QIPCO British Champions
Long Distance Cup
Group 1, Ascot 13:30
£500,000 guaranteed,
3yo plus, 1m 7f 209y,
Class 1   
Saturday 18th October 2025

Trawlerman bids to put the seal on a season of dominance in the staying ranks with a second triumph in a race which, for the first time, takes its place among the elite as a Group 1. Six go to post, and what a story it promises to be.

John and Thady Gosden’s remarkable seven-year-old knows this terrain well. He landed the prize in 2023, chased home Kyprios twelve months later, and comes here looking better than ever after smashing the track record when taking the Group 1 Gold Cup at Royal Ascot.

The Gosden camp also unleash Sweet William, last seen staying on strongly to claim the Group 2 Doncaster Cup in fine style, while Al Qareem makes a swift return to Ascot, fresh from etching his name into history as the first horse ever to win the Group 3 Cumberland Lodge Stakes three times — a feat achieved only earlier this month.

David Menuisier keeps faith with Sunway, while Aidan O’Brien adds an extra layer of intrigue, supplementing Group 1 St Leger third Stay True to join the already-confirmed Saratoga.

A fascinating renewal awaits — and if the staying crown is to be settled once and for all, it’s hard to look beyond the familiar maroon and white silks of Trawlerman standing proudly at the heart of it.

BetPlay

Qipco British Champions Long Distance Cup (Group 1)
£500,000 guaranteed, 3yo plus, 1m 7f 209y, Class 1
6 remaining entries
Going: Good, Good to Soft in places

NO. FORM HORSE AGE WGT TRAINER JOCKEY
1 211431 Al Qareem 6 9-9 K R Burke
2 544574 Sunway 4 9-9 David Menuisier
3 -34321 Sweet William 6 9-9 John & Thady Gosden Robert Havlin
4 3-5111 Trawlerman 7 9-9 John & Thady Gosden William Buick
5 3-2315 Saratoga 3 9-2 A P O'Brien
6 1243 Stay True 3 9-2 A P O'Brien