A season of near-misses and frustration ended with sheer joy and elation for the team behind Kalpana after she defended her crown in the 1 1/2-mile British Champions Fillies & Mares Stakes (G1) Oct. 18 at Ascot Racecourse.
After hitting the crossbar on several occasions this season, and also finishing a disappointing seventh in this month's Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe (G1), the Andrew Balding-trained 4-year-old powered to a comfortable 2 1/2-length victory to provide favorite backers with a much-needed win after Powerful Glory's 200-1 shock in the previous race.
Kalpana made the run for home at the 2-furlong pole under Colin Keane and pulled clear ahead of Estrange, who pipped Quisisana for second.
Juddmonte's racing manager Barry Mahon said: "It's massive and it's one of the biggest days in British racing. To be here with a filly like her is amazing, and the owners are here, so it's amazing to take part. To have a winner is extra special."
It was Kalpana's sixth start in a season that began with third-place in the Tattersalls Gold Cup (G1) at the Curragh. She returned to Ireland for her second run, going one better when running home behind Whirl in the Pretty Polly Stakes (G1), before filling the same position behind Calandagan in the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes (G1).
She then suffered a shock defeat to Giavellotto in the September Stakes (G3)—a race she won last year before following up in this race—and then never looked to threaten on her last run at Longchamp.
However, connections decided to have another crack, given how well she came out of the Arc, and Keane, who was partnering Kalpana to a first victory since he took up the position of retained rider of Juddmonte, believed she deserved to have her day in the sunshine.
He said: "It was very important for her because she's been knocking on the door all year. Things didn't go right for her in the Arc, but Andrew and the team thought she was well, so they rolled the dice. Bar the last day, she's gone down on her sword every time this year."
A stewards' inquiry was held after the race to consider interference approaching the final 2 furlongs involving Estrange, One Look, and Waardah. As a result, Danny Tudhope, rider of the runner-up, was given a six-day suspension for improper riding for maneuvering his mount left-handed and forcing One Look off her intended line.
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Queen Elizabeth II Stakes
An emotional year ended on an unexpected high for Charlie Hills as the Lambourn trainer saddled 100-1 shot Cicero's Gift to win the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes (G1).
Hills lost his legendary father Barry in June and his yard has been largely absent in the big races this term, but he roared back into the big time with a horse he had always held in the highest regard.
The outsider in a field of 16, Cicero's Gift was given a patient ride from stall 1 by Jason Watson and came with a sustained run against the rail to deny The Lion In Winter, Alakazi, and Docklands in a frantic finish for the places, with hot favorite Field of Gold back in fifth.
"It's been a really tough year," said Hills, winning at the highest level for the first time since Khaadem scored at last year's royal meeting. "As a family we've stayed strong and the old man looking down will be so chuffed I'd say. He'd be terribly proud of his family. We're a good unit and always try to do the best for each other. I think he'd be over the moon and Mum is here today as well, so it's really special."
Hills has been working back from the QEII since Cicero's Gift finished seventh in the Balmoral Handicap on this card last year but feared the recent dry weather had scuppered his plan.
"We've had this race in mind since the outset but I thought he'd want a bit more cut in the ground than this," Hills said. "The race has worked out perfectly though and I'm chuffed for Jason."
Following on from Powerful Glory's 200-1 upset in the Champions Sprint, Cicero's Gift wasn't even the biggest-priced winner on an unfathomable afternoon at Ascot, and Hills was just as confused as punters were.
"It's mad, isn't it?" said Hills. "After there was a 200-1 winner I thought, 'Well that counts us out.' I'm speechless to be honest with you. This horse is talented but he's been a challenge and he's not been the soundest.
"He's getting better but he had to have a whole year off earlier in his career and a lot of patience has gone into him. When he won his second race he actually beat Docklands giving him 9 pounds at Wolverhampton, so the talent has always been there.
"We'll probably put him away now and really look forward to next year. It's been a tough year, but hopefully this will help us spring forward to next year."
Reliving how he defeated a field that also included Rosallion and Fallen Angel, Watson added: "I think his turn of foot won it. He sometimes can be a bit of a grinder and lengthens out, but the form he's been in over the last few weeks has been unbelievable and he felt like he had a lot younger legs today.
"He's always had the class but you just don't expect things like this to happen. We lost Barry earlier in the season and I can't help but think he was looking down on us."
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British Champions Sprint Stakes
A sprinting division which has managed to produce group 1 winners from just about every unexpected corner this season delivered one last shock to top them all when 200-1 shot Powerful Glory threaded his way between rivals under Jamie Spencer to run down favorite Lazzat in the British Champions Sprint Stakes (G1).
The Richard Fahey-trained colt, who was only making his fifth lifetime start, became the eighth winner on the flat in Britain at such an outlandish price and the longest-priced winner of a European group 1, displacing this season's Sussex Stakes (G1) hero Qirat, who scored at 150-1.
Long acknowledged a master of the Ascot straight course, the winning rider confessed he was "lost for words," while Fahey described the success as "a Spencer special."
Fahey said: "I always felt he was going to get there if that makes sense. It's fantastic. It was the plan all year, genuinely. We had a blip halfway through and we had to stop with him, and we were running out of races.
"Did I think he would come here and win? I thought he would need to be at his very best because he's still an immature horse because he's only had four runs.
"It was a Spencer special. I thought Jamie would suit him well, just get him to switch (off), relax, and leave him alone."
Drawn in the neighboring stall to habitual trailblazer Quinault, Powerful Glory had the right target to follow in the 6-furlong race and Fahey said that, despite a rushed preparation, he always felt confident his colt would reel in Lazzat.
"I thought I was going to be placed and then all of a sudden, I thought 'I've got a chance,'" Spencer said. "He jinked a little bit left and I've put my whip away, and we've held on. I'm just shocked really. ... You never know in this game, it's a fantastic sport. It's been good to me and days like this make it all worthwhile."
Trainer Jerome Reynier said of the runner-up: "He battled hard and we saw the real Lazzat today, but it wasn't ideal because the horses were spread about on the track. That's racing, but he's a really tough horse and I'd think he's the best sprinter in Europe this year."
Perhaps Lazzat's rider James Doyle summed the improbable scenario up as well as any when he added: "You never know and when Jamie Spencer is riding on the straight course at Ascot, he can create a bit of magic and I think you've just seen it there."
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British Champions Long Distance Cup
Trawlerman embossed his dominance of the staying division, holding off stablemate Sweet William to win the British Champions Long Distance Cup (G1) for a second time in its first running as group 1.
The 7-year-old, who defeated Kyprios in the 2-mile race in 2023 before finishing third behind that rival last year, was given a perfectly executed ride by William Buick, holding off Sweet William by a length and a half to replicate the outcome of the Lonsdale Cup Stakes (G2) at York Racecourse in August.
Trawlerman made it four consecutive wins, having also landed the Gold Cup (G1) and Henry II Stakes (G3) this year, and Buick said: "He's a joy to ride. He's a superstar and I'm delighted for him that he can cap his year off in such a style. He goes out there and wears his heart on his sleeve, and he's a proper horse."
Trawlerman cruised to a 7-length victory in the Gold Cup in June, and although joint-trainer John Gosden believes he performed better that day, he was nevertheless thrilled to witness a 1-2 for the stable.
Gosden said: "He was at his imperious best in the Gold Cup, but today he might not have been totally. Sweet William ran a blinder, and they're two lovely, staying horses, who are part of the family at home. ... It was a great performance from both of them."
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