British Champions Fillies and Mares Stakes

The British Champion Fillies and Mares Stakes is a Group 1 race for three-year-olds and upwards on Ascot’s Champions’ Day.

The British Champions Fillies and Mares Stakes takes place on Saturday 21st October 2023.

The race was originally known as the Princess Royal Stakes and did not acquire its present title until 2011.

Notable past winners include Epsom Oaks winners Ouija Board (2005) and Dancing Rain (2011) and multiple Group 1 winner Magical (2018).

Find out more about The British Champion Fillies and Mares Stakes:

Contents

1 Race Overview – British Champion Fillies and Mares Stakes
2 Famous British Champions Fillies and Mares Stakes Winners & History
3 Key British Champions Fillies and Mares Stakes Trials
4 British Champions Fillies and Mares Stakes Betting Trends
5 British Champions Fillies and Mares Stakes 2023 Odds
6 British Champions Fillies and Mares Stakes Tips
7 British Champions Fillies and Mares Stakes Previous Winners
8 British Champions Fillies and Mares Stakes Previous Result
9 British Champions Fillies and Mares Stakes Stats
10 Top Trainers and Jockeys of British Champions Fillies and Mares Stakes
11 Betting on the British Champions Fillies and Mares Stakes
12 Popular Questions
- 12.1 What Are the Important Facts About The British Champions Fillies and Mares Stakes Race?
13 Summary of British Champions Fillies and Mares Stakes
14 Ascot Champions Day Related Articles
15 Related October Articles
16 Resources

Race Overview – British Champion Fillies and Mares Stakes

The British Champion Fillies and Mares Stakes is over a mile and a half at Ascot in October.

Conditions are often testing for this meeting so ability to act on the ground and bottomless stamina are often required here.

This point is underlined by recent winners Simple Verse (2015) and Wonderful Tonight (2020), previous winners over a mile and three-quarters in the St Leger and the Prix de Royallieu respectively.

Famous British Champions Fillies and Mares Stakes Winners & History

The race was first run as the Princess Royal Stakes in 1946 with victory going to Mehmany.

It was introduced as a Group 3 in 1971 and upgraded to Group 2 when renamed the Pride Stakes in 2008.

The final name change to British Champion Fillies and Mares was made in 2011 when it became part of Champions Day.

It was finally promoted to Group 1 status in 2013 with prize money doubled to £500,000.

There have only been two dual winners in the history of this race with Shebeen (1974, 1975) and Crystal Capella (2008, 2010).

Three Epsom Oaks winners have won this race. The first to do so was Snow Bride (1989), promoted to first at Epsom after first-past-the-post Aliysa had tested positive for a banned substance and was disqualified.

2004 Oaks winner Ouija Board also won this race when it was the Princess Royal Stakes, using it as a prep race for the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf. She had won the Breeders’ Cup race the previous season but had to settle for second spot behind Lahudood.

Dancing Rain (2011) became the third Oaks winner to score here. She had produced a 20-1 shock under Johnny Murtagh in the Epsom Classic but could only finish fifth in the Irish Oaks next time.

2018 winner Magical won 12 of her 28 career starts for Aidan O’Brien and finished runner-up on eight occasions. Her other victories included the Irish Champion Stakes (2019, 2020) and the Champion Stakes (2019) in a fabulous career that netted £4.8 million in prize money for connections.

Key British Champions Fillies and Mares Stakes Trials

This race was the next target for three consecutive winners of the Prix Vermeille at Longchamp.

Baleel (2017) finished second at Ascot with Kitesurf (2018) finishing only fourth.

Star Catcher (2019) did win both races for John Gosden and Frankie Dettori.

Magical (2018) won here after finishing tenth in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe and Simple Verse (2015) followed up her St Leger victory at Doncaster. Wonderful Tonight (2020) also won here after a Group 1 success in the Prix de Royallieu.

British Champions Fillies and Mares Stakes Betting Trends

Favourites have a modest recent record in this race with only two outright winners and two joint-favourites succeeding in the past twelve seasons.

Star Catcher (2019) returned at 7-4 favourite while Wonderful Tonight (2020) headed the market at 4-1.

Nine of the twelve winners were in the first three in the betting.

Eshaada (2021) was the second 16-1 shot to win during that period following Seal Of Approval (2013). The only other double-figure-priced winner was Madame Chang (2014) for David Simcock and Jim Crowley at 12-1.

British Champions Fillies and Mares Stakes 2023 Odds

Listed below are the British Champions Fillies and Mares Stakes 2023 odds:

Qipco British Champions Fillies & Mares Stakes Date: Saturday 15th of October 2022 Time: 14:35 Details: 12 Runners
Emily Upjohn	10/3
Eternal Pearl	4/1
Mimikyu	5/1
Sea La Rosa	7/1
Sweet Lady	8/1
Rosscarbery	10/1
Lilac Road	16/1
Insinuendo	20/1
Mise En Scene	25/1
Thunder Kiss	40/1
Tranquil Lady	50/1
Ching Shih	100/1

British Champions Fillies and Mares Stakes Tips

Our tips for the British Champions Fillies and Mares Stakes are below:

2 points to win for TBC at odds of TBC
1 point each way for TBC at odds of TBC

British Champions Fillies and Mares Stakes Previous Winners

Year	Winner	Age	Jockey	Trainer	Owner	Time
1979	Alia	3	Steve Raymont	Jeremy Tree	Khalid Abdullah
1980	Karamita	3	Lester Piggott	Michael Stoute	HH Aga Khan IV
1981	Flighting	3	Brian Rouse	John Dunlop	Sandy Struthers
1982	Believer	3	Brian Rouse	John Dunlop	Arthur Budgett
1983	Sylph	3	Tony Ives	Jeremy Tree	Khalid Abdullah
1984	One Way Street	3	Lester Piggott	Henry Cecil	Louis Freedman
1985	Free Guest	4	Rae Guest	Luca Cumani	Fittocks Stud
1986	Tashtiya	3	Walter Swinburn	Michael Stoute	HH Aga Khan IV
1987	no race [a]
1988	Banket	3	Brian Rouse	John Dunlop	3rd Earl of Halifax	2:40.66
1989	Snow Bride	3	Steve Cauthen	Henry Cecil	Saeed bin M. Al Maktoum	2:30.73
1990	Narwala	3	Pat Eddery	Luca Cumani	HH Aga Khan IV	2:30.36
1991	Always Friendly	3	Alan Munro	Henry Candy	Fahd Salman	2:38.78
1992	Cunning	3	Frankie Dettori	Luca Cumani	Fittocks Stud	2:36.19
1993	no race [a]
1994	Dancing Bloom	4	Walter Swinburn	Michael Stoute	Lord Weinstock	2:34.15
1995	Labibeh	3	Willie Carson	John Dunlop	Hamdan Al Maktoum	2:41.86
1996	Time Allowed	3	John Reid	Michael Stoute	Robert Barnett	2:33.44
1997	Delilah	3	Olivier Peslier	Michael Stoute	Highclere Racing Ltd	2:45.33
1998	Silver Rhapsody	3	Kieren Fallon	Henry Cecil	Lordship Stud	2:43.68
1999	Signorina Cattiva	3	Frankie Dettori	John Dunlop	Maria Mai Goransson	2:35.40
2000	Sacred Song	3	Richard Quinn	Henry Cecil	Niarchos Family	2:31.86
2001	Head in the Clouds	3	Pat Eddery	John Dunlop	Neil Jones	2:35.73
2002	Love Everlasting	4	Kevin Darley	Mark Johnston	G. & L. Middlebrook	2:33.55
2003	Itnab	3	Richard Hills	Ben Hanbury	Hamdan Al Maktoum	2:34.16
2004	Mazuna	3	Ryan Moore	Clive Brittain	Saeed Manana	2:30.24
2005	Ouija Board	4	Frankie Dettori	Ed Dunlop	19th Earl of Derby	2:32.45
2006	Acts of Grace	3	Kerrin McEvoy	John Dunlop	Prince A. A. Faisal	2:35.64
2007	Trick or Treat	4	Tom Queally	James Given	Onslow / Henderson	2:36.93
2008	Crystal Capella	3	Ryan Moore	Sir Michael Stoute	Sir Evelyn de Rothschild	2:31.48
2009	Ashalanda	3	Christophe Lemaire	Alain de Royer-Dupré	HH Aga Khan IV	2:31.55
2010	Crystal Capella	5	Ryan Moore	Sir Michael Stoute	Sir Evelyn de Rothschild	2:34.73
2011	Dancing Rain	3	Johnny Murtagh	William Haggas	Martin and Lee Taylor	2:27.29
2012	Sapphire	4	Pat Smullen	Dermot Weld	Moyglare Stud Farm	2:37.32
2013	Seal of Approval	4	George Baker	James Fanshawe	T R G Vestey	2:39.09
2014	Madame Chiang	3	Jim Crowley	David Simcock	Kirsten Rausing	2:38.76
2015	Simple Verse	3	Andrea Atzeni	Ralph Beckett	QRL / Al Thani / Al Kubaisi	2:32.01
2016	Journey	4	Frankie Dettori	John Gosden	George Strawbridge	2:28.41
2017	Hydrangea	3	Ryan Moore	Aidan O'Brien	Smith / Magnier / Tabor	2:40.82
2018	Magical	3	Ryan Moore	Aidan O'Brien	Smith / Magnier / Tabor	2:33.28
2019	Star Catcher	3	Frankie Dettori	John Gosden	Anthony Oppenheimer	2:28.48
2020	Wonderful Tonight	3	William Buick	David Menuisier	Christopher Wright	2:37.84
2021	Eshaada	3	Jim Crowley	Roger Varian	Shadwell Estate	2:34.05
2022	Emily Upjohn	3	Frankie Dettori	John and Thady Gosden	Lloyd Webber, Tactful Finance & S Roden	2:33.76

British Champions Fillies and Mares Stakes Previous Result

🐎 Emily Upjohn bounces back to land the Group 1 QIPCO British Champions Fillies & Mares Stakes in emphatic style for Frankie Dettori and John & Thady Gosden 👏 #ChampionsDay @FrankieDettori pic.twitter.com/YoQeTmEcy6

— Champions Series (@ChampionsSeries) October 15, 2022

British Champions Fillies and Mares Stakes Stats

Three-year-olds have dominated this race in recent years, winning seven of the last eight renewals.

The only horse to break that sequence was Journey (2016) who won as a four-year-old.

Crystal Capella (2008, 2010) won as a five-year-old when claiming her second victory in this race but the Classic generation clearly hold sway.

Eight of the twelve winners had winning form over a mile and a half and all but two had tackled the distance at least twice.

Ten of the twelve had at least one previous victory at Group 1 to 3 level and a rating of 108 or higher is usually required to win here.

Seal of Approval (rated 99 in 2013) was the only horse to win the British Champion Fillies and Mares off a lower mark during that period.

Top Trainers and Jockeys of British Champions Fillies and Mares Stakes

The late John Dunlop has the all-time record for winners in this race with nine, the last of them coming with Acts of Grace (2006).

Sir Michael Stoute has seven victories to his credit; Karanita (1980), Tashtiya (1986), Dancing Bloom (1994), Time Allowed (1996), Delilah (1997) and Crystal Capella (2008, 2010).

Lester Piggott leads the all-time jockeys list with eight winners between 1959 and 1984.

Frankie Dettori has won it five times; Cunning (1992), Signorina Cattiva (1999), Ouija Board (2005), Journey (2016) and Star Catcher (2019).

Ryan Moore also has five victories; Mazuna (2004), Crystal Capella (2008, 2010), Hydrangea (2017) and Magical (2018).

Betting on the British Champions Fillies and Mares Stakes

The ante-post betting on the British Champions Fillies and Mares takes shape the week before Champions Day as the running plans become clearer.

The powerful stables of Aidan O’Brien and John and Thady Gosden usually have a leading contender but plans may change if the going deteriorates.

This is almost always the last race of the year for these fillies and mares. Magical (2018) was a tough campaigner who retained her form incredibly well and she went on to finish second at the Breeders’ Cup. Most of the other recent winners were not seen again until the following Spring.

Summary of British Champions Fillies and Mares Stakes

The British Champions Fillies and Mares Stakes is currently race 3 on Champions Day and sets the scene for the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes and Champion Stakes.

It regularly attracts horses who ran in the Oaks but it is often won by progressive fillies who thrive in the testing Autumn conditions.

It is a great race on Ascot Champions Day and a favourite of the team here.