Find all previous Seymour Biz racing previews in his weekly column: Saturday Horse Racing Tips.
Ascot puts on its best bib and tucker for Champions Day, and unsurprisingly, ITV Racing is concentrating totally on its output on the action from the Berkshire track. There are seven races on the Saturday card, and all seven are being televised right through from the 12.55 to the 4.40.
The seven races feature an amazing five Group 1s at distances ranging from 2 miles down to 6 furlongs, and there are a further two Class 2s on the card, culminating with the annual cavalry charge that is the 23-runner, one-mile, Balmoral Handicap.
So I have looked through this top-class card to try and find some value on a difficult day, and here are my thoughts and this week’s Lucky Fifteen.
Saturday Ascot Champions Day Lucky Fifteen
2.05 Rayevka
3.25 Fallen Angel
4.05 Ombudsman
4.40 Great Acclaim
Bet this lucky 15 on Bet365
Beginning with the 2.05, the Quipco British Champions Sprint Stakes, a Group 1 run over 6 furlongs. J Reynier’s Lazzat won the QE II Jubilee Stakes at Royal Ascot but comes here after defeats at Deauville and in Haydock’s Sprint Cup and can be opposed.
Last year’s winner, James Fanshawe’s Kind Of Blue, has disappointed this season. However, he ran a good second last month at Haydock in the Sprint Cup and seems to come good at this time of year.
Michael Appleby’s Big Mojo won that Haydock Group 1 sprint after running a fine second in the July Cup at Newmarket, and another bold run is expected.
Another French runner can go well, F-H GrFfard’s Rayevka was a fine second at Longchamp last month and was withdrawn from the Abbeye due to the soft ground. He ran third at Royal Ascot in the Commonwealth Cup, so the course holds no terrors.
William Haggas’s Montassib has had just one run this season, and that was a prep run for this at Newbury last month. He was 5 th in this last year and a bold run is expected. I am between him and Rayevk, and I just give the nod to the French horse.
The Queen Elizabeth II Stakes is at 3.25. This Group 1 is run over Ascot’s straight mile. The bookmakers’ choice is John and Thady Gosden’s Field Of Gold, who won the Irish 2000Gns at the Curragh in May, then was successful at Royal Ascot in the St James’ Palace Stakes, but picked up an injury at Goodwood in July. It remains to be seen if he has got over that setback.
Richard Hannon’s Rosallion has run consistently well in Group 1s all season and has been runner-up on three occasions. He deserves a victory, but this run of defeats is a worry.
Harry Eustace’s Docklands is something of an Ascot specialist, having won here three times, including the Queen Anne at Royal Ascot. His latest run was a fair 4th at Deauville in August.
Aidan O’Brien’s The Lion In Winter merits some respect after a fair third at Longchamp last month. Any improvement on that run can see him go close.
But I prefer Karl Burke’s Fallen Angel, who has won three Fillies Group 1s in three different countries since August. She is up against the Colts for the first time, but can make her mark here.
At 4.05 it is the Quipco Champion Stakes, another Group 1 this time run over 1m 2f. On paper, this looks like a two-horse race between Delacroix and Ombudsman. Aidan O’Brien’s Delacroix won the Coal-Eclipse at Sandown in July and the Irish Champion Stakes at Leopardstown in September, adding to his two previous wins earlier in the season.
John and Thady Gosden’s Ombudsman won the Prince Of Wales Stakes here at Ascot in June and was then beaten a neck by Delacroix in the Coral-Eclipse, but he gained his revenge when thrashing the Irish horse at York in August, and I take him to win this deciding contest.
As to the other contenders, William Haggas’s Economics won four times last season, including a Group 1 in Ireland, but he only finished 6th last year and has not been seen since.
F-H Graffard’s Calandagan was second in this last season and has won two Group 1s this season at Saint-Cloud and here at Ascot in July, so he has shown great ability, but it’s Ombudsman for me.
Finally, the 4.40 is the only proper handicap on the card, the Balmoral Handicap, a Class 2 contest run over the straight mile. Karl Burke’s Native Warrior comes here on the back of two wins here at Ascot, both over 7 furlongs. The added distance plus the high weight may be hard to overcome.
John and Thady Gosden’s Fifth Column won at York in August but flopped somewhat at Newmarket the following month.
David O’Meara’s Cerulean Bay won at Goodwood last Sunday, adding to a previous victory at the same course in September. This is tougher.
Simon and Ed Crisford’s Shout was a winner at this course and distance in early September, beating several he meets once again. He can go close, and I fancy him to be placed.
William Haggas runs Crown Of Oaks, who was a course winner in September over 1m 2f and was third at the Curragh over the same distance later in the month. He may find these too speedy.
I give another chance to Eve Johnson Houghton’s Great Acclaim, who is probably the class horse in the race. And although he has been behind Native Warrior on his last two outings, he finds himself 11 lbs and 6 lbs better off than he was in those races, giving him every chance to gain revenge.
Saturday Ascot Champions Day Lucky Fifteen
2.05 Rayevka
3.25 Fallen Angel
4.05 Ombudsman
4.40 Great Acclaim
Bet this lucky 15 on Bet365
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