Anmaat won the Champion Stakes at Ascot | report and free video replay

The 2024 renewal of the Champion Stakes will take some unpicking.

The field were closely grouped behind Ballydoyle pair Continuous and Los Angeles as they straightened for home.

Calandagan, who had been slowly into stride, had nowhere to go on the inside while main market rival Economics didn't look entirely happy on the ground on the outside of the pack and was, himself, squeezed up.

Economics was brave and fought his way out but he never quite got to the front unlike Calandagan who had squeezed through on the inside and edged past the gallant Royal Rhyme in the closing yards.

If either jockey had been able to look in a wing mirror they would have seen the famous Shadwell silks making smooth progress as Jim Crowley delivered Anmaat with a perfectly timed challenge to win by half a length from 6/4 favourite Calandagan. They had pulled one and three quarter lengths clear of Royal Rhyme in third by the post.

Trainer Owen Burrows has had to be patient with Anmaat who only returned from over a year on the sidelines when winning at Haydock in August. He failed to back that up at Longchamp earlier this month but made no mistake here, claiming the second Group One success of his career.

Burrows said: "It just went wrong in France two weeks ago, it was a muddling old race and I think Jim will admit it probably wasn't his finest hour but you come back and he came back fine.

"I had to convince Sheikha Hissa to come today but credit to her, I spoke to her on Monday morning and sent her a video of an easy piece of work he did last Saturday. She was happy with it and I was.

"I know it sounds easy afterwards but last year after he won his Group One in France, I did really fancy him for the Eclipse and he had a very complex foot injury which took a long time to come right. Credit to the team back at Shadwell, obviously Sheikha Hissa's patience with him as well, and once we were sent him back this year, as long as he showed his old enthusiasm - which he obviously did, he won first time at Haydock.

"I was never too fussed on ground conditions, he won on very soft ground in France last year. How he's done it has surprised me. I put my binoculars down halfway up the straight, I thought he had no chance from where he got pushed back to but to pick up in this ground like that, I thought it was a heck of a performance."

A massive performance

Ascot has been a happy hunting ground for Burrows, with the Shadwell-owned Hukum winning last year’s King George, and the trainer felt the market had underestimated his contender.

He said: “That was a massive performance, I felt. It’s up there with Hukum winning the King George as my best ever day – Ascot’s quite a lucky place for me!

“There were a few people who rang me this morning who couldn’t believe what sort of price he was – it was the first time he’d ever been out of the first three and I felt he had excuses. I’m not a betting man, but I thought 33/1 was a solid each-way price.

“He was locked away and I thought he had no chance. Then it looked like he’d got a bit of room and he’d be placed but to pick up like he did in the ground. Like Jim said, all the time he was locked away he was actually filling him up because he couldn’t do anything so it sometimes works in your favour.

“Of course you still need the luck then to get the gap and it worked out well.”

Burrows is unsure what the plan will be with Anmaat now, given he only started his season in August.

He added: “He’s taken some big scalps today, it’s that time of year I suppose and we are a fresh horse, it’s only his third run. It’s massive to have winners on a day like today. Whether he goes abroad or not, we’ll have to see.”

I won't tell you what I was thinking!

It was a first Group One of the year for Crowley who added: "We had a nice draw and I wanted to go and sit third or fourth, one off, and give myself an option. But I could see early on that Los Angeles wasn't taking Ryan at all and when we turned into the straight I had horses on my outside keeping me in, I was still going well. Then we had to try and work our way through and we got completely stopped. There was no option at the time, we were just stuck. I won't tell you what I was thinking.

"But when he got the gap it was an extraordinary way that horse picked up and, believe me, it was no fluke. I thought he'd win the Eclipse two years ago against Paddington, I was convinced he would win and he went wrong the day before. It looked like he would never race again, it was in that much doubt that we would have to retire him and everyone has done a wonderful job to get him back.

"He won on his reappearance at Haydock and he scraped home but he was probably only 70% ready and then we decided to go to France to have a nice, easy win and then go here. Held him up off a slow pace but he just didn't pick up that day. He's gone under everybody's radar. It was touch and go whether he ran in this race off the back of a big loss in France and it was a brave call; we were coming here to finish third and fourth so to go and do what he did is great.

"This year has been a bit slow. I'm used to having these big winners all the time and this is my first Group One this year. To do it on a horse that has come back from injury, and Owen has done this with Hukum as well; it's a great comeback.

"He'll be around next year all being well and he can show everyone again how good he is."

Economics blow

Economics was reported to have bled from the nose with William Haggas saying: "Disappointing obviously. Tom felt the ground was a bit soft for him but I said I wouldn't use that as an excuse so I'm not going to. He's fine. There's a little blood in his nose so we'll sort that out."

Francis-Henri Graffard said of Calandagan: "Second again - I am so upset!

"We had a very difficult draw, and in that ground this horse makes too much effort. But we had a very good race; he quickened clear and I thought the race was for us. Then I got caught on the line, so that’s it. Another second! He made too much effort in that ground, especially over 10 furlongs. We have to ask him to follow the pace. Yes, he will stay in training next year.”

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