The British Champions Sprint Stakes is a

Group 1 Group 1 may refer to: * Alkali metal, a chemical element classification for Alkali metal * Group 1 (racing), a historic (until 1981) classification for Touring car racing, applied to standard touring cars. Comparable to modern FIA Group N * Group On ...

flat Flat or flats may refer to: Architecture * Flat (housing), an apartment in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia and other Commonwealth countries Arts and entertainment * Flat (music), a symbol () which denotes a lower pitch * Flat (soldier), ...

horse race Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic p ...

in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Ascot over a distance of 6 furlongs (1,207 metres), and it is scheduled to take place each year in October.

History

The event was established in 1946, and it was originally called the Diadem Stakes. It was named after

Diadem A diadem is a type of crown, specifically an ornamental headband worn by monarchs and others as a badge of royalty. Overview The word derives from the Greek διάδημα ''diádēma'', "band" or "fillet", from διαδέω ''diadéō'', "I ...

(foaled 1914), a winner of several of Ascot's leading races. For a period it was staged in October, and it later moved to September. The current system of race grading was introduced in 1971, and the Diadem Stakes initially held Group 3 status. It was promoted to Group 2 level in 1996. It had a prize fund of £100,000 in 2010. The race was given its present name and switched to October in 2011. It became part of the newly created British Champions Day, and its purse was increased to £250,000. It now serves as the sprint-category final of the

British Champions Series The British Champions Series is a series of 35 top British flat races, which culminates in a day-long festival of championship races, known as British Champions Day. It was inaugurated in the 2011 season to draw together some of Britain's key f ...

. The race was upgraded to Group 1 status from its 2015 running.

Records

Most successful horse (2 wins): * Set Fair – ''1952, 1954'' * Jack and Jill – ''1958, 1959'' Leading

jockey A jockey is someone who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing. The word "jockey" originated from England and was used to describe the individual ...

(7 wins): *

Lester Piggott Lester Keith Piggott (5 November 1935 – 29 May 2022) was an English professional jockey and trainer. With 4,493 career flat racing wins in Britain, including a record nine Epsom Derby victories, he is widely regarded as one of the greatest f ...

– ''Abergwaun (1971), Home Guard (1972), Saritamer (1974), Swingtime (1975, dead-heat), Absalom (1979), Moorestyle (1981), Salieri (1983)'' Leading trainer (4 wins): *

Walter Nightingall Walter Nightingall (1895–1968) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse trainer. The son and grandson of successful trainers, Nightingall was one of the major racing figures at Epsom for forty years in a career which began in 1927. He trained th ...

– ''Set Fair (1952, 1954), Jack and Jill (1958, 1959)'' *

Vincent O'Brien Vincent O'Brien (9 April 1917 – 1 June 2009) was an Irish horse racing, race horse horse trainer, trainer from Churchtown, County Cork, Churchtown, County Cork, Ireland. In 2003 he was voted the greatest influence in horse racing history in ...

– ''Abergwaun (1971), Home Guard (1972), Saritamer (1974), Swingtime (1975, dead-heat)''

Winners since 1979

Earlier winners

* 1946:

The Bug "The Bug" is a song written by Mark Knopfler and originally performed by Dire Straits on the final studio album by the band, '' On Every Street'' (1991). It was covered by Mary Chapin Carpenter in 1992, and also recorded on the albums ''Blues B ...

* 1947: Djelal * 1948: Combined Operations * 1949: Solonaway * 1950: Abadan * 1951: Ki Ming * 1952: Set Fair * 1953: Rose Coral * 1954: Set Fair * 1955:

Pappa Fourway Pappa Fourway (1952–1978) was an Irish-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse. He was one of the outstanding specialist sprinters of the twentieth century and one of the best horses trained in the North of England. After winning four ...

* 1956: King Bruce * 1957: Arcandy * 1958: Jack and Jill * 1959: Jack and Jill * 1960: Zanzibar * 1961: Satan * 1962: La Belle * 1963: Sammy Davis * 1964: Ampney Princess * 1965: Majority Blue * 1966: Lucasland * 1967: Great Bear * 1968: Secret Ray * 1969: Song * 1970: Realm * 1971: Abergwaun * 1972: Home Guard * 1973:

Boldboy Boldboy (1970 – September 1998) was an Irish-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse. He raced for eight seasons in the 1970s and was one of the most popular and successful racehorses of his era. As a two-year-old he showed ability, ...

* 1974:

Saritamer Saritamer (1971 – after 1981) was a Kentucky-bred, Irish-trained Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. As a two-year-old he was rated the third-best two-year-old in Ireland after winning the Anglesey Stakes and the Beresford Stakes. In the fo ...

* 1975: Roman Warrior / Swingtime * 1976: Honeyblest * 1977:

Gentilhombre A gentleman (Old French: ''gentilz hom'', gentle + man) is any man of good and courteous conduct. Originally, ''gentleman'' was the lowest rank of the landed gentry of England, ranking below an esquire and above a yeoman; by definition, the ra ...

* 1978: Creetown

References

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Racing Post ''Racing Post'' is a British daily horse racing, greyhound racing and sports betting publisher which is published in print and digital formats. It is printed in tabloid format from Monday to Sunday. , it has an average daily circulation of 6 ...

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galopp-sieger.de
– ''Diadem Stakes.''
horseracingintfed.com
– ''International Federation of Horseracing Authorities – British Champions Sprint Stakes (2018).''
pedigreequery.com
– ''Diadem Stakes – Ascot.'' * {{British Champions Series, state=uncollapsed Flat races in Great Britain Ascot Racecourse Open sprint category horse races British Champions Series

History

Records

Winners since 1979

Earlier winners

See also

References