Anmaat did not run like the 38-1 shot he was on Saturday at Ascot, bursting between horses in deep stretch to take the measure of favored Calandagan in the Group 1 Champion Stakes. Hopelessly buried behind a wall of horses with not much more than a furlong of this 1 1/4-mile contest remaining, Anmaat bravely squeezed between rivals under Jim Crowley to outkick Calandagan by a half-length. Calandagan, stuck on the inside, had traffic trouble of his own, and when he finally got through loomed a winner before 6-year-old Anmaat appeared on the scene. Royal Rhyme, who was 24-1, finished 1 3/4 lengths farther back in third, a neck better than 19-1 Iresine, in a wild race that dramatically changed complexion from the top of the homestretch to the finish. Strong second-choice Economics tried to mount a wide challenge, but went flat late on soft ground he probably didn’t love, though trainer William Haggas said before and after the race he wouldn’t use course conditions as an excuse. Haggas said the lightly raced Economics, winner of the Irish Champion last out, had a trickle of blood in his nostril after the race. Calandagan now has consecutive runner-up finishes in important Group 1s, having lost the International by one length to City of Troy in his most recent appearance. A France-based 3-year-old gelding, Calandagan appears to have run his last race of 2024, but will campaign again next season. Anmaat ($78.10) also is a gelding, a 6-year-old, and while injuries have disrupted his career – one so serious there were doubts he’d race again – Anmaat has been a very good horse since 2021. His lone previous Group 1 success had come in the Prix d’Ispahan in May 2023, though that victory paled in comparison to Saturday’s. A Shadwell homebred trained by Owen Burrows, Anmaat is by Awtaad out of African Moonlight, by Halling. :: ON SALE NOW: DRF Breeders' Cup Packages! Get everything you need to win and save 41% off the retail price. The Champion is part of the Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series and Anmaat has automatic fees-paid entry into the Breeders’ Cup Turf, but connections made no mention of a trip to America. Los Angeles, listed by Breeders’ Cup as a possible BC Turf runner, finished ninth. The Group 1 Queen Elizabeth II Stakes also featured a dramatic finish, though only two horses fought to the wire here, with odds-on favorite Charyn, Europe’s champion miler, seeing off a long, sustained challenge from Facteur Cheval. Facteur Cheval jockey Maxime Guyon wore the silks of American owner Gary Barber, who campaigns Facteur Cheval with Team Valor. Charyn made the lead with well over a quarter-mile of the one-mile QE II remaining, cruising to the front without being asked by Silvestre de Sousa. De Sousa didn’t seriously encourage his mount until Facteur Cheval nearly had reached Charyn’s flank, and it took hard work for Charyn to eventually pull clear for a two-length victory. Tamfana finished third, more than four lengths behind Facteur Cheval. Roger Varian trains Charyn for owner Nurlan Bizakov, and Charyn, a 4-year-old son of Dark Angel out of Futoon, by Kodiac, raced Saturday for the last time. Charyn went 5-2-0 from seven starts this season, winning three Group 1 miles and finishing second in two others. Juddmonte’s homebred 3-year-old filly Kalpana continued her climb up the ratings with a comfortable win in the British Champions Fillies and Mares, winning a Group 1 in her first try at the level. Ridden by William Buick for trainer Andrew Balding, Kalpana took up a prominent position racing 1 1/2 miles over a testing course, hitting the front with a furlong remaining and beating runner-up Wingspan by two lengths. Three lengths separated second from third-place Tiffany, the Filly and Mares field spread all over the course at the finish. Kalpana, now a five-time winner from eight starts, is by Study of Man out of Zero Gravity, by Dansili. The Fillies and Mares also is part of the Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series, but here again, no public mention of a trip to Del Mar was made by the winner’s connections. Content, listed as a possible starter in the BC Filly and Mare turf, made the briefest of mid-race moves before finishing 11th. Three-year-old filly Kind of Blue, who began her career in April and made her seventh start of the year Saturday, beat 4-year-old filly Swingalong in the Group 1 Champions Day Sprint. And in the Group 2 Champions Day Long Distance Cup it was mighty Kyprios by 2 1/4 lengths, his seventh win from seven starts during an epic 2024 staying campaign. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.