Anmaat stunned the field to sweep to a surprise victory in the Qipco Champion Stakes at Ascot.
A 40-1 chance for Owen Burrows and Jim Crowley, the bay was overlooked in the build-up to the contest as it was presumed to be a clash between Economics and Calandagan.
The latter horse was making progress on the inside up the straight, but picking his way through the field behind him was Anmaat.
Crowley was forced to wait for a gap to launch his challenge, but when the space came, Anmaat showed a fine turn of pace to seize the opportunity.
He then swept past 6-4 favourite Calandagan in the dying strides to win by half a length, with 25-1 shot Royal Rhyme back in third.
ANMAAT defies the odds to win The QIPCO Champion Stakes ahead of Calandagan. Congratulations to @jimcrowley1978, @owenburrowsrace and owners @shadwell_eu pic.twitter.com/7F3Q4x6gTH
— Ascot Racecourse (@Ascot) October 19, 2024
Anmaat previously tasted Group One glory in last year's Prix d'Ispahan at ParisLongchamp but subsequently suffered an injury that kept him on the sidelines for 439 days.
The six-year-old was restored to full health by the Shadwell team and Burrows, prevailing in a Haydock Group Three on his return before disappointing in the Prix Dollar back in Paris earlier this month.
Burrows said: "We've always thought a lot of this horse and I know it’s easy for me to say it now, but I quite fancied him for the Eclipse last year after he won in France.
"Of course, he picked up that complex foot injury which kept him off for the rest of last season and the first part of this.
"He disappointed in France two weeks ago but I felt it was a muddling race, Jim said he could have ridden him a bit better so as long as he was OK, which he was, Sheikha Hissa (of Shadwell) very kindly said we could roll the dice again and she’s been vindicated.
"He was locked away and I'll be honest halfway up the straight I put my binoculars down, 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."
Charyn claimed a third Group One win in a thrilling finish to the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes.
Roger Varian's grey has been a revelation this year, taking two Group One events including the Queen Anne over course and distance in June.
He was therefore the 13-8 favourite under Silvestre de Sousa and he travelled supremely well before taking the lead with a couple of furlongs to run.
Last year’s runner-up Facteur Cheval put him to the test though, with the French raider briefly looking like he could go on to victory.
However, Charyn found a little extra in closing stages to ultimately assert his superiority and win by two lengths.
Charyn had been beaten twice in six starts this term, failing to reel in a front-running winner on both occasions.
CHARYN pulls away from the rest to win the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes with Silvestre De Sousa on board. Congratulations to trainer @varianstable and owner Mr Nulan Bizakov. pic.twitter.com/Psn80VV3uw
— Ascot Racecourse (@Ascot) October 19, 2024
De Sousa said: "It was a relief but I was never concerned and he’s a horse who has always been improving – he should never have got beat.
"It was a thrill and from fast ground to bottomless ground, he has just shown he is a true champion who deserves to be here on a day like this.
"He saw the French horse off and he is a dream horse. I always thought I would find one one day and he has been great."
Varian added of the victory: "He’s a super horse and that was fantastic.
"Everything went very smooth and it was a lovely race to watch. Silvestre got me a little bit nervous when he was just sat comfortable and you could just see the second coming and just giving him a bit of temptation. Charyn then had to get to work and that’s when he showed his battling qualities, he’s just got everything that horse, he’s very special.
"He’s just straightforward and I promise you, he has the most amazing constitution. Every time I have run him I have always thought he was too heavy as he holds his condition so well. He’s a wonderful horse, touch wood he’s been very sound and he loves his work and loves his racing. He’s got such a good mentality for the game and the engine to go with it.
"His constitution is really like no other, he takes everything so well and doesn’t waste any energy at home. He may have had a long year, but he doesn’t stress about life at home. He doesn’t waste any energy doing barnstorming pieces of work and he’s super cool – almost to the point you think 'come on mate!’.
"With a horse like this, he is very special to us and he’s done an awful lot for us. You get special horses and they are all special in their own way, but this one is special with an engine."
Charyn will retire at the end of the season, but could be set for one more outing overseas depending on how he recovers from his Ascot exertions, with Varian nominating a trip to Japan in mid-November as the preferred option.
KALPANA takes the QIPCO British Champions Fillies & Mares Stakes with a great turn of foot for @williambuickx. Congratulations to trainer @andrewbalding2 and owners @juddmontefarms pic.twitter.com/f4MhlNF8kZ
— Ascot Racecourse (@Ascot) October 19, 2024
Kalpana proved much the best when landing the Group One Qipco British Champions Fillies & Mares Stakes.
Ridden by William Buick and trained by Andrew Balding, Kalpana was ridden patiently as the 10-3 favourite and kept handy as the turn for home approached.
In the straight she began to accelerate and was well able to pull clear of her 13 rivals, prevailing comfortably by two lengths from Aidan O'Brien’s Wingspan.
Tiffany finished three lengths further behind in third.
KIND OF BLUE wins a tight finish in the QIPCO British Champions Sprint stakes with @the_doyler on board. Congratulations to trainer @james_fanshawe and owners Wathnan Racing.#ascot #Championsday pic.twitter.com/M7jbDuJTVt
— Ascot Racecourse (@Ascot) October 19, 2024
Kind Of Blue upheld the family honour when coming out on top in the Group One Qipco British Champions Sprint Stakes.
James Fanshawe's colt is related to two winners of the race in Deacon Blues and The Tin Man, both trained from the same stable as him.
A 10-1 shot under James Doyle, the bay was running for the first time for new owners Wathnan Racing and duly delivered with an impressive success from Karl Burke’s Swingalong.
Kind Of Blue made smooth progress to take the lead but had to dig deep for a head success, with Flora Of Bermuda a further neck away in third.
Kyprios maintained his perfect record this season when stamping his authority on the Group 2 Qipco British Champions Long Distance Cup.
Aidan O'Brien’s chestnut was ridden by regular partner Ryan Moore as the 8-11 favourite and came into the race off the back of a remarkable campaign in which he had won each of his six starts, including four successive Group Ones.
He increased that tally to seven overall in the staying event, travelling prominently throughout and kicking into another gear on the turn for home to pull away from the runner-up, John and Thady Gosden’s Sweet William.
Kyprios came home two and a quarter lengths clear, with another Gosden-trained runner in Trawlerman a further length and a half back in third.
O’Brien said: "What can you say about him. Obviously the people around him, everyone who is around him have made it happen. There’s such a big team and they’ve all played a part.
"He’s a very special horse, something that we’ve never seen before, he’s relentless and has an unbelievable amount of quality.
"If they want to go slow or fast, it doesn’t matter to him. Ryan rides him brilliantly, he knows him inside out.
"We thought John’s horse would go on (Trawlerman) as he made the running last year. If he didn’t then Christophe’s (Soumillon) horse (The Euphrates) is very happy making the running. If John’s horse wanted to go we were very happy and Christophe gave him that opportunity.
"We could see nobody wanted to go so Christophe was very happy to make the running, he did it in the Irish St Leger. If he didn’t go on, Ryan was happy to.
"What can you say about Ryan? When you see him in that position it is usually very good for us.
"He hasn’t had much of a race today, he was the same in France the last day – he lost no weight, ever since then all he’s done is put weight on.
"He’s an incredibly classy horse."
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