British Champions Day: Zeus Olympios and William Haggas filly Lilt among picks for Ascot

Zeus primed for autumn peak

After 12mm of rain recorded last week and somewhere in the region of 2-5mm expected prior to Saturday, we’re seemingly going to be dealing with good ground at Ascot for Qatar Racing British Champions Day.

That’s clearly a massive boost for those in charge with one or two key horses – such as Ombudsman – unlikely to have been confirmed had we been looking at the mudbath this meeting can occasionally become.

It obviously wasn’t the case 12 months ago as Calandagan saw off Ombudsman and Almaqam to land the Champion Stakes on a sound surface that day too, and I’m not in a desperate rush to oppose the French gelding again this time around.

He couldn’t quite give Kalpana 3lb in July’s King George but still went down on his sword, beaten just a length and a half, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he was able to improve on that level slightly back over 10 furlongs this weekend.

Calandagan gets the mile and a half well but it’s his turn of foot that is his most dangerous weapon and principal threat Ombudsman now needs to bound back from a rare blip when clearly not himself in the Juddmonte International at York.

There was a small chance Bay City Roller might be overlooked dropping back in trip from his fine effort in the Arc, especially on the prevailing ground, but his general price around 9/2 makes only limited appeal and the same can be said of Almaqam at single-figure odds.

If there’s a surprise in the big one then it could be Gstaad although switching trips with he and Constitution River looks a roll of the dice to me and I can’t bring myself to back either.

The Queen Elizabeth II Stakes is a warm heat, with Talk Of New York (and Constitution River) supplemented into the field on Monday, that pair joining fellow three-year-olds Zavateri and Rayif in a quality field.

Francis Graffard’s Rayif got up close home to win the Prix Jacques le Marois at Deauville when last seen but I’d be even more interested in the runner-up that day, Zeus Olympios.

Karl Burke’s horse has been a bit of a slow burner at four but he was still so lightly raced coming into this season and he only really took his form to the next level last term into the autumn.

Granted, he didn’t run in October at all last year but produced a sparkling performance when signing off with a Newmarket victory over Opera Ballo in the Joel Stakes and he looks to have been building up to something sizeable this season too.

Third in the Lockinge and a fair fourth in the Queen Anne, Zeus Olympios got back to winning ways at this venue (albeit on the Round Course) in the Summer Mile and I thought he was a touch unfortunate in France last time as Clifford Lee dropped his stick with more than a furlong to travel.

Mickael Barzalona picked him off there under a well-judged ride on the winner but Lee would love to have another go at it I suspect and, at 12/1 in a place (William Hill), he’s more than twice the price of Rayif which looks a bit out of kilter.

Two strong chances for Wathnan

Scandinavia’s staying crown has slipped ever so slightly after his defeat over Arc weekend but he’s still going to take the world of beating in the British Champions Long Distance Cup.

The addition of Highwayman is an interesting move and the St Leger winner being tested at this level – over this far – could pave the way for a proper Cup campaign come next season, but the interesting one here is low-mileage six-year-old Gregory (6/1 general).

He’s no doubt had a few issues but looked on very good terms with himself when winning the Rose Bowl Stakes on the Rowley Mile last month and he’s another for John & Thady Gosden who is going to appreciate the relatively dry conditions.

Gregory’s owners Wathnan have three bullets to fire against the short-priced Almeraq in the British Champions Sprint Stakes and it’s James Fanshawe’s Kind Of Blue who could be the each-way play in the race at 8/1.

He’s not exactly what you’d call unexposed but is another older horse with very few miles on the clock in the grand scheme of things and you can’t underestimate how much of a confidence boost winning at Kempton recently will have been for a sprinter like him.

He was entitled to get the job done in a quality conditions event that night but still showed he has a real touch of class and the bigger field, with a stronger pace to chase, are both going to play to his strengths this Saturday.

It was testing when he won this race as a three-year-old a couple of years back but he’s fine on good ground too and James Fanshawe’s best horses are always primed for this time of year.

Lilt a sparkling bit of value

Like the Sprint, the Fillies & Mares has a standout on ratings and Kalpana is priced accordingly although the current 6/4 might look more than fair come the day, presuming she pleases connections in a Wednesday morning gallop which trainer Andrew Balding admitted on Monday should give the team a better indication as to whether she’s up for the hat-trick bid here after another busy season.

If fatigue does eventually catch up with the recent Arc de Triomphe fifth, Lilt (7/1 general) might be the horse to take full advantage.

William Haggas seems to have held her in high regard from day one and while she’s been unable to add to her striking Michael Seely win at York from the Dante Festival in May, she’s been set some stiff tasks in the Prix de Diane and against Thundering On at the Curragh (replay below) last month.

Lilt has performed with credit in each of those tasks, all the while shaping like a step up to 12 furlongs would bring about further improvement.

She still looked a bit green when initially asked for her effort in the Blanford last time but I loved how she came home and, after just four lifetime starts to this point and boasting plenty of physical scope, one suspects the best is yet to come.

Published at 16:00 BST on 12/10/26

More from Sporting Life

• Free bets
• Racecards
• Fast results
• Full results & free video replays
• Horse racing news
• Horse racing tips
• Horse racing features
• Download our free iOS & Android app
• Football & other sports tips
• Podcasts & video content

Safer gambling

We are committed in our support of safer gambling. Recommended bets are advised to over-18s and we strongly encourage readers to wager only what they can afford to lose.

If you are concerned about your gambling, please call the National Gambling Helpline / GamCare on 0808 8020 133.

Further support and information can be found at begambleaware.org and gamblingtherapy.org.