Champion Stakes provides a compelling case for why geldings must be allowed to run in every Group 1

Here is the revised result of the 2024 Champion Stakes. First: Royal Rhyme; second: Sea The Fire; third: Economics.

That might seem preposterous in the context of what we saw on Saturday, when Royal Rhyme finished third, Sea The Fire fifth, and Economics sixth, but that’s the way it would have been before the Champion Stakes was opened to geldings. The first two on Saturday, Anmaat and Calandagan, together with the fourth horse home, Iresine, would have been ineligible to run.

Although that aspect of Saturday’s renewal was overlooked in the fallout, the opposite was true of the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, when the debate over geldings’ participation was a hot topic. When Bluestocking emerged triumphant, many argued that Calandagan – who finished more than seven lengths ahead of her in the Juddmonte International Stakes – would have won had he not been barred. Or maybe Goliath, who had Bluestocking more than two lengths adrift when winning the King George in July.