Can Kalpana defy the low-draw curse for a historic Champions Day treble?

Having conquered this race in 2024 and 2025, she arrives as the clear market leader targeting a extraordinary three-in-a-row victory on Flat racing’s showcase finale at Ascot.

However, the 2026 draw has presented her with a formidable hurdle: Stall 1.

The Stall 1 British Champions Fillies & Mares Stakes Stumbling Block

While Kalpana has proven her adaptability across varying tracks and conditions, history is firmly against her inside starting spot.

Since 2015, every single winner of the British Champions Fillies & Mares Stakes has come from stall 6 or higher.

To find the last horse to capture this title from a low draw, you have to go back over a decade to 2014, when Madame Chiang triumphed from stall 2.

Kalpana herself won from high and middle berths during her previous victories-scoring from stall 11 in 2024 and stall 7 in 2025.

Jumping from stall 1 on Ascot’s round course leaves little room for error, requiring jockey precision to avoid getting boxed in along the rail when the tempo quickens.

So can Kalpana defy this 12-year draw stat and win the race for a third time?

We’ll find out at 2:40pm on Saturday at British Champions Day at Ascot.

British Champions Fillies & Mares Stakes Recent Winners (and stalls)

• 2025 – KALPANA (7)
• 2024 – KALPANA (11)
• 2023 – POPTRONIC (10)
• 2022 – EMILY UPJOHN (10)
• 2021 – ESHAADA (8)
• 2020 – WONDERFUL TONIGHT (9)
• 2019 – STAR CATCHER (11)
• 2018 – MAGICAL (6)
• 2017 – HYDRANGEA (8)
• 2016 – JOURNEY (11)
• 2015 – SIMPLE VERSE (12)
• 2014 – MADAME CHAING (2)

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British Champions Fillies & Mares Stakes race details, time, date, tv, purse

• Date: Saturday, 17th October 2026
• Time: 2:40pm
• Course: Ascot Racecourse (1m 4f)
• TV Coverage: ITV Racing & Racing TV
• Total Prize Purse: £500,000

The British Champions Fillies & Mares Stakes has been a good race for the favourites

Despite the draw hazard, market leaders have an outstanding record in this contest.

With Kalpana firmly established as the market leader once again, history suggests that if any horse has the class to overcome a tricky low stall, it is the favourite.

Kalpana Career In Numbers 🩷💚

• Age: 5
• Runs: 19
• Wins: 9
• Group One Wins: 4
• Career Prize Money: £2,861,364

Kalpana’s Ascot Record: A Track Designed for Greatness

Few horses in modern racing possess a affinity for Ascot Racecourse quite like Juddmonte’s star mare Kalpana.

Across six career visits to Berkshire, her course record reads a formidable 3-1-2-1-2-1-a series of top-tier performances that underline her status as one of the finest middle-distance performers of her generation.

Her love affair with the course began in the summer of 2024 with a bronze effort in the Group 2 Ribblesdale Stakes, before she captured her first British Champions Fillies & Mares Stakes victory later that autumn.

She added another solid runner-up finish in the 2026 Hardwicke Stakes, solidifying her reputation as a true Ascot specialist who thrives on the track’s demanding layout and steep home straight.

The absolute crowning moment of her Ascot record came in July 2026, when she lined up for her second tilt at the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes.

 

Under a masterful ride from Colin Keane, Kalpana reversed previous form to defeat a world-class field led by Calandagan, producing a career-best performance to claim one of flat racing’s ultimate Group 1 prizes.

That signature victory proved beyond doubt that whether competing against her own sex or tackling top-class male stayers, Ascot remains Kalpana’s ultimate playground

Chasing History: The Quest for an Unprecedented Treble

In the long and storied history of this contest-first run in 1946 as the Princess Royal Stakes-no horse has ever managed to win it three times.

Only two other fillies or mares have ever recorded multiple victories:

• Shebeen – won back-to-back in 1974 and 1975.
• Crystal Capella – notched two victories non-consecutively in 2008 and 2010.

By capturing back-to-back crowns in 2024 and 2025, Kalpana joined Shebeen as the only other horse to defend her title.

On Saturday, she stands alone on the precipice of a treble that would cement her legacy as the greatest filly or mare in the event’s history.

WATCH: Kalpana Winning The 2025 British Champions Fillies & Mares Stakes

 

• Kalpana (1) / Andrew Balding 6/4 Fav
• Lilt (10) / William Haggas 7/1
• Sparan Nua (4) / Jim Bolger 8/1
• Minnie Hauk (12) / Aidan O’Brien 8/1
• Johanna Walsh (6) / Joseph O’Brien 10/1
• Danielle (8) / John & Thady Gosden 12/1
• See The Fire (7) / Andrew Balding 16/1
• Believed (3) / Johnny Murtagh 20/1
• Tajlina (11) / F-H Graffard 25/1
• Coedana (13) / Ed Bethell 25/1
• Inis Mor (2) / David Menuisier 33/1
• Symbol Of Majesty (9) / John & Thady Gosden 66/1
• Sugar Island (5) / Aidan O’Brien 150/1

(Odds correct as of October 2026 and subject to fluctuation)

WATCH: Kalpana Winning The 2024 British Champions Fillies & Mares Stakes