Champion Stakes Betting Tips

Taking place in mid October every year, the Group 1 Champion Stakes at Ascot is the showcase on what is effectively the final day of the flat racing season. It is the climax of an enthralling season over middle distances, with the race taking place over 1m2f at the Berkshire track.

For 133 years, the race was run at Newmarket until the forming of British Champions Day at Ascot. Subsequently it has been held as a triumphant conclusion to the season with magnificent winners such as Frankel, Almanzor and Cracksman.

This year’s field takes shape over the course of the entire flat season, with those racing round Swinley Bottom only coming to the fore come the autumn. Here is what our experts think of the contest with their big race tips.

Tips to follow

Qipco Champion Stakes Favourites Runners & Form

The Champion Stakes favourites had a fantastic run between 2016-2019, winning all four renewals, though King Of Steel was the first to win since that period when victorious a year ago. The grey was not seen in the early part of the 2024 flat season, but was capping a great year when successful in this race.

Numerous contenders have come to the fore as Champion Stakes favourites. Economics is having an incredible season as one of the breakout stars among the Classic generation despite never actually racing in a Classic. He won his first Group 1 with a battling success in the Irish Champion Stakes at Leopardstown and remains unbeaten in 2024.

Multiple Group 1 winners from the Ballydoyle yard Auguste Rodin and Opera Singer have not had their plans fully mapped out yet, but are obvious principles should they be aimed at this contest as well. It is very possible that the more dangerous competition could arrive from France as soft ground often prevails on Champions Day. Calandagan and Goliath have both made names for themselves on British shores this term, and French-trained runners claimed this prize in 2016 and 2021.

Champion Stakes Racecourse 

The Champion Stakes takes place during the eponymous Champions Day at Ascot in mid-October. Despite its name, it is only the second biggest meeting at the track after its Royal festival in June, though this race would be at home within any racecard.

1m2f as a distance at Ascot incorporates one early sweeping bend round Swinley Bottom, before a thin stretch in which positioning is key. The sharp bend into the straight comes just under 3f from the finish line, from which it can be difficult to extricate yourself from a position towards the inside.

The draw is not vital for picking a winner of the race though. King Of Steel emerged from stall 1 in 2023, though 2020 champion Addeybb came from the widest stall of all in 11 when he was successful.

Betting Strategies for the Champion Stakes

The Champion Stakes is not a unidimensional betting event. There are plenty of alternative markets beyond the win only ones for punters to get stuck into.

Each Way

Between 2020-2022, every winner was priced at 9/1 or upwards. Finding the each-way value is distinctly possible in this contest, though even in the four-year spell in which favourites ruled the roost, Subway Dancer placed at 66/1 in 2018, which would have provided a far greater value win to a level stake than backing the winner (Cracksman at 5/6).

Non Runner No Bet

Betting on the Champion Stakes can be done many months in advance, but with the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe and Breeders’ Cup run at a similar part of the season, this race will not always be the chosen destination for many horses. Betting with non runner no bet (or non runner money back) terms can ensure you do not lose out.

Without the Favourite

7/1 and 5/1 runner-ups followed Cracksman and Magical home in successive years in 2018 and 2019. Although that pair (Poet’s Word and Addeybb) would have been shorter in “without the favourite” markets, they could still have ensured bettors returned with better winnings than on each-way bets.

Are There Any Specific Champion Stakes Betting Offers?

Champion Stakes offers will be available closer to the race on Saturday, 19th October.

Champion Stakes Trends & Historic Data

Although there was a gap of four years between victorious favourites, backers of the market leaders over the last decade have had it good, with five successes in ten renewals, plus a tidy profit on King Of Steel at 3/1 last season.

There has not been any significant sway in terms of draw or track biases, while no trainer has claimed more than two renewals in the last decade. Frankie Dettori had won three among the jockeys, but now plies his trade in America.

This has broadly been a race to side with older horses, with only four three-year-olds winning since 2009. 

Champion Stakes Past Winners

Year	Horse	Trainer	Jockey	Odds
2023	King Of Steel	Roger Varian	Frankie Dettori	3/1F
2022	Bay Bridge	Sir Michael Stoute	Richard Kingscote	10/1
2021	Sealiway	Cedric Rossi	Mickael Barzalona	12/1
2020	Addeybb	William Haggas	Tom Marquand	9/1
2019	Magical	Aidan O’Brien	Donnacha O’Brien	EvsF
2018	Cracksman	John Gosden	Frankie Dettori	5/6F
2017	Cracksman	John Gosden	Frankie Dettori	13/8F
2016	Almanzor	Jean-Claude Rouget	Christophe Soumillon	11/8F
2015	Fascinating Rock	Dermot Weld	Pat Smullen	10/1
2014	Noble Mission	Lady Cecil	James Doyle	7/1