With all of the big guns standing their ground, the 2025 Champion Stakes promised to deliver on the hype. Billed as “Ombudsman vs Delacroix Round 3”, the market sided with the John & Thady Gosden-trained Juddmonte International winner. While 13/8f Ombudsman received solid support on the day, Aidan O’Brien’s Delacroix drifted out to 11/2.
With Delacroix weak in the market, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes winner Calandagan started as the clear second favourite. Fresh from his first win in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe with Daryz, could French trainer Francis-Henri Graffard claim another huge success?
Ombudsman, Delacroix, and Calandagan were the only runners who started at a single-figure price. However, on a day where the Champion Sprint and Queen Elizabeth II Stakes were won by runners priced at 200/1 and 100/1, it would perhaps be unwise to underestimate the outsiders.
The William Haggas-trained Economics was sent off at 2/1 in the 2024 edition but hadn’t been seen at the track since that disappointing sixth-place finish. If at his best, he had the form to go close, but that looked a tall order following a 364-day absence.
Still in with a chance of landing his first British Champion Trainer title, Andrew Balding sent two to post. Fox Legacy had won three of four outings since joining Balding but faced a steep rise in class. The three-year-old Almeric was more open to improvement than his stablemate and arrived on the back of a career-best win in a Listed event at Ayr.
The second French runner in the field, First Look, represented two-time Champion Stakes winner André Fabre and carried the hopes of Wathnan Racing. Of the others, Almaqam had solid claims on his verdict over Ombudsman in the Brigadier Gerard Stakes. Devil’s Advocate and Mount Kilimanjaro were up against it on all known form and looked booked for pace-making duties.
Result
- 1st – Calandagan 15/8, Jockey: Mickael Barzalona, Trainer: Francis-Henri Graffard
- 2nd – Ombudsman 13/8f, Jockey: William Buick, Trainer: John & Thady Gosden
- 3rd – Almaqam 28/1, Jockey: Kieran Shoemark, Trainer: Ed Walker
Prize Money Breakdown
- 1st – £803,864.25
- 2nd – £304,762.50
- 3rd – £152,523
- 4th – £75,978
- 5th – £38,130.75
- 6th – £19,136.25
Tote and Forecast Payouts
- Tote Win – £3.40
- Tote Places – 1st – £1.25, 2nd – £1.20, 3rd – £5.20
- Exacta – £6.70
- Computer Straight Forecast (CSF) – £4.87
- Trifecta – £65.10
- Tricast – £56.69
Recap
As expected, the Ballydoyle pacemaker Mount Kilimanjaro broke quickly from stall 8 and tracked across to lead the field into the first bend. Fellow frontrunner Devil’s Advocate followed through from his wide draw in 11. Almaqam and Fox Legacy sat third and fourth towards the inside. Of the big three in the market, Delacroix gained a midfield position, while Calandagan and Ombudsman were held up at the back of the pack.
There was little change in the order around Swinley Bottom and into the back straight, with Mount Kilimanjaro and Devil’s Advocate continuing to make the running for Delacroix and Ombudsman. Almaqam, Fox Legacy, and Prague came next, followed by First Look in the Wathnan silks. Delacroix had dropped back from his early position, while Calandagan and Ombudsman continued to be patiently ridden at the back of the field. Around 10 lengths between first and last at this stage.
Turning for home, Mount Kilimanjaro and Devil’s Advocate quickened to move five lengths clear of a strung-out field. Mount Kilimanjaro wilted almost immediately, leaving Devil’s Advocate clear as the more fancied runners began their challenges. Almaqam and Fox Legacy stuck at it up the centre of the track. Further back, Calandagan and Ombudsman moved past a briefly flatfooted Delacroix and began to charge down the outside.
Calandagan and Ombudsman hit the front just inside the final 2f, with the French horse sustaining his gallop to better effect. A length clear at the furlong pole, the King George winner’s stamina came to the fore, as Calandagan stayed on relentlessly to score by 2¼ lengths. Ombudsman held second with Almaqam running a gallant race to cling on for third from a fast-finishing Delacroix.
It was a phenomenal performance from the winner, who went one better than his second-place finish in 2024. This win gave Francis-Henri Graffard a first Champion Stakes to go with his two King George victories at this track. Mickael Barzalona landed the prize for a second time, having partnered Sealiway to victory in 2021.
Runners
- 1. Almaqam – SP: 28/1, Trainer: Ed Walker, Jockey: Kieran Shoemark
- 2. Calandagan – SP: 15/8, Trainer: Francis-Henri Graffard, Jockey: Mickael Barzalona
- 3. Economics – SP: 12/1, Trainer: William Haggas, Jockey: Tom Marquand
- 4. First Look – SP: 33/1, Trainer: André Fabre, Jockey: James Doyle
- 5. Fox Legacy – SP: 28/1, Trainer: Andrew Balding, Jockey: P J McDonald
- 6. Ombudsman – SP: 13/8F, Trainer: John & Thady Gosden, Jockey: William Buick
- 7. Prague – SP: 80/1, Trainer: Dylan Cunha, Jockey: Benoit De La Sayette
- 8. Almeric – SP: 18/1, Trainer: Andrew Balding, Jockey: Oisin Murphy
- 9. Delacroix – SP: 11/2, Trainer: Aidan O’Brien, Jockey: Christophe Soumillon
- 10. Devil’s Advocate – SP: 66/1, Trainer: John & Thady Gosden, Jockey: Robert Havlin
- 11. Mount Kilimanjaro – SP: 50/1, Trainer: Aidan O’Brien, Jockey: Wayne Lordan
Non-Runners
All ran.