{"id":294427,"date":"2023-10-20T22:24:01","date_gmt":"2023-10-20T22:24:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tellmysport.com\/?p=294427"},"modified":"2023-10-20T22:24:01","modified_gmt":"2023-10-20T22:24:01","slug":"ed-chamberlin-a-day-to-salute-champions-well-almost-all-of-them","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tellmysport.com\/horse-racing\/ed-chamberlin-a-day-to-salute-champions-well-almost-all-of-them\/","title":{"rendered":"ED CHAMBERLIN: A day to salute champions… well, almost all of them!"},"content":{"rendered":"
Champions,\u00a0in any sport, must be recognised. For all the toil, all the long hours and the obsession to get things right, there has to be a moment that makes it all worthwhile.<\/p>\n
Saturday at Ascot, racing gets its opportunity to celebrate the high-achievers on QIPCO British Champions Day: Will Buick, the Flat season\u2019s No 1 rider, and Billy Loughnane, the leading apprentice, will both get trophies for leading their fields.<\/p>\n
Sheika Hissa Al Maktoum, whose Shadwell Estate Company head the Owners\u2019 Championship, is likely to get a gong, too. She will be hoping Mostahdaf can run, ground permitting, in the Champion Stakes and confirm himself the leading 10-furlong horse of the campaign. We\u2019ll also celebrate Frankie Dettori\u2019s stellar career but \u2014 as we know now \u2014 this will not be a goodbye. He comes alive at Ascot, and I want to repeat what I said last week: I\u2019ll be amazed if he doesn\u2019t ride at next year\u2019s royal meeting.<\/p>\n
A fascinating subplot, meanwhile, involves the trainers. Aidan O\u2019Brien can still pip John and Thady Gosden \u2014 and a key race will be the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes over a mile, with Paddington and Nashwa going head-to-head.\u00a0<\/p>\n
There is a complication, however. The trainers\u2019 championship does not officially end until December 31 at Lingfield. Some leading figures prefer it that way, but I just feel it is a shame they don\u2019t get to celebrate on the biggest stage. Do you remember where and when Charlie Appleby was crowned champion trainer last year? I don\u2019t. The champion National Hunt trainer always gets his prize at the final jumps meeting of the season, at Sandown in April \u2014 maybe one day it will be the same on the Flat.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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Will Buick (above), the Flat season\u2019s No 1 rider, will receive his trophy at Ascot on Saturday<\/p>\n
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Paddington (above) and Nashwa will go head-to-head in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes<\/p>\n
For today Ascot marks the unofficial end of the Flat season. Yes, there are still a couple of important meetings to come but the Flat ending after this spectacular at Ascot makes total sense \u2014 Cheltenham hosts its first meeting next week.<\/p>\n
I know jumps racing is favoured by many. One reason Flat racing sometimes struggles was shown with Ace Impact in the Prix de l\u2019Arc de Triomphe: no sooner had a wider audience been dazzled by his brilliance, he was retired.<\/p>\n
But before we start thinking about deep midwinter, what can we can say about a Flat season that has been often turbulent off the track but produced so many magnificent performances on it, many of which have been coaxed by O\u2019Brien, the master Flat trainer of our time.<\/p>\n
He has the touch of a genius, the guile of a fox and the PR skills of a diplomat. After Paddington won the Sussex Stakes at Glorious Goodwood, he posed with a Paddington Bear and had time for every request for a photo or signature. Aidan is a peerless trainer. An even better ambassador. Racing needs reference points, so it was encouraging to see the baton successfully passed from mother to son, from the late Queen to the new King. No one could have expected King Charles to be so engaged with the sport.<\/p>\n
If I had the chance to ask the Royal Household for one thing in 2024, it would be for the Royal Procession to be more modern, on trend and reflect the great diversity of our sport and country \u2014 Royal Ascot needs to buzz with excitement about who is in the carriages.<\/p>\n
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King Charles has successfully taken up the racing baton from the late Queen but if one thing could change, there should be more buzz around the carriages at Royal Ascot<\/p>\n
An event of this magnitude should attract, say, the Obamas and Beckhams and mix these worldwide power figures with the unseen heroes who do so many good charitable works. What a mix that would be.<\/p>\n
This sport can appeal to everyone and we saw this season its capacity to make dreams come true. From Regional at Haydock to Live In The Dream at York, David can slay Goliath and small owners and syndicates can beat the powerhouses.<\/p>\n
Aspiration is everything with racehorse ownership. It\u2019s what makes the game so great \u2014 everyone, potentially, can have a champion.<\/p>\n