Saturday Racing Cheat Sheet: Best bets for ITV Racing on British Champions Day

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Tips Summary

Please Note: Prices quoted in table below were correct at time of each writer/tipster's column being published on Betting.Betfair.

Race	Tipster	Tip	Odds
Ascot 13:30	Timeform	Highwayman	3/14.00
Ascot 14:05	Katie Midwinter	Coppull E/W	9/110.00
Ascot 14:40	Timeform Verdict	Kalpana	11/82.38
Ascot 15:20	Mark Milligan	Zavateri	15/28.50
Ascot 16:00	Katie Midwinter	Bay City Roller	6/17.00
Acot 16:35	Mark Milligan	Scoville	9/25.50

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Saturday Horse Racing Tips and Insight

Ascot, 13:30 - Timeform: St Leger winner will relish longer trip

With last year's winner Trawlerman retired and Scandinavia finished for the season, the Long Distance Cup can go to Joseph O'Brien's highly progressive three-year-old Highwayman.

He has improved out of all recognition over longer trips lately and had his finest hour when completing a hat-trick in last month's St Leger, staying on strongly to give Saffie Osborne an historic win.

Dylan Browne McMonagle is back on board now and, heading the Timeform weight-adjusted ratings with further improvement to come, Highwayman looks sure to appreciate the further step up in trip to two miles.

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Ascot, 14:05 - Katie Midwinter: More progress to come from Coppull

Coppull wasn't seen to best effect in the Betfair Sprint Cup won by Almeraq at Haydock last month. He's capable of better at this level as proven when a good fourth at odds of 28/129.00 to Comanche Brave in the July Cup, beaten only a length-and-a-half by the winner who subsequently landed the Flying Five Stakes at the Curragh.

A talented juvenile last term, the Bated Breath colt finished third to Gstaad in the Coventry Stakes before beating Puerto Rico by a couple of lengths in the Richmond Stakes. He was beaten only three-quarters-of-a-length by Wise Approach in the Group One Middle Park Stakes at Newmarket, before returning in good order as a three-year-old, winning the Commonwealth Cup Trial over course-and-distance on reappearance.

With course form, the likeable colt should put in a creditable effort under Rossa Ryan. He's yet to be fully exposed and could still have further progression to come.

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Ascot, 14:40 - Timeform Verdict: Hat-trick beckons for Kalpana

Remarkable mare Kalpana has had some tough battles this year but may have enough left in the tank to secure a third successive victory in this race. Minnie Hauk's standout effort this season came when runner-up in the Prince of Wales's Stakes here, and she's feared most if recapturing that sort of form.

Sparan Nua was narrowly touched off by Kalpana at York and could be worth another chance to confirm that improvement, while impressive Irish Oaks winner Johanna Walsh isn't taken lightly.

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Ascot, 15:20 - Mark Milligan: Zavateri gets Second Chance Token vote

The retirement of Bow Echo has left the mile division looking rather open and this looks the ideal opportunity for Gstaad to get his head in front with the old rival now out of the reckoning.

However, he's already missed one such opportunity when beaten in France last time, and it's also significant that for all his feats in the modern game, Aidan O'Brien's record at this particular meeting isn't the best, which kind of makes sense when you think his horses are primarily trained to peak for the classics and mid-summer Group 1s.

One horse who does appear to be peaking just at the right time is Eve Johnson Houghton's Zavateri, who beat Gstaad as a juvenile and looked right back to his best when swotting aside Qirat with contempt at Goodwood last time.

That wasn't the strongest race for the grade, but Qirat is quite tough to beat around Goodwood and the fact that Zavateri did it so easily can only be viewed positively.

He looks a good-value play at 15/28.50, while we also have the bonus of Betfair Second Chance Tokens should he only manage a place.

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Newton Abbot, 15:37 - Paul Nicholls on Qeubecois

He loves good ground; he doesn't want it too soft. He obviously gets further than this trip, but it's a good starting point for his season.

I've done well in this race with some really smart horses like Frodon, Bravemansgame, Pic d'Orhy, among others, who have made this a stepping stone for the season, so it's a nice place to start for Quebecois.

He's done a lot of work and looks well, but again, he will improve for the run. It's not all about winning on Saturday. He'll have entries for all the good races down the line, the good novice chases. I'd say he's fit enough to run very well.

Dan Skelton's got one in the race that's obviously very fit and won the other day, but I'd like to think we're slightly better than him (Country Mile) on all known form, but who knows?

I hope he'll be better than his mark of 142, but he's quite versatile in that he can run in novice chases as well as handicaps. He'll definitely have an entry in the Paddy Power Gold Cup, so we'll see what that race looks like, but I think he'll keep improving.

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Ascot, 16:00 - Katie Midwinter: Bay City Roller can wave bye bye to Champion Stakes rivals

Bay City Roller has proven his Group One credentials this season with a 10-length success in the Coronation Cup which followed a second-placed effort to Almaqam at the Curragh, and was able to outrun huge odds to place second to Daryz in the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe when last seen.

Hugely underestimated at Longchamp recently, the four-year-old son of New Bay coped with quicker conditions well to make the frame and he's more than capable of holding his own in this company, having shown his versatility.

Although he's perhaps most effective in softer ground, the conditions at Ascot shouldn't pose any problem to the likeable contender, and, although he has to put in another top performance to beat this deep field, he has a huge amount of ability and may still be improving.

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Now read Alan Dudman's Big Race Verdict on the Champion Stakes

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Ascot, 16:35 - Mark Milligan: Scoville ahead of the handicapper?

Having been with Scoville more often than not this season, it was with some frustration that I watched him get right back to form last time at Doncaster...without a penny on.

However, I'm not going to make the same mistake again and he could still be well ahead of the handicapper having been put up just 4lb for that, while connections finally appear to have found the key to riding him, too.

A keen-going type, particularly early in his career, he has benefited from being ridden cold on his last couple of starts and was delivered to perfection by Danny Tudhope last time, while the recent fitting of earplugs also seems to have made a difference to this fizzy character.

I had Scoville marked down as a potential Group performer last season and it's not beyond the realms of possibility that he could still develop into one.

If that's to be the case, he needs to be going very close here from a mark of 99.

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