Two long-shot winners stun Ascot on Champions Day

Ascot witnessed two extraordinary upsets on British Champions Day on Saturday as outsiders dominated two of the card's feature races, with Powerful Glory winning the Qipco British Champions Sprint at 200-1 and Ciceros Gift taking the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes at 100-1. The results stunned the crowd at the royal meeting, the final day of the flat season and Britain’s richest raceday, and reshuffled expectations across the top end of the sport.

Powerful Glory, a three year old trained by Richard Fahey and ridden by Jamie Spencer, produced a late surge to collar the 2-1 favorite Lazzat in the final strides of the Sprint. Quinault finished third. The victory made Powerful Glory the longest-priced Group 1 winner in Britain since the current grading system was introduced. Fahey said the result was “special” and noted the horse had shown issues earlier in the season before returning to form for this race. Spencer, who timed his finishing run from the rear, said he had been “lost for words” and admitted he had not expected to win after the horse’s recent low-key form.

Powerful Glory had been considered a significant outsider by the market and previous form, including a poor run in a...