Our form expert has five selections for QIPCO British Champions Day at Ascot on Saturday.
The Verdict: Saturday October 19
1pt win Montassib in 1.55 Ascot at 6/1 (General)
1pt win Elite Status in 1.55 Ascot at 14/1 (General)
1pt e.w Wingspan in 2.35 Ascot at 22/1 (William Hill 1/5 1,2,3,4)
0.5pts e.w Royal Rhyme in 3.55 Ascot at 50/1 (General 1/5 1,2,3)
1pt win Godwinson in 4.35 Ascot at 25/1 (General)
Today's Champions Day special Request-A-Bet
- MONTASSIB to place 1.55 Ascot
- DOHA to place 2.35 Ascot
- CALANDAGAN to win by 2L+ in 3.55 Ascot
Rhyme and reason in the Champion Stakes
A very good cast has been assembled for the latest edition of QIPCO British Champions Day with the fields holding up really well despite the weather seeing the action on the round course switched to the inner track at Ascot.
With 5mm to 8mm of rain forecast from Friday evening through to Saturday morning we are looking at the soft ground perhaps getting worse and at least being maintained so the testing conditions are a key factor to consider going into the day.
They could have a bearing on the feature QIPCO Champion Stakes, as, while Economics and Calandagan are the standout pair on form, the former is unproven on testing ground and the latter has found improvement on faster conditions.
Hopefully they both handle it well and serve up a clash to remember, but conditions could bring the pair closer to the field and, while there’s a chance there’ll only be one place to fight for, I can’t resist a small each-way bet on ROYAL RHYME at 50/1.
Karl Burke remains in red-hot form and this son of Lope De Vega has a perfect record on soft ground, winning four from four when Timeform have recorded conditions as soft.
The last time he encountered soft ground he sauntered to an easy win in the Brigadier Gerard at Sandown in May when beating Jack Channon’s Certain Lad, himself an ultra-reliable yardstick in the conditions (has won Listed and Group 3 races on soft ground subsequently).
Royal Rhyme hasn’t had his ground since then, but he has been running creditably on faster conditions, running fifth behind Auguste Rodin in the Prince Of Wales’s, sixth behind City Of Troy in the Juddmonte International and seventh behind Economics in the Irish Champion Stakes.
He paid for trying to go with City Of Troy at York and his effort can be marked up, while he was only beaten three lengths at Leopardstown despite suffering interference.
Last year he ran well in King Of Steel’s Champion Stakes, finishing a five-length fifth after racing too freely on ground Timeform described as good to soft, fading late after hitting the front with a quarter of a mile to go.
That was a big hint this could be the race for him when he gets his ground and with conditions in his favour he looks a big price at 50s, even in what looks a deep renewal.
The Verdict: Back ROYAL RHYME in the 3.55 Ascot
Take two in the Champions Sprint
Runners on the far side have dominated on the straight track on Champions Day, particularly when it’s soft, and the low-drawn numbers could hold sway again in the QIPCO British Champions Sprint.
Audience looks the key horse here, as he’s the best horse in the race on this season’s form and he revels in a lone wolf role when racing away from the action.
He’s likely to dominate on the far side from stall two whether they split into two groups or all veer over that way, but it will be tough for him to burn off these sprinters over a trip he’s not tried in ages on ground that looks soft enough for him.
There’s a chance he could give the low numbers a nice tow into this, though, and I think William Haggas’ MONTASSIB (stall six) should be a stronger favourite than he is.
Currently vying for the market leader role at around 6/1, I’d have him clear favourite and a couple of points shorter even if he did benefit from being on the right side of the draw in the Betfair Sprint Cup at Haydock.
He drifted out to 25/1 that day on account of the ground being faster than ideal, but he coped with it admirably after a typically good finishing effort.
Four from five since dropping back to six furlongs, he will love the ground and the stiff finish and he comes in here in the form of his life, so there’s loads to like.
I do want to back Royal Rhyme's stablemate ELITE STATUS with him as he’s a big price at 14/1 considering he showed form pretty much on a par with Montassib’s Haydock win when scoring twice at Newbury at Listed and Group 3 level in May and July.
He was drawn on the wrong side at Haydock but shaped encouragingly considering, while he could get the perfect trip in this sitting off Audience’s tail.
Testing ground is a bit of a question mark, but he did win on ground that was officially soft at Deauville as a two-year-old and it might be just what he wants now given the issues he’s had with his joints.
Those niggles haven’t stopped him improving significantly this season and if you strike a line through Haydock, which looks the percentage call given the draw bias that day, then he’d be half the price.
The Verdict: Back MONTASSIB & ELITE STATUS in the 1.55 Ascot
Fly with Wings in Fillies & Mares
The QIPCO British Champions Fillies & Mares Stakes looks ripe for a bet in a wide-open renewal where none of the protagonists has solid form claims.
Kalpana has found her way to favouritism and she’s a filly with potential, but that’s all factored into her odds and this will be by far the softest ground she has faced.
Position and tactics could be vital here on the inner track and we saw Poptronic cause a shock in this 12 months ago when seeing off all challengers from the front end.
With all this in mind I’m going to take a chance on the Aidan O’Brien-trained second-string WINGSPAN, ridden by Sean Levey, at 22/1.
This daughter of Dubawi is unexposed after just five career starts and there is the potential for improvement now she steps up to a trip around a mile and a half.
Out of Hydrangea, who won this very race on her first go at the distance in 2017, she is bred to go this far and has been shaping really nicely over shorter distances.
A neck second to Hanalia over 10 furlongs in the Group 2 Blandford Stakes at the Curragh on Irish Champions Weekend, she was fighting back at the line after trying to make all and she’s improving quite significantly with every run.
You can understand why Ryan Moore is on the proven Group 1 winner in Content, but she looks a better filly on faster ground and there’s every chance Wingspan, who won on heavy ground on debut, will relish conditions.
She looks likely to be ridden prominently, but either way the extra distance looks a big positive and she looks underestimated by the market at prices north of 20s.
The Verdict: Back WINGSPAN in the 2.35 Ascot
Good God can land the Balmoral
Finally, William Haggas can have the final say on Champions Day with GODWINSON in the Balmoral Handicap.
He could have a day to remember with Montassib and Economics in action earlier on the card and jockey Silvestre de Sousa might come into this riding the crest of a wave after riding Charyn in the QEII, as well.
De Sousa is an unusual jockey booking for Haggas these days – he’s ridden for him just once in the last two years – but he has an excellent 26.44% strike-rate for the Newmarket handler and I like him on the Ascot straight course.
Four horses have come from the Cambridgeshire to win this race in the last 10 years and Godwinson shaped miles better than his finishing position at Newmarket where he was completely undone by the draw.
He was 15th overall but third home in the stands’ side group and it was evidence he’s still in good form after a midsummer break.
That can be of a benefit to him here and a strongly-run mile on a stiff track looks absolutely perfect for him, while I’m hopeful he’ll handle conditions given he likes a bit of cut in the ground.
The Verdict: Back GODWINSON in the 4.35 Ascot
Preview posted at 1530 BST on 18/10/24
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