Glorious Goodwood horse racing fans were left stunned after the Group One Sussex Stakes – with 150/1 shot Qirat landing the race – having only been in the contest as a pacemaker for hot-pot Field Of Gold.
Qirat Causes 150/1 Sussex Stakes Upset at Glorious Goodwood
The Ralph Beckett-trained Qirat was supplemented for the Sussex Stakes for £70k – but really the horse was only put in the contest to make sure the race was run at a decent clip – and to ultimately set things up for fellow Juddmonte runner Field Of Gold.
Field Of Gold was sent off as the 1/3 ‘so-called good thing’ with the horse racing betting sites – with Qirat a monster 150/1.
There is 24lbs between the two horses on the official ratings and Field Of Gold was also getting another 8lbs age allowance.
Meaning John Gosden’s grey had a massive 32lbs in-hand on the adjusted ratings.
However, in a messy race – where there were actually TWO pacemakers – as Serengeti was also in to set the fractions for his stablemate Henri Matisse.
But it seems the main players gave these front-runners way too much rope and in the end the three big fancies in the race – Field Of Gold, Rosallion and Henri Matisse – all had too much ground to make up.
Qirat Unbeaten At Goodwood
In Qirat’s defence – the horse loves Goodwood and is now an unbeaten 3-3 at the West Sussex track.
But even though some layers reported bets of £50 and £30 on Qirat at 150/1 – this was a celebration result for the bookies, with the three big-guns losing and Field Of Gold now even placed.
Qirat was ridden by former Epsom Derby-winning rider Richard Kingscote, who remarkable was riding his first Glorious Goodwood winner since Kachy in 2015.
Kingscote has had a long association with trainer Ralph Beckett – the pair certainly won’t forget his first ever Sussex Stakes winners.
Scooping the £599,708 first prize.
Richard Kingscote is also off to ride in Hong Kong later this year after announcing he’s quitting Britain for the time being – along with fellow rider David Probert.
One of the longest priced winners in Group One history! 🤯
Qirat is victorious in the Visit Qatar Sussex Stakes! 🏆#ITVRacing | @Goodwood_Races | @RKingscote | @RalphBeckett pic.twitter.com/YdMUjgPbmy
— ITV Racing (@itvracing) July 30, 2025
2025 Sussex Stakes Result
🥇- QIRAT (150/1) (Ralph Beckett)
🥈- Rosallion (11/2)
🥉- Henri Matisse (11/2)
Is Qirat The Biggest British Group One Priced-Winner Ever?
Sole Power won the 2010 Group One Nunthorpe Stakes at 100/1 for trainer Edward Lynam and this year’s Epsom Derby winning rider Wayne Lordan.
But it seems Qirat has trumped this by 50 points at 150/1 – so yes, we think he is the biggest British Group One priced-winner ever.
Away from the UK, we also found 1999 Hong Kong Derby winner Holy Grail winning that race at 182/1.
But there was a UK connection as the horse that day was ridden by former Welsh jockey David Harrison.
The Biggest-Priced Horse Racing Winners In Britain and Ireland: He Knows No Fear at 300/1 Tops List
In 2020 at Leopardstown we saw a 300/1 winner when He Knows No Fear won for jockey Chris Hayes.
It was only the horse’s second career start – after finishing 12th (of 14) on debut at Limerick and beaten 18 lengths.
He Knows No Fear was trained by Luke Comer aged 3 but sadly died aged 5.
The 300/1 price beat the previous record of 250/1 that was held by Equinoctial after winning a race at Kelso in 1990.
At the time well-known Scottish racing reporter Gordon Brown said to a racegoer.
“I said, ‘madam, if that wins – I will streak around Kelso naked.”
“I’m pretty sure she didn’t back it, and I spent the rest of the afternoon trying to avoid a woman swinging a handbag at me.”
300-1!
He Knows No Fear, the biggest-priced winner in British and Irish racing history.
Hear from rider @chrishayes24 and check out some other winners at mammoth prices this century >>> https://t.co/RHp34ZhVgl pic.twitter.com/TEsvDWU97u
— Racing TV (@RacingTV) August 13, 2020
Other Notable Biggest-Priced Horse Racing Winners
2025 – HEAVENLY HEATHER (200/1)
Earlier in 2025, there was another big-priced winner on All Weather Finals Day at Newcastle on 18th April – when Heavenly Heather won at 200/1
The horse is trained by Trabcy Waggott and was ridden that day by claiming jockey Amie Waugh.
2020 – NANDO PARRADO (150/1)
This Clive Cox horse caused the upset in the 2020 Coventry Stakes at Royal Ascot – winning by a length with 3/1 shot Qaader in second.
The horse was ridden by Adam Kirby but that was the horse’s only career win.
He ran eight more times without success.
2008 – FLASHMANS PAPERS (100/1)
Another big-price Royal Ascot winner back in 2008 was the John Best-trained Flashmans Papers – winning the Windsor Castle Stakes at 100/1.
Like Nando Parrado, the horse never won a race after this – running eleven times with getting his head in front again.
Having also been sold to race in the US for the Doug O’Neill barn.
2025 – PONIROS (100/1)
Willie Mullins winners at the Cheltenham Festival are nothing new – but most are favourites or priced a lot shorter than 100/1 shot Poniros, who won the 2025 Triumph Hurdle.
The horse is owned by Brighton football chairman Tony Bloom and came with a great run under jockey Jonjo O’Neill Jr to cause the shock.
2009 – MON MOME (100/1)
Another big-price horse racing winner was Mon Mome, who won the most famous race of them all – the Grand National.
Trained by Venetia Williams, the 9 year-old came home first past the post in the 2009 running of the Merseyside Marathon.
The French-bred fell the following year in the race though and was pulled up in 2012.
Like a lot of the big-priced horse racing winners on this page – Mon Mome also failed to win another race since his 100/1 success.
He raced 18 more times – but still amassed a £753,621 in total prize money.
