Timeform highlight a ratings banker, a big improver and a Flag to note at Ascot on Champions Day.
The Timeform Flag
Blue For You - 16:40 Ascot
Flags: Horse In Focus, Top-Rated
Blue For You was only seventh in the Challenge Cup here a couple of weeks ago but he found himself short of room at a crucial stage and he is better than he was able to show on that occasion.
His stablemate Escobar came out on top at Ascot, but Blue For You had accounted for that rival when doing well to win the Clipper Logistics Handicap at York the time before.
Blue For You took the eye with how well he travelled at York but he found himself short of room and only really got into the clear around 100 yards out. He stayed on strongly close home to lead near the line, leaving the impression that he has a bigger effort in the locker, and he is better judged on that York effort than at Ascot.
The Ratings Banker
Inspiral - 15:20 Ascot
Baaeed earned a Timeform rating of 137 when beating Mishriff by six and a half lengths in the Juddmonte International, which is the highest figure achieved by a Flat horse on turf since the days of Frankel.
That figure places him 7 lb clear of last year's Derby and King George winner Adayar on Timeform's ratings for the Champion Stakes, and Baaeed will clearly prove very difficult to beat in the Champion Stakes, for which he is unsurprisingly a long odds-on favourite.
Inspiral also enjoys a healthy form edge over her rivals in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes and there's a case that she too should be an odds-on favourite.
Inspiral created an excellent impression as a juvenile last season, winning all four starts, including the Fillies' Mile, and she proved better than ever when landing the Coronation Stakes in impressive fashion on her reappearance here on the round course at Royal Ascot in June.
She disappointed when losing her unbeaten record in the Falmouth Stakes but then got back on track when winning the Prix Jacques le Marois, albeit without needing to match the level she had shown in the Coronation.
Inspiral, who has been prepared for this race since the Marois, is at least 4 lb clear of her rivals on Timeform's weight-adjusted ratings and will take plenty of beating.
The Big Improver
Eternal Pearl - 14:40 Ascot
It took Eternal Pearl four attempts to get off the mark but she has made excellent progress in recent months and could still have more to offer.
Eternal Pearl, without the hood that she had worn on her first three outings, made the most of a good opportunity when getting off the mark in a fillies' novice at Kempton in June, powering clear in the straight in the style of one well worth another go at a higher level.
She duly coped with the step back up to listed level at Newmarket on her next outing, displaying a willing attitude and finding plenty under pressure to register a three-quarter-length success.
Eternal Pearl took another step forward when landing a Group 3 at Deauville and she produced her best effort yet when completing the four-timer at Newmarket last month.
It was really impressive how she powered home at Newmarket to run down a rival who looked to have stolen a march, and she is still on an upward curve.
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