A glut of equine superstars must handle tacky soft autumn ground on QIPCO British Champions Day again this year. Ascot has moved the three races held on the Round Course to the inner track and not for the first time.
With a Champion Stakes to savour and a no less intriguing Queen Elizabeth II Stakes among four Group 1s on the card, horse racing betting sites should do plenty of turnover in the build-up to and on Saturday, 19 October. There are good field sizes in Berkshire too.
Starting off with the Long Distance Cup for stayers, the five pattern races are the last major events in the British Isles of the campaign. We asked our experts for their detailed analysis of such action.
QIPCO British Champions Day Preview
1:20 – 2m Group 2 Long Distance Cup
Kyprios spent most of 2023 sidelined, but came back to his very best this term. He is likely to go off odds-on, so there’s little value in backing him to go one better.
The fresher Trawlerman represents a value alternative and comes back to Berkshire off a much lighter campaign. A successful defence of this has probably been the target all season.
If it’s not one of the big two, then Tom Clover has targeted QIPCO British Champions Day with Al Nayyir. The yard could do with a winner to show some stable form, but this French import caught the eye when runner-up in the Lonsdale Cup during the York Ebor Festival.
Al Nayyir looked tailor-made for the Doncaster Cup three weeks later, but instead waited and dropped into Listed company with an impressive success at Newmarket. He handle soft ground just fine, sp looks the best of the rest.
The Gosden yard has four wins in this and, besides Trawlerman, they also run Sweet William who isn’t the easiest ride. It’s more or less any price you like for the other five runners with Copper Horse scorer Belloccio back at Ascot for Willie Mullins.
Sole three-year-old The Euphrates, receiving 8lb weight for age from all but one rival, looks little more than a pacemaker for Kyprios. This is despite him winning the Irish Cesarewitch after chasing home his stable companion in third in the Irish St Leger.
1:55 – 6f Group 1 British Champions Sprint Stakes
Mill Stream, who has clearly improved in landing the Duke Of York Stakes and July Cup this term, arrives here fresher than the entire field. He again has William Buick booked for the ride and makes the most appeal each way.
Kinross, a standing dish on QIPCO British Champions Day in this race, has overcome a high draw before. He is another year older aged seven, however, but a strong stayer over the trip. It remains to be seen if he’s on the right part of the Straight Course with French raider Beauvatier and three-year-old filly Flora Of Bermuda outside him and the stalls on the far side.
Haydock Sprint Cup 1-2-3-4 Montassib, Kind Of Blue, Unequal Love and Vadream all re-oppose. They had low draws on Merseyside, but only the William Haggas pair have gates below stall 10 this time around. All evidence suggests ratings topper Audience wants quicker ground. meanwhile.
At bigger prices, Karl Burke trio Elite Status, Spycatcher and Swingalong all have big races in them on a going day. James’s Delight has Ryan Moore booked for the ride by Clive Cox. Art Power pulled off a shock last year, but hasn’t got his head in front since.
2:35 – 1m 3.5f Group 1 British Champions Fillies & Mares Stakes
She looks a value punt for Sir Mark Prescott and Luke Morris. Although she’s never raced right-handed before in her career, Tiffany is a typical improver with age and experience from the trainer and jockey combo behind Alpinista.
Ribblesdale Stakes third Kalpana was a warm order ante post for this race who is easier to back following final declarations. Andrew Balding’s three-year-old routed her September Stakes rivals on the All-Weather at Kempton and now goes back against her own sex.
Juddmonte also run Time Lock, but she only finished seventh 12 months ago and again arrives here off the back of a Newmarket Group 3 success. O’Brien has three fillies in the line-up. Content is the best of those on official ratings, but she didn’t fire on Arc Weekend on testing ground.
Grateful seems to want even further if her Prix de Royallieu victory in Paris is anything to go by, so Wingspan could be each way value. Her dam, Hydrangea, won this on QIPCO British Champions Day back in 2017. Grand Prix de Deauville heroine Quantanamera comes over from Germany for a shot at this, meanwhile.
Gosden stable representative Queen Of The Pride is on a retrieval mission after not firing in the Yorkshire Oaks, but did land the Lancashire Oaks nicely before that from Tiffany. Doha is bred to appreciate this longer trip for Ralph Beckett as she’s out of dual Arc scorer Treve.
3:15 – 1m Group 1 Queen Elizabeth II Stakes
David Menuisier’s three-year-old filly has really come to hand in recent weeks and you can see why she was a Classic prospect earlier in the campaign. That Group 1 success at headquarters a fortnight ago was a real breakthrough for Tamfana.
Away from the much improved market principals, French 2000 Guineas hero Metropolitan is back on soft ground and may reverse St James’s Palace form with Henry Longfellow.
It cost connections of Prague some £70,000 to supplement him for QIPCO British Champions Day, meanwhile, after a decisive Joel Stakes success at Newmarket the last day. This demands more from the inmate of the Dylan Cunha stable.
Quddwah lost his unbeaten record last time out, but is still 2-2 around Ascot. Simon & Ed Crisford’s charge has something to find with favourite Charyn and Metropolitan on the Jacques Le Marois run, though. It’s 40/1 bar those seven in the QE2 at the time of writing.
One of the most eye-catching jockey bookings of the entire meetings, however, is Christophe Soumillon on Checkandchallenge. William Knight turns to the Belgian rider as he looks to make his five-year-old’s third crack at the race a winning one.
3:55 – 1m 2f Group 1 QIPCO Champion Stakes
Last year’s winner King Of Steel doubled up from there on QIPCO British Champions Day in this. Francis-Henri Graffard’s Calandagan doesn’t have City Of Troy to worry about here and that length Juddmonte International second at York augurs well.
Haggas stable star Economics has done nothing wrong all campaign, but the going is a step into the unknown. His Deauville win over the summer was franked when the runner-up went one better in the Prix Dollar. Economics was also gutsy when running between horses to land the Irish Champion Stakes at Leopardstown this month.
He has been given since that effort, unlike Los Angeles who ran in the Arc. Based on how the O’Brien runner shaped down over a mile-and-a-quarter, the Irish Derby hero may find this a little on the sharp side trip wise.
Similar comments could apply to another French raider in Iresine. Jean-Pierre Gauvin’s seven-year-old has been remarkably versatile as regards distance, however.
Iresine won the 2022 Prix Royal-Oak, but also the Prix Ganay last season. He’s also a dual Prix Foy winner, so all trips seems to come alike. King’s Gambit is yet to atone for the bad start that cost him victory in the Hampton Court here in June, but is also worth a mention with Oisin Murphy replacing William Buick in the saddle.
