The £3 million meeting has been designed to rival the likes of the Prix de l’Arc De Triomphe and Breeders’ Cup cards which lure in some of the fastest, finest and most expensive thoroughbreds in training.
If Saturday’s race card is anything to by then British Champions Day already has enough superstars in action to scale the heights of some of the world’s greatest race fixtures and the event is a welcome distraction from the whip fiasco that currently hangs over British racing.
As that problem gathered momentum on Friday night, many of us were left hoping that the spectacular card at Ascot on Saturday would give us something to cheer about and with the likes of Frankel and So You Think in action it isn’t hard to get excited.
The Queen Elizabeth II Stakes and the Champion Stakes are the features on an action-packed day of racing, but the best bet of the afternoon comes in the Champions Sprint Stakes at 2.25. A Group Two with a field worthy of Group One status, the six furlong showpiece looks at the mercy of Freddie Head’s French raider
MOONLIGHT CLOUD (7/2,
William Hill) and she looks a fantastic bet.
The selection arrives at Ascot on the back of an impressive success in the Group One Prix Maurice De Gheest at Deauville in August and on that performance it will take something special to beat her. Smart as a juvenile and disappointing in the 1000 Guineas, Moonlight Cloud has always been highly regarded by her legendary handler and Head has always kept the faith with his talented filly.
Travelling supremely well throughout the race, she slaughtered her opposition at Deauville and the result never looked in doubt under the hands of Thierry Jarnet. She had the re-opposing Society Rock, Genki and Libranno behind that day and it is unlikely they will be able to turn the tables with her on her return to the UK. A bigger danger could come in the shape of favourite Deacon Blues who has blossomed into a top sprinter this season, with a victory in the Wokingham just one of many taking performances by James Fanshawe’s four-year-old.
The highlight on the card for many will undoubtedly be the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes (3.35) and we are all looking forward to seeing Frankel defend his unbeaten record against his toughest field to date. Henry Cecil’s colt delivered one of the most breathtaking Classic successes of all time when he waltzed to 2000 Guineas glory in April and he hasn’t looked back since. Rated the best horse in training and understandably one of the best of all time, the only prayer for his rivals will be that his suspect temperament and keen running style when fresh could hinder the unbelievable speed he shows in his races.
In all likelihood there isn’t a horse in training that could beat Frankel, but at 4/11 (
Paddy Power) he is hardly a working man’s price. Instead, it is best to look into the market without the favourite and
IMMORTAL VERSE (7/4,
Paddy Power) could be the one to chase home the winner.
The French filly has gone from strength to strength this season after being withdrawn from the 1000 Guineas and she has tasted back-to-back Group One victories in the Coronation Stakes and then the Prix Jacques Le Marois.
Her victory in the latter came over the legendary Goldikova in second with subsequent Sun Chariot Stakes heroine Saphresa back in third and as it had been at Royal Ascot, her turn of foot was a formidable weapon that proved far too much for her rivals. The likes of Dick Turpin, Planteur and Cityscape were also in the field and it was performance that secured her status as the best filly over a mile in training.
It’s a vintage renewal of the QEII and Prix Du Moulin hero Excelebration is more than capable of ruffling a few feathers in the race, but he is likely to be living in the shadow of Frankel and Immortal Verse in what looks a race to savour.
The third and final selection of the day comes in the second Group One on the card, the 2011 Champion Stakes (4.10), and once again it could pay to keep things simple by keeping the faith with Aidan O’Brien’s multiple Group One winner
SO YOU THINK (5/2,
Ladbrokes).
The superstar needed no introduction when he arrived in Ireland from Australia and the Melbourne Cup third has become a victim of his own achievements Down Under. Plenty of punters continue to pick holes in his performances, but the fact remains that he has won the Tattersalls Gold Cup, Coral-Eclipse and Irish Champion Stakes this season and he looked a little unlucky in the Arc two weeks ago. Badly drawn and held up at the rear, he made headway up the straight and could only finish fourth. It looked like he finished full of running there and though any horse would have done well to live with the eventual winner Danedream, he was unfortunate not to finish second.
A battle-hardened performer with plenty of races under his belt, he was in action five times in less than two months at the 2010 Spring Racing Carnival and he is a horse that holds his form in every race he contests.
With the likes of King George hero Nathaniel, Henry Cecil’s Midday and Twice Over and Arc third Snow Fairy in opposition, the field is a formidable one, but So You Think can bounce back to winning ways and take this on his way to a tilt at the 2011 Breeders’ Cup Classic.
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Nick Wilby’s selections:
Ascot – British Champions Day
3.35 -
IMMORTAL VERSE (7/4,
Paddy Power in the without Frankel market)
