# Ombudsman v Calandagan: the Champion Stakes Rematch at Ascot _Ombudsman and Calandagan meet again in the 2026 Champion Stakes at Ascot, both 2/1. Last year's result, both seasons run by run, the ground and the rest._ *Source: [https://stablebet.co.uk/racing-news/ombudsman-vs-calandagan-champion-stakes-2026/](https://stablebet.co.uk/racing-news/ombudsman-vs-calandagan-champion-stakes-2026/) · last updated 2026-10-16* ## Round two at Ascot **Saturday 17 October 2026, 4:00pm. Ascot. Qatar Racing Champion Stakes, Group 1, 1m 1f 212y, six runners, £737,230 to the winner.** A year ago Calandagan beat Ombudsman by two and a quarter lengths in this race, and the two have not met since. On Saturday they meet again at Ascot, both carrying 9st 7lb, both 2/1 at the best prices available at 11:50am on Friday. Ombudsman won the Prince of Wales's Stakes over course and distance by four lengths in June, eleven days after Calandagan was beaten more than 40 lengths in the Coronation Cup at Epsom. Each lost his most recent race as favourite, and Calandagan comes back after 84 days off with a different jockey, because his regular rider Mickael Barzalona is suspended. On the ratings printed on the declared card, Ombudsman is on 132 and Calandagan on 127, although Sporting Life gives Calandagan 130. Either way Ombudsman is the higher-rated horse, he has run more recently and he keeps his usual jockey. Last year's result, and the way Calandagan ran in the King George, make up the case for the defending champion. This piece sets out both seasons run by run, how each horse has handled the ground, and where Bay City Roller, Constitution River, Almaqam and Devil's Advocate fit in. The Champion Stakes is the richest of the five Group 1s on the [British Champions Day](/festivals/british-champions-day/) card, and the other four are covered race by race in the [Champions Day tips](/racing-news/british-champions-day-tips/). Once the race has been run, see the [British Champions Day 2026 results](/racing-news/british-champions-day-2026-results/) for every winner and SP. ## How the first meeting went The 2025 Champion Stakes was run on Good ground. Ombudsman went off the 13/8 favourite for John and Thady Gosden, with Calandagan, trained in France by Francis-Henri Graffard, at 15/8. Calandagan won by two and a quarter lengths. Almaqam was third at 28/1, a further length and three-quarters away, and Devil's Advocate finished seventh, so four of this year's six ran in that race. It is the only time Ombudsman and Calandagan have raced against each other, so the head-to-head record is a single race, on Good ground. Both horses come into Saturday on their fifth start of the season, exactly as they did last year. ## Ombudsman's season: three wins, then York Ombudsman's form figures on the card read 2-1114: his second in this race last October, then four runs this year. He began in Dubai, winning the Dubai Turf on 28 March, and then won the Brigadier Gerard Stakes. At Royal Ascot on 17 June he won the Prince of Wales's Stakes for the second year running, at 11/10, by four lengths, on Good to Firm ground. Almaqam, who runs again on Saturday, was fourth that day, seven and a half lengths behind him. Then came York. In the Juddmonte International on 19 August he started the 5/6 favourite and finished fourth of eight, beaten about four and three-quarter lengths by the 10/1 winner Item. Almaqam was a head second and Constitution River third, so three of Saturday's runners filled places in the first four, with Ombudsman the last of them. The going was Good, Good to Soft in places, and John Gosden blamed the ground. He has not run since, a gap of 59 days. William Buick rides, as he did at York and at Royal Ascot. After the Dubai Turf, Gosden said he was sure Ombudsman would go to stud at the end of the year, and Sporting Life has called Saturday a possible swansong, though nobody connected with the horse has said formally that this is his last race. ## Calandagan's season: Epsom, the King George and a new jockey Calandagan's figures read 1-1412. The 1 before the dash is this race last year. This season he has won twice, been fourth and been second. His two wins this year came in France, and the two runs that matter most for Saturday both came in Britain. The fourth was the Coronation Cup at Epsom on 6 June. He started the 5/4 favourite on Good to Soft ground and finished fourth of six, beaten more than 40 lengths. The winner, by ten lengths, was Bay City Roller, who also runs on Saturday. Graffard was reported afterwards as saying he had made a mistake by running him. The second was the King George at Ascot on 25 July, on Good to Firm. He started the 6/5 favourite and was beaten a length and a half by Kalpana, who runs in the Fillies & Mares Stakes earlier on the card. That is the run his supporters point to: beaten only by a mare who went on to win the Yorkshire Oaks, at the course where he won this race a year ago. Saturday comes 84 days after the King George, the longest absence of anyone in the field. Christophe Soumillon rides in place of the suspended Barzalona. Sporting Life's view is that Calandagan has not matched last year's level in 2026, and the ratings printed on the card also have him below Ombudsman. ## The ground, and what it has done to both After about 3.5mm of rain on Friday morning the going was changed to Good by 11:10am, and the [Champions Day 2026 going report](/racing-news/british-champions-day-2026-going/) has the full history of the description and any later changes. Good is what both horses raced on in this race last year. On faster ground this season, Ombudsman won the Prince of Wales's by four lengths and Calandagan ran Kalpana to a length and a half in the King George. Their two poor runs both came on slower ground: Calandagan's Epsom defeat on Good to Soft, and Ombudsman's York fourth on Good, Good to Soft in places, which his trainer put down to the going. None of that proves either horse needs a quick surface, because one run can go wrong for many reasons, but on a dry Saturday neither will have the ground as an excuse. ## The other four ### Bay City Roller (6/1) George Scott's four-year-old was second in the Arc on 4 October, beaten a length and a quarter by Daryz. He had also been second to Daryz in the Prix Foy, and in June he won the Coronation Cup by ten lengths with Calandagan well beaten. Oisin Murphy rides. Saturday is his first try at this trip, 13 days after the Arc. ### Constitution River (7/1) Aidan O'Brien's three-year-old is the only one of his age in the field and gets 4lb from the older horses. He won the French Derby and then the Coral-Eclipse at 8/11, and was third in the Juddmonte International, a length in front of Ombudsman. He was then third again in the Irish Champion Stakes as the 11/8 favourite, a run O'Brien blamed on illness in the yard. He was supplemented for the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes on Monday, but O'Brien declared him here and sent Gstaad to the QEII instead. Ryan Moore rides. ### Almaqam (8/1) Ed Walker's five-year-old was third in this race last year at 28/1. He won the Tattersalls Gold Cup, was beaten only a head by Item at York, and was fourth in the Irish Champion Stakes, about two lengths behind the winner. Kieran Shoemark rides. He and Ombudsman have met four times and each has finished in front twice: Almaqam in the 2025 Brigadier Gerard Stakes at Sandown and at York this August, Ombudsman in last year's Champion Stakes and at Royal Ascot in June. ### Devil's Advocate (150/1) The Gosdens' second runner was seventh in this race last year and seventh of eight in the International. Sporting Life expects him to make the running, and in a field of six the pace he sets could shape the whole race. ## The betting shape of a six-runner race With six runners, standard each-way terms are a quarter of the odds for the first two places, so the place half of a bet on anything outside the big two pays only if that horse finishes in front of Ombudsman or Calandagan. The [Champions Day race times](/racing-news/british-champions-day-race-times/) page sets out the terms for every race on the card. At 11:50am on Friday the Champion Stakes had a book of 105.2%, the lowest of the six priced races on the card. The [going report](/racing-news/british-champions-day-2026-going/) has the full table for every race. ### Where the argument lands As a reading of form, the case for Ombudsman is slightly the tidier of the two. He is the higher-rated horse on the card, his only defeat this year came on ground his trainer blamed, he has won over course and distance this season, and he keeps his usual jockey. The case for Calandagan rests on beating Ombudsman in this race last year and on the King George, where only Kalpana finished in front of him. Against him are the 84 days off and the new rider. Bay City Roller has beaten Calandagan this year and finished closer to the Arc winner than anyone, but he has never run over this trip. None of that makes either favourite a certainty, and the market's view that the two are inseparable is a fair one. StableBet Ratings for all six runners publish on race morning on the [Ascot racecard](/racecards/ascot/), and the day's promotions are listed on the [British Champions Day offers page](/bookmakers/british-champions-day-offers/).
### Bet responsibly A big race late in the afternoon is where losses from earlier races tend to get chased. Decide what you can afford for the whole day before racing starts and treat that figure as the limit, whatever happens before 4:00pm. If gambling stops being fun, free confidential support is available from [BeGambleAware](https://www.begambleaware.org/) on 0808 8020 133. 18+.
## Frequently asked questions ### When is the Champion Stakes 2026? The Qatar Racing Champion Stakes is due off at 4:00pm on Saturday 17 October 2026 at Ascot, on the British Champions Day card. It is a Group 1 over 1m 1f 212y and is worth £737,230 to the winner. Race times can shift on the day, so check the card before racing starts. ### Have Ombudsman and Calandagan met before? Once, in the 2025 Champion Stakes at Ascot on Good ground. Calandagan won at 15/8 by two and a quarter lengths, with Ombudsman second as the 13/8 favourite and Almaqam third. They have not raced against each other since, so Saturday is only their second meeting. ### Who rides Calandagan in the Champion Stakes? Christophe Soumillon. Calandagan's regular jockey, Mickael Barzalona, who won this race on him in 2025 and rode him in the King George in July, is suspended, so Soumillon takes the ride for trainer Francis-Henri Graffard. William Buick keeps the ride on Ombudsman for John and Thady Gosden. ### How many runners are in the Champion Stakes? Six were declared: Almaqam, Bay City Roller, Calandagan, Devil's Advocate, Ombudsman and Constitution River. Gstaad was switched to the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes, and Constitution River, who had been supplemented for the QEII, was declared here instead. Constitution River is the only three-year-old and receives 4lb from the older horses. ### What has Ombudsman done this season? He has run four times in 2026. He won the Dubai Turf in March, the Brigadier Gerard Stakes and then the Prince of Wales's Stakes at Royal Ascot by four lengths at 11/10. His only defeat came in the Juddmonte International at York in August, where he was fourth as the 5/6 favourite on ground John Gosden blamed. Saturday is 59 days after that run.