we’d been blessed by some real top top class performances earlier in the year – better than your average Group 1 winners? And a victim of other circumstances…
Blue Point retired, Ten Sovereigns only showed his brilliance once (and I believe goes for the Everest in Australia?) and Battaash is pure 5f speed. So the 6f Champion Sprint on soft was never going to be a true “Champion Sprint” – not its fault.
Can’t see what was wrong with the Champion Long Distance Cup tbh. Albeit Stradivarius fans left disappointed; possibly because he isn’t as effective on soft, or possibly beaten by a better racehorse.
Fillie And Mares race was always going to miss Enable who understandably went for a third Arc… And the 2018 1 – 2 ran at this meeting anyway, Magical and Coronet in the Champion Stakes. So standard of the F&M was going to drop.
Of the top milers Too Darn Hot injured and retired… And although Benbatl ran, his form on soft isn’t what it is on a firmer surface.
Champion Stakes: Enable was never going to turn up given her record. Conditions perfect for Crystal Ocean (injured) without which a repeat of the Prince Of Wales 1 – 2 would’ve been on the cards. Japan ran in the Arc and needed longer to recover and/or better on a firmer surface; ditto Sottsass. So yes, overall the field wasn’t great; but one who’s unbelievably still under-rated by many is Magical. She is real top class, far better than the Arc suggests (where ran too fast too soon).
It’s easy to judge this year’s Champions Day line up against the very best Newmarket Champion Stakes, Dewhurst etc. But there have been disappointing races there too. In any year there are only a certain amount of real Champion top class horses to go around. If these races were run anywhere else on very soft ground – would they have been any better races? That’s if it would’ve been run anywhere else (waterlogged?).
In my opinion the new Champions Day is (most years) better.
Value Is EverythingI doubt the best Ascot card would be better than the worse Newmarket one. I can’t stand this Distaff stuff either.
Getting towards NH levels of dilution, the Cheltenham Festival now being a pale shadow of its 3 day former self.
Consolation Day, a superb summary in two words. Well played that man.
BUY THE SUN
Enable was never going to turn up given her record
???
Blackbeard to conquer the World
Enable was always going for a third Arc and last year went from the Arc to Breeders Cup where also victorious, Nathan. Trainers and connections rarely change winning formulas and Gosden even less likely… And only once has she reappeared as quickly as Arc to Champion Stakes. So if racing again this year it would’ve been Breeders Cup.
Value Is EverythingHowever, that obviously means sometimes it’s run on very soft ground
It wouldn’t be if still held at Newmarket
It isn’t Ascot’s champion’s day it’s QIPCO champion’s day so why on earth is Ascot being criticised?
did we ever really need a “champions day” anyway? again I preferred how it was before with the champion st at Newmarket qe2 on frankies day at ascot etc
Who is criticising Ascot? Its the concept as a whole that is being criticised. The calendar has been shifted around to make it happen, and if an improvement was aimed for, it has failed miserably.
BUY THE SUN
Who is criticising Ascot? Its the concept as a whole that is being criticised. The calendar has been shifted around to make it happen, and if an improvement was aimed for, it has failed miserably.
The title says “Ascot Champions Day a failureit doesn’t say QIPCO Champions Day a failure
Despite being on three channels at the same time itv viewing figures surpassed 1 million for yesterday’s Champions Day coverage.
Figures were up 26-38% with last year figures being between 700,00-800,000.
So it seems that it wasn’t a failure just some people on here who think every week should be a classic event.
I don’t make a habit of twittering on about sponsors Steve. I don’t use viewing figures as a barometer of my enjoyment of a horse race either.
In my opinion its relatively poor in comparison with the old Newmarket card. I’m not alone.
If you disagree, ok.
BUY THE SUN
Most years I find this Champions Day infinitely better than Newmarket’s old Champion Stakes day – which if I remember rightly only had two Championship races anyway.
In theory be nice to see it being moved around to different Grade 1 venues if practically possible. Newmarket has enough of the top races in Autumn. Would the races previously moved to Newmarket go back to Ascot? If so what would replace them at Newmarket and make up the races at Ascot? How much more would it cost in organising? ie Employees having one off contracts instead of working at the same place every year etc? Would sponsors be agreeable? Is there enough spectator room at some Group 1 tracks? Probably not enough room at places like Newbury. Chester is no place for a Champions Day given the sharp track. Where is Sandown’s 6f track? Very soft ground at many tracks means it’s often a matter of who gets the beneficial golden highway; is that ok for Championship races? Ascot is perhaps the fairest track for Championship races.
Value Is Everything
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