Saturday’s Qipco British Champions Day fixture offers £4.35 million in prize money and five opportunities to grab Group 1 bragging rights. In terms of single-day meetings, this is the most spectacular card of the entire Flat season.
Such riches attract the best of the best from the most powerful operations in the sport. Coolmore, Godolphin, Juddmonte, and Aga Khan Studs will all be in attendance. And so too will be the emerging force that is Wathnan Racing.
A Fitting Finale to an Excellent Year
Backed by the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Wathnan has enjoyed a year to remember. Since emerging on the scene in 2022, the owners behind the gold and blue silks have won 11 Group/Grade 1 events and six of those wins came in 2025.
No strangers to success in Berkshire, Wathnan enjoyed a spectacular five-winner Royal Ascot Festival, headlined by Lazzat’s sizzling success in the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes. Four months after that summertime highlight, Wathnan are preparing their strongest Champions Day squad yet.
Having gone without a runner in 2023, they saddled two at the 2024 edition, including Qipco Champion Sprint hero Kind Of Blue. This year, up to nine stars may carry the increasingly recognisable silks. Native Warrior and Midnight Gun are entered in the Balmoral Handicap, while Division targets the new juvenile contest. However, the championship-level contenders will attract most of the attention.
Triple Threat in Champion Sprint
Three of the operation’s leading lights line up in the Qipco British Champions Sprint Stakes. Wathnan number one jockey James Doyle takes the ride aboard Royal Ascot hero Lazzat, who currently shades favouritism with most bookmakers. He’s without a win since mastering Satono Reve in June but may enjoy returning to this track.
Kind Of Blue, meanwhile, arrives as the defending champion having scored by a head in a thrilling 2024 edition. The four-year-old has yet to hit those heights in 2025 but finished an encouraging second in the Haydock Sprint Cup in September.
Unlike her owner-mates, Flora Of Bermuda has yet to win at Group 1 level. However, the daughter of Dark Angel has twice finished third at this level, including when going down by just ½l in the 2024 edition of this. Arriving on the back of an excellent effort in the Sprint Cup, she completes the potent Wathnan sprint team.
Look to Land Fillies’ and Mares
Wathnan have yet to saddle a runner in the Qipco British Champions Fillies’ and Mares Stakes. That is set to change in 2025, with the Paddy Twomey-trained One Look included among the current entries. After winning five of 11 starts for the Connolly Racing Syndicate, this Gleaneagles filly was snapped up by Wathnan in August 2025. She has since produced two of her best performances – finishing second in the Group 2 Blandford Stakes and third in the Group 1 Prix de l’Opera. Having stayed on well over 1m2f on Arc Day, she may appreciate this step up to 1m4f.
Four-timer for Angel in QEII?
The market suggests the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes may be a straight fight between the past two winners of the Irish 2,000 Guineas, Field Of Gold and Rosallion. At their best, the two colts could be hard to beat. However, Field Of Gold was way below his peak in the Sussex Stakes, and Rosallion has developed a case of seconditis in 2025.
If any chinks emerge in the market leaders, Wathnan’s first-ever QEII runner, Fallen Angel, could take advantage. A little out of form since a famous win in the 2024 Irish 1,000 Guineas, the Karl Burke filly has bounced back in recent months. If running to the level of her trailblazing wins in the Prix Rothschild, Matron Stakes, and Sun Chariot Stakes, she could make a bold bid from the front.
French Ace Thrown into Champion Stakes Battle
With Ombudsman, Delacroix, and Calandagan set to lock horns, the Champion Stakes is shaping up to be the race of the season. Toppling such a talented trio will be no easy task, but Wathnan are taking their shot with First Look.
Only fourth in the 2024 Hampton Court Stakes, this André Fabre runner will need to improve on his only previous Ascot performance. However, he had hinted at Group 1 winning potential when second in the Prix du Jockey Club. Since a summer gelding operation, he has conquered 2024 King George winner Goliath at Deauville and claimed the Prix Dollar. Representing a trainer who won this race in 1991 and 1994, he is one of the more interesting outsiders.
Wathnan head to Ascot behind only Godolphin, Juddmonte, and Coolmore in the 2025 owners’ table. With entries in four of the five Group 1 events, they may significantly boost their seasonal earnings of £2,760,738.
