'It would be foolish to think it was a pure fluke' - what did our experts make of Anmaat's Champion Stakes win?

'It would be foolish to think it was a pure fluke'

It was all a bit of a mess, wasn't it? Enough hard-luck stories to fill up an 88-page book.

That said, the winner had to wait for his own gap and did really well to come out on top, so it would be foolish to think it was a pure fluke.

He's a quality gelding when he's on song like this. Connections of Calandagan will be frustrated, as will a few others, while Economics wasn't himself.

That was a shame as it would have been nice to see him confirm what we saw in the Irish Champion Stakes.
David Jennings, deputy Ireland editor

'He won't be missed in the market again'

A muddling race to say the least but for Anmaat a nightmare turned into a dream in a matter of seconds.

Jim Crowley had to be patient for the gap to appear, and at one point he was so crowded there was absolutely nothing he could do, but he got the perfect combination of a lot of horse and a clear shot for the lead with a furlong to go and the horse delivered.

Whether the result would have been the same had he and Calandagan each got clear passages, who knows? In hindsight, the 40-1 was a huge overreaction following Anmaat's defeat as at times he looked a high-class performer.

He will be seven next season, but this was just his 15th start, and he is gelded, so I suspect connections will want to race on. He won't be missed in the market again, that's for sure.
James Stevens, reporter

Read this next:

'I put my binoculars down halfway up the straight and thought we had no chance' - Anmaat flies home to land 40-1 Champion Stakes shock 

'I didn't see the winner coming' - Calandagan team rue narrow loss while below-par Economics is found with blood in his nose 

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