QIPCO Champion Stakes: Record Holders

The Champion Stakes is the feature race at Ascot on British Champions Day, and ahead of its 2025 return we take a look at the current record holders from years gone by.

Horse Racing fans from across the country and the world are counting down the hours until the 2025 edition of the famous QIPCO British Champions Day makes its long-awaited return. This year’s event will take place at the iconic and historic Ascot Racecourse for a full day of enthralling action across the afternoon on Saturday, 18th October 2025.

The total prize money for the whole day is sat at no less than £4.35 million, with a total of seven races taking place, which are as follows: QIPCO British Champions Long Distance Cup, British Champions Day Two-Year-Old Conditions Stakes, QIPCO British Champions Sprint Stakes, QIPCO British Champions Fillies & Mares Stakes, Queen Elizabeth II Stakes, QIPCO Champion Stakes, and finally the Balmoral Handicap.

They are all races that hold some prestige, but there is a particular race that stands out, namely the Champion Stakes, which is the feature race of the day. It also offers the most prize money for the winner, which for 2025 stands at a total of no less than £1.3 million.

Onbudsman is amongst the favourites to win this year’s race, as are Calandagan and Delacroix, though you should also keep an eye on the likes of Economics, Almaqam, and First Look.

The most recent winner of the Champion Stakes was in 2024 when the Owen Burrows-trained Anmaat, who was ridden to victory by Jockey Jim Crowley, took home the win ahead of the pre-race favourite Calandagan (ridden by Stephane Pasquier), followed by Clifford Lee’s Royal Rhyme in third place to round off the top three in that year’s race.

All eyes will be on who comes out on top in the 2025 renewal of this iconic and highly prestigious race.

There are a number of horses, jockeys, and trainers who have made history over the years at Ascot in the Champion Chase each year, and here we are going to take a look at the current record holders for this particular race.

We will start with the most successful horse to have ever taken part in this race, and that honour currently jointly belongs to Tristan, who won it three times overall, with these triumphs coming in consecutive years from 1882 to 1884. Though the 1882 and 1884 wins were recorded as dead heats with Thebais and Lucerne, respectively.

The likes of Velasquez (1897 & 1898), Lemberg (1910 & 1911), Orpheus (1920 & 1921), Fairway (1928 & 1929), Wychwood Abbot (1935 & 1936), Hippius (1940 & 1941), Dynamiter (1951 & 1952), Brigadier Gerard (1971 & 1972), Triptych (1986 & 1987), Alborada (1998 & 1999), Twice Over (2009 & 2010), and Cracksman in 2017 and 2018 have all won it twice.

We now move on to jockeys, and there are two jockeys that jointly hold the record for the most wins in the Champion Stakes, which are Danny Maher and Charlie Elliott, who had 6 wins each in this particular race.

Maher’s maiden victory was with Osboch in 1901, and he was able to follow this up with further wins in 1905 (Pretty Polly), 1906 (Polymelus), 1908 (Llangwm), 1909 (Bayardo), and finally in 1910 with Lemberg.

As for Charlie Elliott, his triumphs mostly came in the first half of the 20th century, with his first being with Ellangowan in 1923, followed over the years of his career by the likes of Asterus in 1927, Goyescas in 1931, Djeddah in 1949, and Dynamiter in 1951 and 1952.

The next best record in this race, with a total of 5, has been achieved by the likes of Fred Archer, Gordon Richards, and the legendary Lester Piggott.

We start with Archer, whose wins came with Jannette (1878), Bend Or (1881), Tristan (1882), Paradox (1885), and finally in 1886 with Ormonde. His win with Tristan was actually a dead heat with George Fordham’s Thebais.

Gordon Richards’ five triumphs in this particular race came with Cameronian (1932), Chatelaine (1933), Big Game (1942), Nasrullah (1943), and finally Migoli in 1947. His win with the aforementioned Chatelaine came as a joint heat with Michael Beary’s Dastur. Richards was later knighted before also going on to win the Champion Chase again, this time as a trainer, with Reform in 1967.

The legendary Lester Piggott is also a five-time winner of the Champion Stakes, having secured his wins during his illustrious career in 1959 (Petite Etoile), 1966 (Pieces of Eight), 1968 (Sir Ivor), 1974 (Giacometti), and finally in 1992 with Rodrigo de Triano.

When it comes to trainers in this race, a number of famous trainers have taken part over the years in the quest for victory.

The most successful of them to date is an honour that is currently held by Alec Taylor Jr., with 8, the first of which arrived with Sceptre’s triumph at the very start of the 20th century, back in 1903.

This victory was then followed by a further seven wins in 1909 (Bayardo), 1910 (Lemberg), 1911 (Lemberg), 1917 (Gay Crusader), 1918 (My Dear), 1919 (Buchan), and finally in 1925 with Picaroon.

The next best record held by a trainer is the likes of John Porter and Frank Butters, who both got 6 wins to their name overall. Starting with Porter, he was able to emerge victorious for the first time with Paradox in 1885, before going on to repeat the feat in 1886 (Ormonde), 1888 (Friar’s Balsam), 1891 (Orion), 1892 (Orme), and finally in 1896 with Labrador.

Frank Butters’ maiden win as a trainer in the Champion Stakes was with Fairway in 1928, before doing so again with the same horse and jockey (Tommy Weston) in the next year in 1929. The other four wins for Butters came with Dastur in 1933, Umidwar in 1934, Nasrullah in 1943, and finally with Migoli in 1947, just two years after the end of World War Two.

Butters’ 1933 victory with Dastur was a dead heat with Fred Templeman’s Chatelaine.

More history is set to be made at the 2025 iteration of the QIPCO Champion Stakes, where the field contains previous winning jockeys. This includes James Doyle (Jockey, 2014 – Noble Mission), Tom Marquand (Jockey, 2020 – Addeybb), and Jamie Spencer (Jockey, 2005 – David Junior).

Excitement is building ahead the latest iteration of the 2025 QIPCO British Champions Day for a day full of enthralling action at the iconic and historic Ascot Racecourse on Saturday, 18^th October 2025.

There is LIMITED AVAILABILITY for our VIP Hospitality Packages for the 2025 QIPCO British Champions Day, so go ahead and book with Eventmasters Corporate Hospitality so that you do not miss out! You can also call us on 020 7989 6500.