The horse racing broadcaster offers his selections from British Champions Day at Ascot, along with Jockeys For Courses and a stable tracker update.
The curtain comes down on the Flat season with several excellent clashes during the course of Qipco British Champions Day at Ascot.
A word of warning, however. Conditions will be testing and a lot of these horses have had a long season, the three-year-olds because of early preparation for the Classics and the likes of Charyn and Montassib who actually won on the very first days of the campaign.
The first clash occurs in the Long Distance Cup, where KYPRIOS
4/5
z§(13:20 Ascot) aims to avenge his surprise defeat in the race last year by Trawlerman. He gained his revenge in the Gold Cup and with a full season under his belt this time and his runaway success in the 2022 Cadran showing deep ground holds no fears, he can sign off a stellar season unbeaten.
By contrast, the 6f sprint division has been open all year and that has prompted a large field to assemble for the Group 1 Champions Sprint. The soft ground will be a key factor and notably improves the chances of the likes of Art Power, Kinross, and Montassib. SWINGALONG
11/1
(13:55 Ascot) was fourth last year behind Art Power but was a little isolated as she was in the Sprint Cup. Her seconds at Royal Ascot and in the July Cup are both good efforts where she displayed plenty of grit under pressure, something that will be needed here. At a double-figure price and with Billy Loughnane booked, she appeals in a wide-open race.
Even among the blue-blooded pedigrees on display, DOHA
12/1
(14:35 Ascot) stands out, being by Sea The Stars out of dual Arc winner Treve. She won in the mud in France last time and has yet to race at 12f despite the success of her parents at that trip. Ralph Beckett has had an excellent season, especially towards the back end, and she can gain a first success at the highest level here. There are several towards the top of the market who are concerns on the ground, notably Kalpana who will find things very different to the All Weather at Kempton where she won last time.
As mentioned earlier, Charyn has been on the go right from the beginning of the season and to his credit has showed up every time, often taking advantage of others in the division seeming to perform below their best. On the other side of the coin, Tamfana is one of the three-year-olds who has been on the go from even before the 1000 Guineas, having run in France in April. France won this race last year with Big Rock’s blazing front-running display where FACTEUR CHEVAL
8/1
(15:15 Ascot) came through to finish second. The rain is a massive plus and he is lightly raced so has plenty in his favor and can topple the current front pair in the market.
The biggest clash of the day is in the feature race, the Qipco Champion Stakes, between Economics and CALANDAGAN
13/8
(15:55 Ascot). Economics burst onto the scene in the Dante and trainer William Haggas resisted any temptation to head for Epsom, electing to play the long game with a horse he has always said was not yet the finished article.
Victories in France and then in the Irish Champion Stakes where he stepped up to Group 1 company for the first time make him one of the most exciting prospects in training and it would be great to see him win after the yard’s disappointment in the race two years ago with Baaeed. Calandagan has been unable to compete in the Classics or the Arc because he is a gelding but has a fine run to his name behind City Of Troy in the Juddmonte International at York. Ryan Moore was able to dictate the pace that day on the Derby winner and Calandagan did well to get as close as he did.
The transfer to the inner track (tighter and shorter straight), the bigger field, and stall 1 making it harder to get to the center are all stars that could have been better aligned but he is by one of my favorite soft ground sires in Gleneagles and that tilts the scales in his favor. Hopefully, there will be a reasonable pace which can break the race up and allow him the daylight for a home run charge. There are others with chances, notably Iresine, but if the two big guns can bring their A games, it will be a superb clash to round off the season.
JOCKEYS FOR COURSES
Just one rider in action at a track where they have a particularly good career record in terms of winners ridden compared to market expectations:
Stratford: Paul O’Brien (11/46, Actual/Expected Ratio 2.31). Three rides including on William Cody (14:20), who he has ridden to victory on three previous occasions.
STABLE TRACKER
Five runners since the last update, with one short-priced winner in Devil’s Advocate at 2/7 who is removed after winning by 7. He looks a nice prospect for next season.
Juventus De Brion (Fell, 17/2) got no further than the first at Chepstow in the Persian War, while The Strikin Viking (0, 9/2) ran no race at Newmarket having got warm beforehand and is removed a run early just because of the lack of promise since Goodwood and the end of the Flat season.
Katey Kontent (0, 12/1) is just being a little highly tried in a quest for black type and has one run left, hopefully in a handicap. Billyjoh (0, 9/2) ran OK in a competitive Southwell handicap behind the very impressive Paborus. The Mick Appleby yard has just hit a quiet patch but with two runs left hopefully he can be more competitive when the yard picks up. There are no runners on Saturday and with the switching of the seasons nothing added for the time being.
Removed: Devil’s Advocate, The Strikin Viking.
A full list of the current stable tracker horses can be found here.
COLUMN PERFORMANCE 2024
Selections: 55/54.74, A/E 1.00
Stable Tracker: 28/29.40, A/E 0.95
Jockeys For Courses: 54/55.84, A/E 0.97
Overall Performance: 137/139.98, A/E 0.98
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