QIPCO Champion Stakes
Group 1, Ascot 16:05
£1,300,000 guaranteed,
3yo plus,
1m 1f 212y, Class 1   
Saturday 18th October 2025

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André Fabre is poised to bolster the French challenge with the thriving First Look, who could be supplemented for Ascot’s £1.3 million showpiece following his stylish victory in the Prix Dollar on Arc weekend.

The four-year-old son of Lope De Vega has been one of the revelations of the summer for new owners Wathnan Racing, who purchased him after his runner-up effort to Look De Vega in last year’s Prix du Jockey Club (French Derby). Since joining Fabre’s Chantilly operation, First Look has gone from strength to strength — outbattling Goliath at Deauville in August before stretching his winning streak to three with a determined defeat of Bay City Roller at ParisLongchamp.

That latest success, achieved with characteristic resolve, could now earn him a trip across the Channel to become the latest French-trained raider to strike on British Champions Day, a meeting with a fine record for Gallic contenders. It is also a race Fabre knows intimately, having won the Champion Stakes twice when it was staged at its former Newmarket home.

Richard Brown, racing adviser to Wathnan Racing, confirmed a supplementary entry is under serious consideration.

“All the signs are that he has come out of the Prix Dollar well and, as long as the Fabre team are happy, we’ll be supplementing him for the Champion Stakes,” said Brown. “His form is very strong — he beat Goliath at Deauville and then Bay City Roller last time, finishing powerfully. He’s on a steep upward trajectory.

“It’s a big step up to a Group 1, but he’s won a Listed race, a Group 3 and a Group 2 in his last three starts and he keeps pulling it out. We’ll find out how good he really is on Saturday week.”

French Firepower and a Strengthening Line-Up

Should Fabre confirm First Look, he would join Francis-Henri Graffard’s Calandagan in a potent French team for this year’s renewal — a race where John and Thady Gosden’s Ombudsman currently heads the ante-post betting.

Another intriguing possible addition is Convergent, the improving colt from Karl Burke’s yard, who could be supplemented if conditions at Ascot turn soft. Owned by Newtown Anner Stud, the son of Fascinating Rock advertised his talent when finishing third behind dual Derby hero Lambourn and Lazy Griff in the Chester Vase back in May, before suffering a narrow and luckless defeat in the German Derby at Hamburg.

He returned to winning ways in fine style at Leopardstown last month, taking the Group 3 CMG Group Stakes, and Burke is now weighing up whether to pay the £75,000 supplementary fee to add him to the Champion Stakes field.

“If the ground is soft, which it’s looking like it might be, he could be supplemented,” said Burke. “He’s a horse with a lot of pace and he’s a fresh horse going into the autumn. He should have won the German Derby really, and if he doesn’t go to Ascot, then he’ll run in the Prix du Conseil de Paris the next day.”

Haggas Hoping Economics Can Bounce Back

Meanwhile, William Haggas is edging closer to bringing Economics back to top-level action, after the long-absent chestnut impressed in a searching Rowley Mile workout on Saturday morning. Partnered by Ted Durcan, he finished a length clear of Group 1-winning stablemate Dubai Honour, with Irish Admiral acting as lead horse.

Last seen finishing sixth behind Anmaat in this race twelve months ago, Economics has endured a stop-start campaign, suffering a setback that ruled him out of Royal Ascot. But his trainer was encouraged by the weekend gallop and is targeting a timely return.

“Economics moved well and finished off nicely — it went as well as we’d hoped,” said Haggas. “We’re trying to get him to Ascot and this was part of that process. He’ll do a bit more next week and then we’ll know whether he’s ready.”

“He looks great just two weeks away from Ascot and we hope to run, as it’s a prestigious race — but we won’t be going for just a day out.”

If Ascot comes too soon, Economics could instead line up in a Listed race on November 1 ahead of a potential trip to Bahrain for the Bahrain International Trophy on November 14 — the showpiece event of the season in the Kingdom, chaired by his owner, Sheikh Isa Salman Al Khalifa.

A Race Shaping Up to Be a Classic

With the home team likely led by Ombudsman and possibly bolstered by Economics, and the French forces headed by First Look and Calandagan, the 2025 QIPCO Champion Stakes is shaping into another truly international highlight on British Champions Day. Add in the potential wildcard of Convergent if soft ground materialises, and Ascot’s ten-furlong Group 1 promises a compelling clash of proven class, rising stars, and transnational ambition — a fitting centrepiece for one of the most prestigious afternoons in the global racing calendar.

Qipco Champion Stakes
(British Champions Middle Distance) (Group 1)
£1,300,000 guaranteed, 3yo plus, 1m 1f 212y, Class 1
24 remaining entries
Going:

NO. FORM HORSE AGE WGT TRAINER JOCKEY (form as of Oct 10)
1 2-3123 Almaqam 4 9-7 Ed Walker
NR Anmaat 7 9-7 Owen Burrows WITHDRAWN
3 2-2211 Calandagan 4 9-7 F-H Graffard
4 959485 Continuous 5 9-7 A P O'Brien
5 11116- Economics 4 9-7 William Haggas
6 4-1611 Fox Legacy 4 9-7 Andrew Balding
7 -91521 Goliath 5 9-7 F-H Graffard
8 115440 Los Angeles 4 9-7 A P O'Brien
9 1-2121 Ombudsman 4 9-7 John & Thady Gosden
10 -54554 Prague 5 9-7 Dylan Cunha
11 -14713 Royal Champion 7 9-7 K R Burke
12 1-2450 White Birch 5 9-7 John Joseph Murphy
13 13-276 Tamfana 4 9-4 David Menuisier
14 41-11 Almeric 3 9-3 Andrew Balding
15 119121 Delacroix 3 9-3 A P O'Brien
16 12-996 Expanded 3 9-3 A P O'Brien
17 -11235 Henri Matisse 3 9-3 A P O'Brien
18 211154 Lambourn 3 9-3 A P O'Brien
19 2-3168 Mount Kilimanjaro 3 9-3 A P O'Brien
20 1-1001 Pride Of Arras 3 9-3 Ralph Beckett
21 12-177 Swagman 3 9-3 A P O'Brien
22 -60303 The Lion In Winter 3 9-3 A P O'Brien
23 624537 Bedtime Story 3 9-0 A P O'Brien
24 -11112 Minnie Hauk 3 9-0 A P O'Brien
25 612116 Whirl 3 9-0 A P O'Brien