Champions Day / Geoffrey Riddle / 15 October 2011 / Leave a Comment

It's finally here, the inaugural British Champions Day at Ascot. Geoffrey Riddle talks us through it all on a day when the likes of Frankel, Nathaniel, So You Think and Midday will all be in action. If you want to get in touch with our man, email him on: theriddleratbetfair@gmail.com or follow him on twitter at: @louchepunter

4.45pm result:
1: Edinburgh Knight
2: Primaeval
3: Castles In the Air
4: Axiom

Well that didn;t go according to plan, did it? Nudge, nudge, wink, wink, and close your eyes and bet on anything more like...

4.40pm:
A quick word on the lucky last, the amateur handicap. All the racecourse rumour is that Sir Mark Prescott's Pearl Ice is a good thing in the last.

The handicap master has run the three-year-old only twice, and that was last season, but has saved the son of Ifraaj for this race.

The colt is owned by Pearl Bloodstock, of Sheikh Fahad Al Thani who has sponsored the whole of the Champions Series.

Nudge, nudge, wink, wink. Say no more.

4.10pm Champion Stakes result:
1: Cirrus Des Aigles
2: So You Think
3: Snow Fairy
The French once again take this as Cirrus Des Aigles makes it a great day for our friends across the Channel after their progression to the World Cup final in New Zealand.
So You Think made a bid for home, taking out the tiring Nathaniel. The favourite was traded at as short as [1.5] in-running but Cirrus Des Aigles battled on and wound down Aidan O'Brien's charge.
Was So You Think's run in the Arc earlier this month to blame? We shall probably never know.

3.35pm - Queen Elizabeth Stakes result:
1: Frankel
2: Excelebration
3: Immortal Verse
Times: 1.39.45sec
Frankel wins by four lengths and gallops into the history books.
Bullet Trains set a fearsome pace and was five lengths ahead at halfway.
Tom Queally did not flinch and loomed his mount up two furlongs out. Only Excelebration could give chase as Immortal Verse plugged on for third.
Easy.

3.35pm:
Alistair Whitehouse-Jones came up with intriguing stat. The Weekender scribe pointed out that since 1988 15 winners of the 2,000 Guineas have raced from September onwards, winning just nine of their 24 races.

Only Sea The Stars, Haafhd, Rodrigo De Triano and Mystiko won races in the autumn, with Haafhd and Rodrigo De Triano having breaks before their runs. But would you equate Frankel to any or all four of those? Probably yes, wouldn't you?

So this is it. The greatest miler on the planet at this moment in time is trading at [1.4].

You know what to do.

3.30pm:
Frankel was warm in between his legs and foaming in the pre-parade ring. He has been like that before, though, so I wouldn't read too much in to it.

His coat looked a picture and it doesn't appear that he is over the top. "Horses can go over the top, just like that," Sir Henry Cecil said. "They start working too well. It means they are trying to get it over with very quickly and just go like that. They just do it. I don't think that will happen to this one though."

He added: "The best is yet to come with Frankel. He is much better now than he was at the start of this season."

3.15pm:
Here's a thing to think about. The last five winners of the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes all ran to a Timeform rating of over 137, which is weight adjusted. Only five horses in today's mile feature have a figure that high. Cityscape (137), Dick Turpin (138), Excelebration (138) Immortal Verse (140) and of course, Frankel who stands on a monstrous 152.

All we really need to know is whether the best horse on the planet is a) as good, if not better than when he slammed Canford Cliffs by five lengths in the Sussex Stakes in July and b) whether he has gone over the top.

3pm result - Fillies' and Mares Stakes:
1: Dancing Rain
2: Bible Belt
3: Gertrude Bell
If you are under any doubt at all that the place to be now is in the van then Jonny Muratagh's ride on Dancing Rain was indicative of this. Although Dancing Rain's riding style is to be prominent, the Irish jockey almost dared the field behind to have a go from a long way out. Masterful stuff.

It brings into question, then, whether Tom queally will unleash Frankel early in an effort to draw the sting from his 11 rivals. What do we think?

2.25pm:
Aidan O'Brien has become increasingly bizarre in his interviews. We know his job is to act in a PR role on occasion to benefit the breeding concerns of Coolmore, but he labelled the two runs by Fame And Glory after his Gold Cup triumph back here in June as 'lovely.'

For the record, Fame And Glory finished 23 lengths behind Duncan last time out.
"He had two lovely runs after the Gold Cup but we left a little bit for today. He has so much class and when he needed it today it was there. Jamie [Spencer] gave him a marvellous ride.

"Jamie got him into a rhythm and the rest is history."

There was a difference of opinion about what sort of performance Fame And Glory put in by beating Opinion Poll again.

"After winning the Gold Cup here, you would imagine that he was on such a level of fitness for that he probably wasn't at that level today. We were hoping he wouldn't have to be."

In contrast, John Magnier, the Coolmore supremo, believed Fame And Glory was right back to his best form. "When you train a horse to win a Gold Cup, you have to have them so supremely fit - it takes a lot out of them. He [Aidan] obviously got him back up to that level of fitness today."

Fame and Glory is trading at 3-1 for next year's Gold Cup.

2.25pm - Sprint Stakes result:
1: Deacon Blues
2: Whizz Kid
3: Libranno
Backers of Deacon Blues barely had to break sweat there. Easy peasy. Johnny Murtagh had his mount out in front inside two furlongs and only Whizz Kid and Libranno managed to make it any sort of contest. Royal Rock plugged on for fourth.

Murtagh knew he had won 50 yards out, packed up his whip and settled down to enjoy the ride. Thrilling.

With the first two races in mind, is it too early to suggest that these races, for in-running purposes, are going to be in the bag 50-100 yards out?

For anyone who is interested, Silverside traded at as low as [30.0].
2.25pm:
Andrew Longmore, the Sunday Times racing correspondent, has just made a good point. Rather that Jamie Spencer strode to the front early on Fame And Glory, the jockey rode such a race to take the contest early to avoid having to resort to the whip.

Opinion Poll has been described by Frankie Dettori as "tremendously lazy" so how he was going to make up ground without the use of the crop, in Longmore's opinion, was difficult to work out.

Manchester United have just equalised, by the way. Liverpool 1 - 1 Man Utd.

2.15pm:
There was just THE loudest cheer that rippled through Ascot's giant Grandstand. Steven Gerrard just scored for Liverpool against Manchester United. It was certainly a louder shout than when Fame And Glory took the opening race.

Nobody seems to agree with me about Silverside in the Sprint, up next. When I highlighted the French raider's chances earlier he was trading at [46.0]. He's over double that price now. Oh dear.

Of the more likely runners, Society Rock's chances look, well, rock solid. James Fanshawe was in the pre-parade ring watching the stayers go about their early warm-up routine before the first race. I'll mention it quietly, but I do think he is reminiscent of Skeletor, from He-Man. It's just an opinion, mind.

Anyway, Mr Fanshawe is always very gracious with sharing information.

"Everyone is talking about Deacon Blues but don't forget Society Rock - he has won two out of three at Ascot and the only time he got beat there was by Starspangledbanner in the Golden Jubilee last year," he said.

"Deacon Blues is improving and has been very impressive in his last four races. He would just like a bit of ease in the ground."

Well, the sun is shining high here today. Society Rock is [7.8] on Betfair.

1.50pm - Long Distance Cup result:
1: Fame And Glory
2: Opinion Poll
3: Colour Vision
Jamie Spencer rode the perfect race there. Over a mile out he took up a slack pace and made it a real test on Fame And Glory. As they came up the hill he injected more into it to draw out the sting from anything in the chasing pack and by the time the customary bell rang it was only to signal that the race was over.

The pair powered clear into the straight and although Opinion Poll tried to make up the ground, the fact that the lowest the horse traded at was [3.0] tells its own story.

That groom must be delighted.

1.45pm
Colour Vision, one of two three-year-olds in the field, would have a chance on his third in the Cesarewitch. He carried 9st 1lb that day and you would have thought there would be a bit of improvement to come.
He almost kicked the head off one of the stewards on the way, however, so you wouldn't say he was at his most relaxed on the way down.

1.40pm:
The stayers are in the parade ring for the Long Distance Cup. Fame And Glory looked a picture, but then so did Opinion Poll.
Alex Cole, racing manager to Fitri Hay, the owner, was non committal about the chances of Fame And Glory. When asked to confirm whether Fame And Glory was back to his Gold cup winning heights, he said: "That appears to be the case. Aidan O'Brien is just saddling him up now."

Hay cannot be much higher than about 4''9'. She should perhaps consider jocking off Jamie Spencer and riding the beast herself.

She also was rather non committal abouth the five-year-old's chances: "Aidan O'Brien has said that Fame And Glory will win, or he won't." How mysterious.

One person who was more forthcoming was the horse's groom. I asked him whether his pride and joy was back to his best. "He'd better be."

1.10pm:
According to Timeform, there are five horses that line-up in the Champion Stakes that are rated within 5lbs of So You Think.

Snow Fairy looked to have pulled the trigger slightly too early in Ireland when she went down to the Aidan O'Brien hotpot by half a lengths. To be fair, So You Think was always holding off the filly, who finished one place ahead of her rival when the two ran at Longchamp this month in the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe.

I don't buy the critics line that So You Think may struggle for his run in the Arc. Pride ran at Longchamp and won the Champion Stakes so it can be done, and So You Think ran four times under a month in Australia. He won three of those and finsihed third over two miles in the Melbourne Cup, so I think he can handle it.

But when you throw in Cirrus Des Aigles, the French raider, the durable mare Midday, stable-mate Twice Over, who is good enough to fill a podium spot and the dangerous three-year-old Nathaniel, there are grounds for thinking that So You Think could be a lay. Aidan O'Brien never won this race when it was staged at Newmarket, so you think [3.4] is a good price?

1pm:
For those who take stock of market movers, the drift in price of Fame And Glory in the Long Distance Cup, and stablemate So You Think is crucial.

Fame And Glory has run two shockers since trouncing today's main rival, Opinion Poll , in the Gold Cup here in June. The drift would suggest that a bold bid is not expected. I will try to find Alex Cole, the owners' racing manager, over the next hour or so to find out.

The drift of So You Think is intriguing. Several of the high street firms have cut the Australian champ from 3-1 into 5-2, but on Betfair the five-year-old's price has roller-coastered from between [3.85] and [3.0]. So You Think currently trades at [3.45].

One representative from a prominent high street layer has just told me: "We have cut So You Think not becuase of weight of money, but more because the right people have come on."

12.55pm:
There have been some very interesting price fluctuations this morning, the most notable of which is that Frankel has drifted markedly.

Most likely this is in response to Ladbrokes' aggressive pricing strategy by going 1-2 about the world's best horse in the morning, rather than any late news.

To see the market movers on Betfair today, click here:

12.40pm:
Would it be so ridiculous to suggest Silverside might be one to look at carefully for the Group 2 Sprint Stakes at 2.25pm?

We all know how good German form is after Danedream's scintillating victory in the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, and yet we have a German raider here, who won a Group 2 at Baden Baden by an easy two and a half lengths.

If you are trying to get a grip on the form, Richard Fahey's Rose Blossom was fourth, and Amico Fritz, who was sixth behind Society Rock in the Golden Jubilee at Royal Ascot filled the same placing but was further back.

It was also the five-year-old's first start over six furlongs, having run over a mile previously. Silverside was good enough to finish fourth behind Pressing in the Topkapi Trophy in Turkey last year over a mile, so dropped back in trip you would have thought he would improve. Worth throwing a few quid at for a reward of [46.0] on Betfair?

At the very least as he likes to be raced prominently, and should stay on, he looks a fair back-to-lay vehicle.

12.30pm:
Sue is in one of Ascot's little green corners, looking after a 17-year-old chestnut gelding. He is a strapping sort, not one of the little speedsters that inhabit the Flat. Look closely, however, and the horse is actually Monsignor, the Royal and SunAlliance Hurdle winner who thrashed No Discount by eight lengths in 2000.

Quite what his role is in promoting Qipco British Champions Day was beyond me, especially when Cheltenham are hosting a wonderful card today.

Sue was nothing but brightness, however: "He's been around most of the British Champions series races. He has been asked because he has just the most wonderful temperament and it is nice for racegoers to be able to get so close to a real racehorse."

I was at University at the time of his Festival succes and bunked off to go to Prestbury Park to have my rent money on Mark Pitman's charge. I recall having £200 at evens, but it appears he went off at 5-4. Simple things well, and all that.

12.15pm
If finding winners is indeed what it is all about today, Timeform have got a feast of information for you to get stuck into. The ratings service has chosen the richest card ever staged in Britain to showcase its new blueprint service, a jazzy new digital form guide that analyses where each horse should be at various stages of races. It's handy for in-running punters and throws up the most likely winners for those who can't be 'bovved.' It even tells you what the likely race time will be. Check out the wonders of modern form analysis here

If you like the technicality of it all, then have a look at Simon Rowlands' blog on what sectional timing, which will be utilised here today, will be able to tell us about Frankel when he wins this afternoon. (That was not a typo, but more of that later)

Finally, if you like things done in a more old skool, kind of fashion, the silver fox that is Graham Cunningham has gone for the "value approach" today and has put up something to beat Frankel, as if that's possible. He's scoured the card for better bets though and has come up with three other corkers, which can be accessed here:

11.45am:
A warm welcome to everyone for the inaugural Qipco British Champions Day from a sunny Ascot. There will be as little chat about the whip debate here as possible today. If you want to bore on about the millions of angles of the whys and wherefores of it all, go some place else.

The only thing that needs saying here is that the whip debate is almost 2,500 years old, and because Xenephon was a better writer than those in favour of the crop at the time, his argument has survived the test of time.

"For what the horse does under compulsion, is done without understanding; and there is no beauty in it either, any more than if one should whip and spur a dancer," said the great historian around 400BC. "There would be a great deal more ungracefulness than beauty in either a horse or a man that was so treated. No, he should show off all his finest and most brilliant performances willingly and at a mere sign."

At least that is what I think he said. My ancient Greek is not up to much. So it is fair to say that if things continue as they are the whip argument is going to rage on until the year 4,511. Is there any point in me adding more fuel to the fire? Unless something monumental happens today this blog is chiefly going to be all about the pursuit of winners.

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