Tony McFadden provides the Timeform ratings reaction to Champions Day which featured a top-class performance from Calandagan.
Trawlerman (remains 127)
Trawlerman underlined his status as the best stayer around by winning the Long Distance Cup more emphatically than the margin of a length and a half might suggest.
He was sent for home a long way out and moved clear early in the straight, looking set to register a wide-margin win like he had done in the Gold Cup at Royal Ascot. However, having made such a big move in a race run at a strong gallop, Trawlerman understandably tired in the latter stages and was closed down by the patiently ridden Sweet William who reduced the margin to a length and a half without seriously threatening to get on terms.
It may be a thin division, but Trawlerman's peak rating of 127, awarded for his seven-length success in the Gold Cup, marks him out as a high-class performer. He'll be eight next year but has not shown any sign of age diminishing his ability or enthusiasm.
Powerful Glory (120 from 107?)
Powerful Glory sprang a major surprise in the Champions Sprint, becoming the first European Group 1 winner to score at 200/1.
Unsurprisingly given those odds, Powerful Glory was among the lowest rated in the field and had plenty to prove following two very disappointing starts this season. However, he bounced back and built on the promise he had shown as a two-year-old when he had won both starts, including the Mill Reef.
He produced a strong late run to overhaul well-backed favourite Lazzat - the form choice in a wide-open division - to score by a neck and earn a very smart Timeform rating of 120. The form Lazzat (124) showed when winning the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes at Royal Ascot marks him out as the highest-rated sprinter in Europe but 11 lb lower than world's best Ka Ying Rising.
Kalpana (remains 123)
Kalpana went into the Fillies & Mares Stakes without a win since decisively landing the same contest 12 months earlier, but she had run some excellent races in the intervening period, most notably finishing runner-up to Calandagan in the King George at Ascot in July.
That King George effort meant Kalpana went into the Fillies & Mares Stakes with outstanding claims on form - she was 6 lb clear on Timeform's ratings - and she didn't have to run up to her best to score comfortably by two and a half lengths, though there was still a lot to like about how readily she settled matters in a steadily-run race.
Her peak rating of 123 is a high mark for a filly and, for context, she's rated the same as last season's Arc winner Bluestocking.
Cicero's Gift (120 from 114)
This wasn't the first time this season that a Group 1 over a mile proved to be a rather unsatisfactory affair as those towards the far side may have been at an advantage the way things developed, with Cicero's Gift, in stall 1, leading home The Lion In Winter, in stall 2, to spring an enormous surprise.
Field of Gold, the 13/8 favourite, raced on the other wing to the first two home, more towards the centre of the course, and wasn't helped by his track position. However, he also shaped as if slightly in need of the run on his first start since returning lame from the Sussex Stakes, failing to sustain his effort after looking a big threat.
This represented an improved display from Cicero's Gift, who was arriving on the back of a win at listed level, though he was helped by the market leaders underperforming and is still rated below several of his rivals. His performance rating is the lowest for a QEII winner since Roaring Lion didn't need to be at his best to drop back in trip and overcome testing conditions in 2018.
Calandagan (133 from 129)
The Champion Stakes had looked like a strong contender for race of the season as in Ombudsman (130), Calandagan (129) and Delacroix (129) there were three of Timeform's five highest-rated horses in Europe in action.
It was also only the third time since the fixture moved to Ascot that three horses with ratings of 129 contested the Champion Stakes. The others were in 2012 (Frankel, Cirrus des Aigles, Nathaniel) and 2016 (Almanzor, Found, Jack Hobbs). Indeed, the only time since the 2016 Champion Stakes that three horses had gone to post rated at least 129 was in the 2023 Arc (Ace Impact, Westover, Hukum).
Plenty was, therefore, expected but the race lived up to its billing. Calandagan's two-and-a-quarter-length defeat of Ombudsman has been rated the best performance in Europe this season, 2 lb higher than stablemate Daryz earned in the Arc a couple of weeks earlier. He is now the second highest-rated in the world behind Hong Kong sprint star Ka Ying Rising.
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