Our form expert has four selections for QIPCO British Champions Day at Ascot on Saturday.
The Verdict: Saturday October 18
1pt e.w. Inisherin in 2.05 Ascot at 14/1 (Paddy Power 1/5 1,2,3,4)
1pt win One Look in 2.45 Ascot at 12/1 (BetVictor, Coral, Paddy Power)
1pt win Latakia in 2.45 Ascot at 18/1 (General)
1pt e.w. Ebt’s Guard in 4.40 Ascot at 18/1 (bet365 1/5 1,2,3,4,5)
🙌 A fantastic day's racing ahead of us, as the Champions roll into town at @Ascot!
— Sporting Life Racing (@SportingLife) October 18, 2025
🇬🇧🏆 Tune in as our man @DaveOrd and @ITVRacing's @Chamberlinsport give their thoughts on the key clashes on QIPCO British Champions Day... pic.twitter.com/ETYmA7GYc4
Taking two in the Fillies & Mares
It’s a superb renewal of QIPCO British Champions Day at Ascot on Saturday and it looks a good punting card where picking your battles is key.
The Champion Stakes is a brilliant race but I don’t want to take on all of Ombudsman, Calandagan and Delacroix, so I’m happy to watch and enjoy that spectacle, while the two I was considering backing against Field Of Gold each-way in the QEII – Never So Brave and Carl Spackler – have been backed beyond the line I was happy with.
With Field Of Gold a likely winner if he’s on song I’ll swerve that as well and get straight into the races where I’m more confident that the market hasn’t quite got things right.
'Exhibit A' is the betting for the Fillies & Mares where Kalpana and Estrange head the market despite the good ground conditions probably going against the pair of them.
Certainly, I think Estrange needs softer ground to show her best and while Kalpana is probably more versatile on that score I do think it’ll be tough for her to run to top form 13 days after a Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe that her whole campaign revolved around.
It looks a good market to have a go at and I’m going for a dual-pronged attack with ONE LOOK and LATAKIA who might just both improve again for tackling a mile and a half on this better ground.
One Look is also versatile regarding conditions and she ran a career-best in France last time in the Prix de l’Opera over 10 furlongs in softer ground where James Doyle got further back than ideal before finishing well.
Beaten a quarter-of-a-length at the line I felt she was a bit unlucky not to win, but the way she shaped suggests 1m4f will be within her stamina range and I like the idea of her using her pace against the more stoutly-bred 1m4f fillies.
Like Calandagan, she is by Gleneagles and we saw what he did when he moved up to 1m4f. It could be the spark for even more from One Look who is already improving fast for the excellent Paddy Twomey team and I’ve got to have her on my side at 12/1.
Latakia represents the Arc-winning Francis-Henri Graffard stable and like Kalpana she’s also owned by Juddmonte, so it’s fascinating she comes over for this test with William Buick booked.
She’s unexposed after just five starts but she looked a candidate for Group 1 honours when running away with a Deauville Group 2 on good ground in August, the daughter of Frankel appreciating the 1m4f that day.
Last time out she was only fifth in the Prix de Royallieu on her first go at the top level, but she was too keen that day over 1m6f and in the soft ground she was never going to get home.
In the circumstances she ran okay and dropping back in trip on much better conditions I think we could see a different filly.
The Verdict: Back ONE LOOK and LATAKIA in the 2.45 Ascot
Ryan mighty in the Champions Sprint
In the Champions Sprint Lazzat is the one to beat but I do wonder how he’ll cope with serious pace pressure on the front end.
In the Jubilee James Doyle was able to dictate matters at a gallop he was happy with but I think with several prominent racers in against him like Spy Chief, Art Power and Quinault it could be a different story on Saturday.
He might cope with it and win, but I’d rather take him on with Kevin Ryan's INISHERIN who looks a big price at 14/1 to bounce back.
Sent off at 9/4, 11/8, 5/2 and 3/1 in four successive Group 1s only recently, the market has lost faith in him somewhat after an in and out season where he’s struggled for consistency.
At his best, though, he’s got a race like this in him and he showed he can cope with strong early fractions when winning at York in May, where he gave 3lb and a beating to Flora Of Bermuda, and I thought there was plenty of encouragement in his Haydock sixth last time where he fared the best of those drawn on the unfavoured far side.
Fine on the ground and with a course and distance Group 1 under his belt thanks to last season’s Commonwealth Cup win, he’s exactly the sort of horse that Ryan excels with as he loves nothing more than getting these top-class sprinters back to form after a dip.
He's still only four and there was enough in his last performance to suggest he can return to his peak on Saturday – a peak that puts him bang in the mix.
The Verdict: Back INISHERIN in the 2.05 Ascot
On your Guard in the Balmoral
Finally, William Muir & Chris Grassick could bag a Champions Day winner with their admirable four-year-old EBT’S GUARD in the Balmoral Handicap.
The training duo have a tremendous record at Ascot since joining forces, winning nine races here at 16% including at prices of 11/1, 12/1 and 18/1 for a +£24.45 level-stakes profit to £1.
Ebt’s Guard has won twice here; on the straight course last October and on the round course at this year’s Shergar Cup, and he was unlucky not to finish closer than he did when seventh (second home in his group) in the Royal Hunt Cup.
He clearly loves it here and he’s holding his form well, his Cambridgeshire eighth worth an upgrade, too, after he was drawn on the wrong side at Newmarket, but he should be happier dropping back to a mile at his favourite course in any case.
I don’t mind his far-side draw here at this time of year and while he’s not obviously well-treated – he runs off a career-high rating – his current well being, strong-travelling style and course form will likely take him a long way in this race.
The Verdict: Back EBT’S GUARD in the 4.40 Ascot
Preview posted at 1545 BST on 17/10/25
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