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British Champions Day set to finish the flat season in style
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Still all to play for in the UK Flat Trainers' Championship
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Big stars Paddington, Tahiyra and Nashwa all set to be on show
British Champions day at Ascot rounds out the UK flat season in style with the Trainers' and Jockey's Championship being handed out.
This year William Buick has managed to land his second consecutive jockeys' title but in the trainers' division there is still all to play for with John and Thady Gosden set to do battle with Aidan O'Brien all the way up until the last race of the day.
Gosdens favoured to land trainers' title
John and Thady Gosden are currently 2/5 on the Betfair Sportsbook to land the 2023 UK Flat Trainers' Championship. They head into the weekend with 103 winners during the season on home soil, accumulating £6,507,455 in prize money.
They are currently leading the way, but hot on their heels is the Ballydoyle maestro Aidan O'Brien who, although only racking up 21 wins in the UK this season, has managed to amass prize money of £6,208,018 and is 7/4 to take the spoils this weekend
Just £299,437 is separating the trainers and with plenty of prize money up for grabs this weekend it is not over until the final race of the season.
Betfair Spokesperson, Barry Orr, commented today: ''The Gosdens are currently in pole position, but Champions Day will tell a tale and a lot will depend on the QE2, Paddington v Nashwa, plus the weather will play its part in determining if Mostahdaf runs in the Champion Stakes''.
''Looking further ahead, Diego Velazquez is an even money favourite for the 'Futurity Trophy' at Doncaster and that could be a significant factor in determining where the title goes''.
Ground set to be testing
There will nou dooubt be some late decisions on which horses will run across Saturday with the current weather forecast predicting between 15 to 20mm of rain to hit the track between Wednesday to Saturday.
There has been 23mm of rain since Wednesday to 9am Monday and from now on it is forecast to remain dry until Wednesday when rain/showers are now forecast through to Saturday.
The current Goingstick reading on the BHA website reads 6.5 on the Straight Course, with the Round Course currently at 5.7 offering an official going of soft.
The next Goingstick reading will come on Tuesday morning.