Champions Day gets under way with the £200,000 added Long Distance Cup over 2m (due off 1.50), in which Opinion Poll looks a worthy favourite at around the 2/1 mark.

The Godolphin runner has been the epitome of all that a stayer should be this year - starting off at Meydan in January, where he finished third in a Group 3, and then winning the Goodwood and Lonsdale Cups in the summer, before losing out to Saddler's Rock in the Doncaster Cup last month. Arguably his best performance, though, was when chasing home Fame And Glory in the Ascot Gold Cup, with 13 of the best stayers around left trailing in their wake. Only twice out of the first four in his 21 races, he looks nailed on to make the frame again under Frankie Dettori, whose record on him is 5-8.

Fame And Glory re-opposes here but two odds-on defeats since his Ascot triumph make him look vulnerable and this looks the day for Opinion Poll to gain revenge. Whether he can cope with TIMES UP is a different matter, though, and the John Dunlop-trained runner looks a decent bet at 7/2 bet365 (one of several firms offering enhanced placed terms of one quarter the odds, three places) under ideal conditions.

The winner of last season's November Handicap (1m4f), he has added three more victories this season and looked better than ever when stepped up to 2m for the first time at Newmarket last month, running out an easy winner in course record time. He's obviously a late developer and further improvement cannot be ruled out, with next year's Ascot Gold Cup a realistic target. The key to him is the ground as he needs a sound surface to operate at his best - if you discount his runs on soft or heavy going and his seasonal debuts, his record reads: 3311314422111231 (7-16). Unless the weather forecast is hopelessly wrong, that's exactly what he will encounter on Saturday.

The ultra consistent Opinion Poll will be hard to beat of course but he might be vulnerable to a horse with a turn of foot and Times Up looks well blessed in that department, as well as having the necessary stamina - his half-brother and stablemate Give Notice developed into a high-class stayer, winning the Prix du Cadran. Eddie Ahern, who was on board at Newmarket and has a 3-10 record overall, will again be doing the steering.

Recommended Bet:

Times Up 3pts @ 7/2 bet365