British Champions Sprint Stakes Runners & Riders

One of four Group 1s on the fittingly titled Champions Day, the British Champions Sprint Stakes is the shortest race of the day and crowns the best sprinter of the season over 6f. The contest usually attracts a strong and significant field, and 2024s renewal looks set to be no different.

This year’s runners for the British Champions Sprint Stakes can be found below, along with their rider and trainer.

Runners & Riders to follow

Who are the Top Three Favourites to Win this Year’s British Champions Sprint Stakes?

The market looks very open for the 2024 British Champions Sprint Stakes, though three horses have emerged to head the betting. Nevertheless, this is still subject to volatile movements, with any number of runners behind them in the market boasting potentially attractive profiles.

Inisherin

The main hope of the Classic generation in the British Champions Sprint is Inisherin for Kevin Ryan. Carrying the famous colours of Sheikh Mohammed Obaid, he has won two of his four starts this season, although that tells half the story.

He started out racing over 1m, travelling well throughout a strong edition of the 2000 Guineas before fading late on into sixth. However, dropping to sprint distances worked wonders, as he claimed the Group 2 Sandy Lane Stakes at Haydock before a coronation in the Group 1 Commonwealth Cup at Royal Ascot. He disappointed on his first start against older horses in the July Cup at Newmarket, but returning to Ascot could reignite the fire, and he could easily progress again too.

Kinross

Now in the veteran stage of his career, Frankie Dettori knew Kinross as one of his most beloved horses before his move to the US at the end of 2023. The now seven-year-old won this two years ago and was beaten just a neck into second last season.

His age has started to get the better of him, as he is now without a win in over a year, though he has been placed in four of his five runs since then. Any ground is suitable to him and he should be bang there with a chance if still able to conjure up his fighting racing spirit.

Mill Stream

The star turn among the older horses in the 6f sprint division has been Mill Stream for Jane Chapple-Hyam. Though progressive in 2023, the son of Gleneagles was only just getting started and his eighth place in this last year could be upgraded this term.

He was placed on his first four starts of this season, never going down by more than two lengths. Two of those four races resulted in victory, including a breakthrough at the top level in the July Cup. He could not quite frank that form in France next time out, though the winner he faced there was unbeaten in his home country. Back on these shores, further improvement looks very likely from Mill Stream.

British Champions Sprint Stakes Horse Entries & Selections

This is a rare Group race in which the maximum field size is regularly threatened. The maximum 20 was filled in 2015 and 2021, since it became a Group 1, with  no running bearing fewer than 12 runners in that time either.

Horses aged three and upwards are eligible and all ages between three and six have claimed this race in the last nine years. It is truly a race which gives all its competitors a chance.

Our two top tipsters, Andrew Mount and Matty Sutcliffe will be on the search for the winner of the race as it approaches.

Which Trainers Have Historically Had the Most Success in the British Champions Sprint Stakes?

This race was run for its first 65 renewals as the Diadem Stakes, before a name change in 2011 and a class upgrade in 2015. It is worth looking at the race both as a whole, and in more minuscule recent form.

Overall, the top trainers in the race sent out their winners many decades ago. Walter Nightingall was the early specialist in the contest, sending out two winners who claimed a brace in the race during the 1950s. In the 1970s, it was Vincent O’Brien who levelled the score, claiming the contest four times between 1971-1975.

Since the British Champions Sprint underwent its change of guise, only one trainer, James Fanshawe, has won it more than once, one of those being since the Group 1 upgrade. As such, nine different trainers have won the nine top tier renewals of the race.

Runners & Riders Past Winners

Year	Horse	Trainer	Jockey	Odds
2023	Art Power	Tim Easterby	David Allan	40/1
2022	Kinross	Ralph Beckett	Frankie Dettori	3/1F
2021	Creative Force	Charlie Appleby	William Buick	11/2
2020	Glen Shiel	Archie Watson	Hollie Doyle	16/1
2019	Donjuan Triumphant	Andrew Balding	Silvestre De Sousa	33/1
2018	Sands Of Mali	Richard Fahey	Paul Hanagan	28/1
2017	Librisa Breeze	Dean Ivory	Robert Winston	10/1
2016	The Tin Man	James Fanshawe	Tom Queally	13/2
2015	Muhaarar	Charles Hills	Paul Hanagan	5/2F
2014	Gordon Lord Byron *	Tom Hogan	Wayne Lordan	5/1J