{"id":308539,"date":"2025-08-01T06:19:18","date_gmt":"2025-08-01T06:19:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/308539\/"},"modified":"2025-08-01T06:19:18","modified_gmt":"2025-08-01T06:19:18","slug":"five-famous-shock-wins-in-feature-races-from-qirat-to-arcangues","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/308539\/","title":{"rendered":"Five famous shock wins in feature races, from Qirat to Arcangues"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>When Qirat held off Rosallion to land the G1 Sussex Stakes at Goodwood at 150\/1,\u00a0he became the longest-priced Group 1 winner since the introduction of the pattern in Britain in 1971.<\/p>\n<p>In fact, he was the biggest surprise victor of a feature race in Britain since Theodore won the St Leger at 200\/1 in 1822.<\/p>\n<p>So where does he fit in the scheme of big race upsets?<\/p>\n<p>Here are five other major Group 1 or Grade 1 upsets from around the world. \u00a0<\/p>\n<p>&#13;<br \/>\nEmblem Road \u2013 114\/1, 2022 Saudi Cup<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/RS9370_26.2.22_SAUDI-CUP_RACE-8_EMBLEM-ROAD_Neville-Hopwood-8196-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-16925\"  \/>EMBLEM ROAD \/ G1 Saudi Cup \/\/ Riyadh \/\/\/ 2022 \/\/\/\/ Photo by JCSA\/Neville Hopwood<\/p>\n<p>With no betting in Saudi Arabia, 114\/1 was the American tote price for the first local winner of the G1 Saudi Cup, Emblem Road.<\/p>\n<p>While he had won a local lead-up, Emblem Road looked to face a tough assignment in 2022 against defending champion Mishriff and Group 1 winners Aero Trem, Art Collector, Country Grammer, Mandaloun, Marche Lorraine, Sealiway and T O Keynes.<\/p>\n<p>It seemed impossible early when Emblem Road was near the rear and being hard ridden by jockey Wiggy Ramos, but he stayed on past all 13 rivals to land the world\u2019s richest race.<\/p>\n<p>&#13;<br \/>\nStar Appeal \u2013 119\/1, 1975 Prix de l\u2019Arc de Triomphe<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"665\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Star-Appeal-1024x665.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-16922\"  \/>STAR APPEAL \/ G1 Prix de l\u2019Arc de Triomphe \/\/ Longchamp \/\/\/ 1975 \/\/\/\/ Photo by France Galop<\/p>\n<p>The G1 Prix de l\u2019Arc de Triomphe is a race of superstars, where the cream rises to the top and the best horse usually prevails. Upsets do occur \u2013 most recently, Torquator Tasso won at 80\/1 \u2013 but they are few and far between.<\/p>\n<p>Like Torquator Tasso, 1975 winner Star Appeal was German-trained or in those days, West German. Despite winning the G1 Eclipse Stakes at Sandown earlier in the year, he was completely unfancied and started the outsider of 24 runners.<\/p>\n<p>Coming from near last, Star Appeal belied his odds to sweep to a three-length win under Greville Starkey. Among those left in his wake were champion mares Allez France and Dahlia.<\/p>\n<p>&#13;<br \/>\nDandy Andy \u2013 125\/1, 1988 Australian Cup<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/dandyandyaustraliancup_0_14_3_1988_canna_3600x2400_6660679-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-9914\"  \/>DANDY ANDY, BRENT THOMSON \/ G1 Australian Cup \/\/ Flemington \/\/\/ 1988 \/\/\/\/ Photo by Bruno Cannatelli<\/p>\n<p>There have been bigger-priced shocks in Australian Group 1 races \u2013 Abaridy won the 1986 Caulfield Guineas at 250\/1 and Lunar Fox was an extraordinary 300\/1 when he took out the 2021 Australian Guineas \u2013 but Dandy Andy remains the epitome of an upset.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>In Australian terms, the 1988 G1 Australian Cup was a \u201cboilover\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>It was seen as a match race \u2013 the free-wheeling Vo Rogue taking on the \u201cequine immortal\u201d Bonecrusher. Other runners included G1 Irish St Leger winner Authaal and Group 1 performers Cossack Warrior and King Of Brooklyn.<\/p>\n<p>But it was the unfancied Dandy Andy who swept to the lead and raced clear for his biggest success.<\/p>\n<p>&#13;<br \/>\nArcangues \u2013 133\/1, 1993 Breeders\u2019 Cup Classic<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"664\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/GettyImages-1237386470-1024x664.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-16919\"  \/>ARCANGUES \/ G1 Breeders\u2019 Cup Classic \/\/ Santa Anita \/\/\/ 1993 \/\/\/\/ Photo by Trevor Jones and Popperfoto via Getty Images<\/p>\n<p>When Andre Fabre-trained Arcangues lined up in the 1993 G1 Breeders\u2019 Cup Classic at Santa Anita, he was dismissed as a most unlikely winner.<\/p>\n<p>It was not that he didn\u2019t have the class \u2013 he had won the G1 Prix d\u2019Ispahan earlier in the season \u2013 but he had never raced on dirt and it looked a difficult task against a competitive field.<\/p>\n<p>Perhaps the biggest shock of all was that racecaller Tom Durkin didn\u2019t skip a beat when Arcangues sluiced between horses, chasing down favourite Bertrando. Durkin identified him early and summed up the upset perfectly.<\/p>\n<p>His price was so high that his actual odds did not even fit into the infield tote board, which could only accommodate two digits.<\/p>\n<p>&#13;<br \/>\nTen Happy Rose \u2013 208\/1, 2024 Victoria Mile<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Ten-Happy-Rose-2-1024x683.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-16929\"  \/>TEN HAPPY ROSE \/ G1 Victoria Mile \/\/ Tokyo \/\/\/ 2024 \/\/\/\/ Photo by Shuhei Okada<\/p>\n<p>Again, not the biggest priced upset in Japanese Grade 1 history \u2013 Sand Peeress won the 1989 Queen Elizabeth II Cup at 430\/1, although it was still a domestic G1 event at that time, while Copano Rickey was somehow sent off at 271\/1 when he landed the first of two wins in the February Stakes in 2014.<\/p>\n<p>However, Ten Happy Rose achieved global notoriety with her defeat of horses like Masked Diva, Namur and Stunning Rose in last year\u2019s G1 Victoria Mile at 208\/1. She wasn\u2019t the outsider of the field \u2013 Kita Wing was sent off at 337\/1 \u2013 but she made a mockery of her price by winning comfortably.<\/p>\n<p>Ten Happy Rose showed it was no fluke when she finished fourth, beaten just over a length, in the G1 Breeders\u2019 Cup Mile last year. \u220e<\/p>\n<p>      <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/LunarFox-20210227-9575-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\"\/><\/p>\n<p class=\"feature-link-subtitle\">Related<\/p>\n<p class=\"feature-link-title\">Top Five: Australian Feature Race Shocks, From Lunar Fox To Abaridy<\/p>\n<p>          <a href=\"https:\/\/idolhorse.com\/horse-racing-news\/world\/top-five-australian-feature-race-shock-results\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><\/p>\n<p>      <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/TenHappyRose.jpg\" alt=\"Ten Happy Rose wins G1 Victoria Mile\"\/><\/p>\n<p class=\"feature-link-subtitle\">Related<\/p>\n<p class=\"feature-link-title\">Late-Blooming Ten Happy Rose Scores Shock Victoria Mile Win<\/p>\n<p>          <a href=\"https:\/\/idolhorse.com\/horse-racing-news\/g1-race-reviews\/late-blooming-ten-happy-rose-scores-shock-victoria-mile-win\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When Qirat held off Rosallion to land the G1 Sussex Stakes at Goodwood at 150\/1,\u00a0he became the longest-priced&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":308540,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4107],"tags":[1071,79,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-308539","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-racing","8":"tag-racing","9":"tag-sports","10":"tag-uk","11":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114952062089933168","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/308539","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=308539"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/308539\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/308540"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=308539"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=308539"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=308539"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}