Just 13 days after Bluestocking ‘s tour de force in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe (G1), Kalpana became the latest filly to carry the Juddmonte silks to group 1 glory in the British Champions Fillies & Mares Stakes (G1) at Ascot Racecourse.
The Oct. 19 victory earned the 3-year-old filly an automatic, fees-paid berth to the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf (G1T) at Del Mar Nov. 2 as part of the Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series.
Unraced at 2, Kalpana has made giant strides this year, running eight times in all having made a winning debut when scraping home at Wolverhampton back in January.
So backwards as a juvenile, winning trainer Andrew Balding admitted the sales had been discussed, but the master of Kingsclere now has a group 1 winner on his hands with races like the Arc potentially on next year’s agenda.
“She’s a wonderful filly and William Buick gave her a wonderful ride,” said Balding. “This filly hadn’t even done any fast work this time last year, so it’s been a pretty steep trajectory from Wolverhampton to here.”
Kalpana won a handicap at Newmarket back in April before landing a listed and group 3 win, but she saved her best performance of a busy campaign for Champions Day.
“I’ve never known a horse improve as much,” said the winning trainer. “I even recall mentioning to Barry Mahon (Juddmonte racing manager) that we might put her in a sale this time last year but every time we started to do more with her, she’s just improved and improved.”
Asked if she’d be around to continue her upward curve next year, Balding added: “I very much hope so. That was the plan before today, anyway. Juddmonte are an amazing operation from top to bottom and they thoroughly deserve the success they have.
“There’s going to be a bit of heartache if her and Bluestocking ran against each other so we’ll try and avoid that until we absolutely have to I guess.”
Bluestocking’s future has yet to be decided, according to Mahon, who said a definitive decision on both the Arc winner and Kalpana will be made in the coming weeks.
He said: “We had a discussion about Bluestocking over lunch and the family are going to discuss it further over the next 7-10 days and let us know what they want to do.
“The same goes with Kalpana. The decision will be made by her owners but the plan was for her to return next season and hopefully they haven’t changed their minds. If she stays in training then maybe next year we can think about the Arc.”
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Charyn Fights Off Facteur Cheval to Win Queen Elizabeth II
On the day when champions are crowned, one of the season’s standout performers, Charyn , was asked to draw on every ounce of the fighting spirit that has set him apart as Europe’s top miler and duly delivered when pulling away from Facteur Cheval in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes (G1) at Ascot.
Charyn wins the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes at Ascot Racecourse
Following a fallow 3-year-old campaign, Charyn has rapidly risen through the ranks since scoring at listed level on his reappearance in March, showcasing both his ability and constitution with three group 1 victories and two near-misses in the Lockinge Stakes (G1) and Prix du Moulin (G1).
“Hasn’t he been great all year?” asked Roger Varian, echoing the thoughts of all those who gathered to welcome him into the winner’s enclosure. “He’s the finished article now. He’s fully developed and he’s absolutely at his peak. I’m delighted for his owner Nurlan Bizakov and our team.”
Charyn hit the front early under Silvestre de Sousa and appeared to have the race at his mercy before being forced to find another gear when the runner-up pulled purposefully alongside. The two group 1 winners pushed one another towards the line before Charyn scored by two lengths.
“The jockey likes to make the trainer sweat,” said Varian. “He got a perfect trip, eased into the race and looked like he would be a comfortable winner. Silvestre was looking after him, making sure he got home and he gave the second a chance but then we saw Charyn’s fighting qualities.”
“He’s shown he’s a true champion and deserves to be here on a day like this and to be sent off as favorite in this race,” said De Sousa. “He’s a dream horse. I always thought I’d bump into one one day and I hope it’s not going to be too long before I sit on something like him again.”
There is every chance Varian will return to that winner’s enclosure next year, having also stood there after King of Steel won last year’s Champion Stakes (G1), but Charyn will not. He will be retired at the end of the season but could be set for one final outing in the Mile Championship (G1) in Japan.
“If he goes abroad I think it will be to Japan,” added Varian. “It’s a nice idea but it’s not cemented. I need to speak to Nurlan and the team and what’s important is how he is over the next 10 days.”
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Kind Of Blue Gives Wathnan Racing Quick Return on Investment
Kind of Blue kept it in the family when emulating his close relatives Deacon Blues and The Tin Man to provide James Fanshawe with his third success in the British Champions Sprint Stakes (G1).
Kind of Blue (No. 16) wins the British Champions Sprint Stakes at Ascot Racecourse
The progressive 3-year-old held off the challenges of Swingalong and Flora of Bermuda in a bunched finish to score for the first time at group level in the colors of owners Wathnan Racing, who purchased Kind of Blue privately following his narrow defeat in Haydock’s Sprint Cup Stakes (G1) Sept. 7.
“All trainers become attached to the families that do them well and this is one that has done us tremendously well,” said Fanshawe. “It’s the third close relation that has won this race for us, all from the same family and all bred by the Hoppers, the Grundys, and the Morrises.
“He was in front for a long time in the final furlong but he was tough when he needed to be. He’s an improving colt and it was a great team effort to get him here. He deserves it.”
After making his debut in April, Kind of Blue has made giant strides this season. He won his first two starts before being thrown in at the deep end in the Commonwealth Cup (G1), finishing fourth.
The son of Blue Point was then third in the Hackwood Stakes (G3) before being beaten by a head in the Phoenix Sprint Stakes (G3) and in the Sprint Cup last month, when he was just denied by the reopposing Montassib .
The Qatar-based Wathnan are one of the sport’s rising superpowers and they did not have to wait long for a return on their investment. However, they have had to be patient at the highest level and this was their first group 1 success of the season and James Doyle’s first for the operation.
Fanshawe and Doyle were also quick to highlight the contribution of jockey Daniel Muscutt, who partnered Kind of Blue in each of his six starts before his purchase by Wathnan. “A special thank you to Daniel Muscutt, who has been a massively important part of this horse’s life,” added the jockey. “He talked me through how best to ride the horse and I can’t speak highly enough of the chap.”
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Kyprios Completes Stellar Year in Long Distance Cup
Kyprios enhanced his legacy as the greatest stayer of his generation as he made it seven wins from seven starts in 2024 with an utterly dominant display in the British Champions Long Distance Cup (G2).
Kyprios wins the British Champions Long Distance Cup at Ascot Racecourse
After completing a winning sequence that started at Navan in April, Kyprios can look forward to a winter’s break at Ballydoyle, although the way he entered the winner’s enclosure, relaxed and barely out of breath, you’d be inclined to think he would be ready to go again next week rather than having to wait until next spring.
“He didn’t really have much of a race today, he only cantered around but it was the same after his last run in France,” said winning trainer Aidan O’Brien. “He lost no weight and ever since France he’s been putting on weight again. He’s just an unbelievably classy horse.”
No individual horse has won more group 1s for Aidan O’Brien than Kyprios, while in June he became just the third horse in history to regain the Gold Cup (G1). A stayer blessed with gears, he is untouchable in long-distance races and will return next year to try to make it three Gold Cups.
“What can you say; the people around him made it happen,” O’Brien added: “He’s a very special horse and something we’ve never seen before.”
The Ballydoyle team ensured the race was run to their tune, with The Euphrates setting the pace and Kyprios taking up the box seat in second early on, from which point there was a sense of inevitability about the outcome.
John and Thady Gosden were responsible for runner-up Sweet William and third-home Trawlerman , who are both likely to return next season.
“They both ran well,” said John Gosden. “They controlled the pace upfront, both of Aidan’s horses. The fractions were pretty steady and then they gradually increased and kicked off the bend. Ours would probably have preferred a stronger, even pace. They’ve run exceptionally well but Kyprios has a gear more than the rest.
“I’d have thought we’d come back with both of them next year. They’re lovely horses. They both have great enthusiasm for it still and these long-distance horses make it fun.”
