Can Aidan O’Brien Get His First Ascot Champions Day Winner Since 2019?

Heading into the top Ascot fixture this weekend – we suspect not many horse racing fans would have guessed that leading Irish handler Aidan O’Brien hasn’t had a single British Champions Day winner in the last four renewals of the meeting.

Aidan O’Brien’s Last Champions Day Winner Came Five Years Ago

Wow – it’s actually quite an amazing stat and one that I had to double and then triple check – as Aidan O’Brien’s last Champions Day winner came back at the 2019 meeting.

Since then, the Ballydoyle maestro has had to endure four blank meetings that have seen O’Brien’s last 28 Ascot Champions Day runners all getting stuffed.

Aidan O’Brien’s last runner at the meeting came in 2023 in the Champion Stakes, when Point Lonsdale could only manage 4th behind the Amo Racing-owned winner King Of Steel.

So, which was the last horse that guided O’Brien into the horse racing winners’ enclosure at Ascot’s Champions Day?

Magical Was Aidan O’Brien’s Last Champions Day Winner In 2019

Step forward Magical, the classy mare that landed the 2019 renewal of the Champion Stakes, which is the race that holds the biggest Champions Day prize money.

Magical, who was ridden by Aidan’s son Donnacha, saw off Addeybb that year to reward backers with the best horse racing betting sites in the UK (watch below), while that success also remains O’Brien’s only victory in the Champion Stakes.

Just prior to Magical’s win, O’Brien also saw his Kew Gardens win the 2019 Long Distance Cup at the meeting.

A year later in 2020, Addeybb got his revenge on Magical in the Champion Stakes with the two finishing 1st and 3rd that season.

However, these two horses remain his last winners at Ascot’s Champions Day heading into 2024 – which is quite amazing.

WATCH: Magical Winning The 2019 British Champion Stakes at Ascot

Aidan O’Brien Number Of Runners At Champions Day Since 2019

British Champions Day at Ascot 2024 Details

📅Date: Saturday 19th October 2024
⌚Times: 1:20pm to 4:35pm
🏇Racecourse: Ascot, Berkshire
📺 TV: ITV / Sky Racing (ATR)

All of the 2024 Champions Day Ascot meeting will be covered on ITV Racing this Saturday.

Kyprios, Paddington and Snowfall Some Of The Big-Name O’Brien Champions Day Runners To Lose Since

Since Magical won the 2019 Champion Stakes, as mentioned O’Brien has sent out 28 runners at the meeting over the last four years.

However, all of these have been beaten as he looks to end this drought heading into the 2024 fixture this Saturday.

Yes, some of those 28 runners to fall by the wayside were bigger outsiders, but O’Brien has still had many fancied runners at Champions Day lose too.

Kyprios (Long Distance Cup, 2023)

Sent off as the 11/10 market leader in the Long Distance Cup in 2023, only to go down by a neck to Godolphin’s Trawlerman.

The pair will lock horns again in the opener on Champions Day 2024.

Paddington (Queen Elizabeth II Stakes, 2023)

Last season’s Irish 2000 Guineas, St James’s Palace Stakes, Eclipse and Sussex Stakes winner Paddington was sent off at 7/4 in the QEII Stakes.

However, he ran a shocker and failed to land the ‘marmalade’ to be 9th (of 11) – beaten 35 lengths by the French-trained Big Rock.

Snowfall (Fillies & Mares Stakes, 2021)

Having won the Epsom Oaks in 2021 and then adding the Irish and Yorkshire Oaks, Snowfall was sent off odds-on in the Champions Fillies & Mares Stakes.

However, she could only manage third behind the classy grey Eshaada and never raced again after unfortunately dying as a 4 year-old.

Aidan O’Brien Runners At Ascot Champions Day 2024

If you think Aidan O’Brien can break his run of five years without a Champions Day winner – you can see his potential runners for all six races here.

Plus, here SportsCasting you can also get the best daily horse racing tips and expert advice from Andrew Mount, who provides his best bets and SpreadEx analysis each day.