# British Champions Day 2026 Review: Ombudsman Reverses the Calandagan Result as Buick Rides a Treble _Ombudsman beat Calandagan in the 2026 Champion Stakes and William Buick rode a Godolphin treble. Every Champions Day winner, Kalpana's exit and the titles._ *Source: [https://stablebet.co.uk/racing-news/british-champions-day-2026-review/](https://stablebet.co.uk/racing-news/british-champions-day-2026-review/) · last updated 2026-10-18* ## The day in brief Ombudsman reversed last year's Champion Stakes result at Ascot on Saturday 17 October, beating Calandagan by three and three-quarter lengths at 5/4. In 2025 he had finished second to the French horse, beaten two and a quarter lengths. William Buick rode him for John and Thady Gosden, and Buick also won the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes on Talk Of New York and the Balmoral Handicap on Fifth Column: the last three races on the card, all in Godolphin's colours. Kalpana, winner of the Fillies & Mares Stakes in 2024 and 2025, started the Evens favourite to make it three, finished seventh behind Minnie Hauk and was retired afterwards. Her trainer, Andrew Balding, still won the Long Distance Cup with 33/1 shot Mount Atlas, but Aidan O'Brien left Ascot £82,494 clear of him in the trainers' championship after starting the day £108,626 behind. Racing Post expects the Futurity Trophy at Doncaster on Saturday 24 October to decide it. The going was Good for all seven races. Every finisher, starting price and beaten distance is in the [British Champions Day 2026 results tables](/racing-news/british-champions-day-2026-results/), and the [Champions Day festival hub](/festivals/british-champions-day/) has the races, the trends and the past winners for next year. Our [preview of the Ombudsman and Calandagan rematch](/racing-news/ombudsman-vs-calandagan-champion-stakes-2026/) set out both horses' seasons before the race, and the [going report from race week](/racing-news/british-champions-day-2026-going/) tracked the ground as it eased to Good on the Friday. ## Race by race The seven races below run in card order. Starting prices are the official SPs; the margin is the distance between the winner and the runner-up. ### 12:55pm: Two-Year-Old Conditions Stakes, Night In Vegas Night In Vegas (5/2) won the opener by a nose from the 9/4 favourite Arapaho Gold, with Satellite Of Love (4/1) a head further back in third. Charles Bishop rode the winner for Eve Johnson Houghton, who told Sporting Life she "thought we were beat" and said the horse is now due a holiday. The runner-up made a point of his own. Arapaho Gold is a gelding, so he is not eligible for the Commonwealth Cup at Royal Ascot, and his trainer Michael Dods told Racing Post "it seems stupid that he's run a massive race today". ### 1:30pm: Long Distance Cup, Mount Atlas at 33/1 Mount Atlas, the 33/1 outsider, won the 1m 7f 209y Group 1 by three-quarters of a length from Queenstown (14/1, Ryan Moore, Aidan O'Brien), with the 7/4 favourite Highwayman a further three-quarters of a length away in third and Gregory (10/3) fourth. PJ McDonald rode him for Andrew Balding. Mount Atlas was bred by Balding's mother, Emma, and races in the black and gold Mill Reef silks that Paul Mellon left to Kingsclere, which Balding told Racing Post made the win "so appropriate". McDonald was blunter with Sporting Life: "The team really need the prize money." ### 2:05pm: Champions Sprint, Almeraq Almeraq was the shortest-priced winner of the day at 11/10 and had to work for it, running down Paborus (18/1) to win the 6f race by a neck. Tom Marquand rode him for William Haggas, whose Division (17/2) was third, three and a quarter lengths further back. Racing Post counted it as Almeraq's third Group 1 of the season after the Jubilee Stakes and the Haydock Sprint Cup. Marquand called him "a phenomenal horse". Daniel Tudhope, on the runner-up, said Paborus had been beaten by an exceptional horse. Whether Almeraq stays in training next year was not settled on the day. ### 2:40pm: Fillies & Mares Stakes, Minnie Hauk Minnie Hauk (5/1) won the 1m 3f 211y race by a length and a half from Believed (16/1, Oisin Murphy), with Lilt (6/1) a neck back in third. Ryan Moore rode the winner for Aidan O'Brien 13 days after she ran in the Arc, and O'Brien told Racing Post "Ryan gave her a beautiful ride." The bigger news came further back. Kalpana, at Evens under Colin Keane, finished seventh of the 12 runners, beaten about eight and a half lengths. Racing Post reported she was sluggish from her inside draw, and Keane said "you definitely didn't see the true Kalpana". Danielle (22/1, James Doyle) was pulled up. Johanna Walsh did not run: the official reason was a self-certificate after she had not eaten up. ### 3:20pm: Queen Elizabeth II Stakes, Talk Of New York Talk Of New York (3/1) won the 1m Group 1 by a length and a quarter from Ten Bob Tony (7/1), with Rayif (10/1) a neck away third and the 150/1 outsider Needle Match fourth. It was the first Group 1 win for the Charlie Appleby-trained three-year-old, and the first leg of Buick's treble. Appleby told Racing Post: "He's taken time to mature and get into that racing brain." Gstaad, the 7/4 favourite for Aidan O'Brien and Ryan Moore, faded to finish eighth of 11. O'Brien said he raced like a tired horse and told Racing Post "maybe it was just a race too far for him this year". No vet or stewards' report on Gstaad had been published when this review was written. ### 4:00pm: Champion Stakes, Ombudsman Only six went to post for the 1m 1f 212y Group 1, and the two at the top of the market filled the first two places in the opposite order to 2025. Ombudsman (5/4 favourite) beat Calandagan (5/2, Christophe Soumillon, Francis-Henri Graffard) by three and three-quarter lengths, with Bay City Roller (17/2) a length and three-quarters further back in third. Almaqam (12/1) was fourth and Aidan O'Brien's Constitution River (9/2) fifth. Timeform's Rory King said on Sporting Life that Calandagan got to within about half a length before he was outpaced. Buick told Racing Post: "He's the fastest horse I've ridden over ten furlongs." John Gosden called it "a special performance from a special horse", and Graffard said the winner "is a champion with a lot of power". ### 4:35pm: Balmoral Handicap, Fifth Column at 22/1 Fifth Column (22/1) came late to win the 20-runner handicap by three-quarters of a length from Indalo (16/1), with Ebt's Guard (11/1) third and the 4/1 favourite Scoville fourth. It gave Buick his third winner of the afternoon and the Gosdens a double. Thady Gosden told Sporting Life the horse runs well one day and not so well the next, and said a change of headgear had helped. ## The titles: three settled, one still open ### Champion jockey: Billy Loughnane Billy Loughnane was crowned champion jockey at 20 years and 229 days, which Racing Post reported makes him the youngest champion for more than a century. He had finished second to Oisin Murphy in 2025. He was given a guard of honour and presented on the podium with his parents, Mark and Clare, watching, and told Racing Post: "It doesn't get much better than this." His final total had not been confirmed in the reports published by Sunday morning, so it is left out here. ### Champion apprentice: Jack Callan Jack Callan received the Tommie Jakes Memorial Trophy as champion apprentice. Callan told Racing Post he had officially doubled his tally from last season. ### Champion owner: Godolphin Godolphin were crowned champion owner, and the presentation came on a day when their runners won the QEII, the Champion Stakes and the Balmoral. ### Champion trainer: not decided yet The trainers' championship runs to 31 December, and Champions Day did not settle it. Aidan O'Brien arrived £108,626 behind Andrew Balding and left £82,494 ahead. Mount Atlas won the Long Distance Cup for Balding, but O'Brien's runners collected enough across the card, with Minnie Hauk's win and Queenstown's second to Mount Atlas among it, to turn the table round. Racing Post's report on the race for the title carried the line "The Futurity Trophy will be the deciding race". O'Brien said of Balding: "Andrew's a great fella." ## The other stories from Ascot ### Kalpana retires Kalpana has been retired after the Fillies & Mares Stakes and will become a broodmare. Andrew Balding called her the "horse of a lifetime" and told Racing Post "She owes us nothing", adding that her York run had taken its toll. She leaves with two wins in the race behind her, in 2024 and 2025. No vet findings were reported after her seventh. ### Hall of Fame and a near-record crowd Ryan Moore and Shergar were inducted into the Hall of Fame on the day. The crowd was 32,140, which Racing Post put at only 208 short of the fixture record set on the day of Frankel's final race. ### Plans for the beaten and the winners Talk Of New York is off until next year: Appleby is putting him away for the winter and has already mentioned the 2027 Breeders' Cup at Belmont Park. Calandagan's trainer said the plan is the Japan Cup again, and Graffard called his earlier run in the Coronation Cup a mistake. Minnie Hauk's connections are deciding between a trip to America and retirement; O'Brien told Racing Post "The lads will decide whether she goes to America or whether she will retire." Sporting Life reported that if she travels it would be for the Breeders' Cup Turf, with Precise going for the Filly & Mare Turf instead. ## What it means next: the Futurity, the Breeders' Cup and the Japan Cup ### The Futurity Trophy, Doncaster, Saturday 24 October The trainers' title now turns on a two-year-old race. The [Futurity Trophy](/racing-news/futurity-trophy/) is Britain's last Group 1 of the year, worth £155,952.50 to the winner, and Racing Post reported that O'Brien has 18 of the 32 entries, including the favourite Noble Exhibit, while Balding has two, Royal Quest and Grand Dia. Bookmakers make O'Brien favourite to hold on to the lead, though Balding's price was cut after Champions Day. The winner's prize is almost twice the £82,494 gap, so a win for Royal Quest or Grand Dia would bring Balding back into it, depending on where O'Brien's runners finish. ### The Breeders' Cup, Keeneland, 30 and 31 October Ombudsman's next step is not decided. John Gosden said he will either go to stud or the Breeders' Cup Turf at Keeneland will be discussed with Sheikh Mohammed, and that no quick decision is needed. Minnie Hauk could meet him there if her owners send her. Our [Breeders' Cup guide](/racing-news/breeders-cup/) has the races, the time difference and how to follow the two days from Britain. ### The Japan Cup Calandagan's next target is the Japan Cup, which Graffard named as the plan after the race. Gosden's options for Ombudsman were stud or the Breeders' Cup, so a third meeting between the pair this year looks unlikely on current plans. Only one entrant in our Silicon Tipster League, our own model's value arm, picked 33/1 Mount Atlas, as the [Champions Day tipster league review](/ai-race-predictor/blog/british-champions-day-2026-tipster-league-review/) sets out. The Futurity result goes up on the [racing results page](/racing-results/) the evening it is run.
### Bet responsibly The Futurity and the Breeders' Cup come within a fortnight of Champions Day, and a busy run of big races is an easy time to bet more than you meant to. Decide a budget for the whole period before the first race and keep to it, and count any free bet as part of that budget. Over time the odds favour the bookmaker. If gambling stops being fun, free confidential support is available from [BeGambleAware](https://www.begambleaware.org/) on 0808 8020 133. 18+.
## Frequently asked questions ### Who won the Champion Stakes 2026? Ombudsman won the 2026 Champion Stakes at Ascot on Saturday 17 October. He started the 5/4 favourite in a field of six and beat Calandagan (5/2) by three and three-quarter lengths, with Bay City Roller third. William Buick rode him for John and Thady Gosden and the owners Godolphin. It reversed the 2025 running, when Calandagan beat Ombudsman by two and a quarter lengths. The race is run over 1m 1f 212y and was the fifth of the five championship races on the card. ### Who is champion trainer in 2026? It has not been decided yet. Aidan O'Brien went into Champions Day £108,626 behind Andrew Balding in the British trainers' championship and came out of it £82,494 ahead. The championship runs to 31 December, and Racing Post expects the Futurity Trophy at Doncaster on Saturday 24 October, Britain's last Group 1 of the year, to settle it. O'Brien has 18 of the 32 entries for that race and Balding has two, so the title stays open until then. ### Why did Kalpana retire? Andrew Balding retired Kalpana after she finished seventh as the Evens favourite in the British Champions Fillies & Mares Stakes, the race she had won in 2024 and 2025. Balding called her the "horse of a lifetime", said she owes connections nothing and told Racing Post that York had taken its toll on her. She was sluggish from her inside draw, and Colin Keane said he was never comfortable on her. No vet findings were reported. She will now become a broodmare. ### Who was champion jockey in 2026? Billy Loughnane was crowned British Flat champion jockey at Ascot on Champions Day, aged 20 years and 229 days. Racing Post reported that he is the youngest champion jockey for more than a century. He finished second to Oisin Murphy in 2025. Jack Callan was champion apprentice and Godolphin were champion owner. Loughnane's final total of winners had not been confirmed in the reports published by Sunday 18 October. ### Will Ombudsman run again? Not decided. After the Champion Stakes, John Gosden said Ombudsman will either go to stud or that a run in the Breeders' Cup Turf at Keeneland would be discussed with Sheikh Mohammed, and that no quick decision is needed. No stud had been named by Sunday 18 October. If he does run again this year, the Breeders' Cup on 30 and 31 October is the meeting connections have named.