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| Sumita Pawar |
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Frankie Dettori wants the horses to be the main focus on Qipco Champions Day, even though it will also be his final European race at Ascot.
The entries for the five main races on October 21 were announced on Tuesday, with the exceptional Paddington leading an impressive lineup.
After winning his fourth Group One race of the season at Goodwood last week, Aidan O'Brien's 3YO has been entered for both the £ 1.3 million Qipco Champion Stakes and the £ 1.1 million Queen Elizabeth II Stakes.
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The other three Pattern races - the Long Distance Cup, the British Champions Sprint, and the Fillies & Mares Stakes - each offer a prize fund of £500,000, making the total prize money for Champions Day £4.1million, solidifying its status as the richest race day in the British calendar.
The entries also include the unbeaten Prix du Jockey Club winner Ace Impact and the last two Betfred Derby winners, Auguste Rodin and Desert Crown. Additionally, there are other Group One stars like Mostahdaf, the impressive winner of the Prince of Wales's Stakes, and Shaquille, who triumphed in both the Commonwealth Cup and the July Cup this season.
However, despite all the exciting action on the track, many will be eagerly anticipating Dettori's final appearance in Britain and Europe before his retirement later this year.
He said, “Qipco British Champions Day is a great concept with great prize money. Racing for the kind of money which the rest of the world is doing more regularly.
“It was very hard to pick my last day riding in England. I had thought about Newmarket the week before but Ascot is my favourite track with so many great memories. It is going to be a special day and my family is going to be there.
“I don’t want to take the gloss off the day. The day is about the best day’s racing and not about my last day riding here before I go to America for the Breeders’ Cup and then Australia and Hong Kong before retiring at the end of the year.”
Reflecting on some of his Champions Day highlights, the 52YO added, “It was very good last year with Emily Upjohn coming back to win (the Fillies & Mares) after a long layoff and then Kinross, my favourite horse, winning first the Prix de la Foret at Longchamp and then 13 days later the British Champions Sprint.
“Another highlight was Cracksman, who gave me a first win after years of trying in the Champion Stakes in 2017 and won it again the next year.”