5-DAY BRITISH CHAMPIONS GUIDE: Daqman continues his day-by-day form and facts guide to the five championship races at Ascot on Saturday.
Monday’s Daqman: British Champions Long Distance Cup.
Tuesday’s Daqman: British Champions Sprint
TODAY: 2.25 Saturday, British Champions Fillies And Mares
TOMORROW: 3.05 Saturday, Queen Elizabeth 11 Stakes, British Champions Mile.
FRIDAY: 3.45 Saturday, Champion Stakes, British Champions Middle Distance.
🟪 UPDATE: This year’s champion apprentice, Billy Loughnane (on Graignes), and last year’s, Benoit De La Sayette (on Migration), are due to meet in the Balmoral Handicap (4.25), which is the final race on the British Champions Day card.
CLASH OF FAVOURITE FILLIES
⭕ 2.25 Ascot, Saturday (British Champions Fillies and Mares) Winners of this are far apart: they ran at the Arc meeting or were returning fresh from two or three months off, notably saved up by Team Gosden (Star Catcher 2019 and Emily Upjohn 2022).
Yet seven of the last eight were no bigger than 5-1 at SP; and three of the last four were favourite.
The Gosdens run Sweet Memories, dual soft-ground winner, who will be having only the fifth race of her career.
She split Time Lock and Running Lion (good to firm) at Newmarket after a break at the end of September in the Princess Royal Stakes, which used to be this filles-and-mares championship.
For Bluestocking, it’s only her seventh start; third in the Ribblesdale, second in the Irish Oaks, fourth in the Yorkshire Oaks.
The 2021 winner, Eshaada, had no winning form since the previous May. Star Catcher, Eshaada and Emily Upjohn were all three-year-olds (8-10); a four-year-old hasn’t won for seven seasons.
The stats confer even bigger black marks against Free Wind and Via Sistina: a five-year-old has scored only once (Crystal Capella 2020) in more than 40 years.
Also against that pair and seven others on Saturday is that only one with maximum weight has won since 2013.
Aidan O’Brien, who is set to saddle Jackie Oh and two big outsiders, landed back-to-back wins with Hydrangea and Magical (2017-18), who had both been seen at the Arc meeting.
Jackie Oh ran Blue Rose Cen to a neck in the Opera on Arc day three weeks back (Stay Alert 9th). Free Wind, Poptronic and Rue Boissonade were all unplaced at the Arc meeting.
Betdaq Betting Exchange 4.4 Free Wind, 4.9 Jackie Oh, 5.9 Time Lock, 5.9 Via Sistina, 10 Bluestocking, 10 Rue Boissonade, 19 Stay Alert, 19 Running Lion, 23 Poptronic,
MIMIK SOLID AS VERA SLIDES
⭕ 4.00 Bath today (Fillies and Mares’ Listed, 1m 6f) Irish raiders have won this twice in the last five years, spoiling a winning sequence by home three-year-olds.
Vera Verto finished about 10lb in front of stablemate Pachmena when they met at Ballinrobe in June, and has shown her versatility by scoring the last twice, on firm at Newmarket and soft-heavy at Listowel.
As a result, she has gone up a stone in handicaps and a level-weights Listed was the obvious next step by her trainer, Gavin Cromwell, who has a 60% Flat record in England this season.
Also double barrelled for this shoot-out is the home defence put up by John and Thady Gosden, with Mimikyu 8lb in front of stable-companion One Evening, if the ratings are to be believed.
Mimikyu was first-time hooded when she won the Park Hill at Doncaster last September but she’s been unable to score in the last year, with the hood at first discarded, then replaced by cheekpieces.
It’s been Group company all the way but placed only twice in five attempts.
One Evening was second in this year’s Park Hill but is officially 8lb inferior to Mimikyu, who had a queue to back her this morning.
Queen Emma, who has the best form of the three-year-olds, has already been well beaten this month by Vera Verto, who slid out to 13.5 on the BETDAQ exchange this morning.
TAJANIS FORM BOOSTED TWICE
⭕ 4.35 Bath Tajanis has improved all year and first-time blinkers got the gelding off the mark at York the last day, the form boosted by wins for the third and fifth since.
Campaign Trail’s hat-trick bid failed by a long chalk when stepped up in grade at Newmarket.
Order Of Malta won a slow-run small-field race in July, and Flower Of Dubai has improved just 3lb overall for four times placed in five races since.
Spartan Army has won fresh and has twice tried Group 2, but he gives weight away all round. Alan King has had a good year on the Flat and this big horse has been sold by Qatar racing to Jumps owners.
⭕ 4.55 Kempton Mbappe failed to close down Super Schwartz at Chelmsford and, though better off at the weights today, his chances of giving the favourite a race are this time marred by a high draw.
But he creates big value for a Super Schwartz bet at around 2-1 on the BETDAQ exchange this morning.
DAQMAN’S BETS
4.00 Bath (win 20, win 10)
BET 1.5pts win and place VERA VERTO
BET 6.75pts win MIMIKYU
4.35 Bath (win 12, nap)
BET 6pts win TAJANIS
4.45 Kempton (win 10)
BET 5pts win SUPER SCHWARTZ
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