The popularity of Champions Day is not purely down to the likes of Frankel after Ascott enjoys another packed house
A standing-room-only train journey down to Ascot on Saturday afforded plenty of time to consider both the continuing popularity of
British Champions Day eight years after its arrival in the calendar, and the woeful inability of South West Trains to offer an adequate service on a day that has drawn a bigger crowd than the King George in July every year since 2014. The final attendance figure of 29,029 - a fair proportion of whom seemed to be in my carriage – was a few hundred down on 2018, but still impressive given a very mixed weather forecast for the afternoon and, if we’re honest, a slight lack of “star” names in the Group One events when compared to some previous years.
In the end, this made no difference to anyone, just as the decision to switch three races to the hurdles went unnoticed as soon as Kew Gardens and Stradivarius settled down to battle it out in the Long Distance Cup. Never mind the weather or the cast list, a crowd of around 30,000 for Champions Day is now apparently guaranteed - a huge increase on the 12,500 who saw the last Champion Stakes at Newmarket in 2010.