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British Champions Day 2024 Tips - Through the card tips at Ascot

Jon Vine

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Last updated: Fri 18 Oct 2024 11:17

Jon Vine 18 Oct 2024

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Tips for every race on British Champions Day 2024
Champions Day takes place at Ascot on Saturday 19th October
Kind Of Blue, War Chimes and State Actor feature in our selections

Expired

British Champions Day. (Getty)

BCD 2024 Tips

Champions Day Tips - Saturday 19th October
1:20pm Ascot - Long Distance Cup Tips
1:55pm Ascot - Champions Sprint Stakes Tips
2:35pm Ascot - Champions Fillies' & Mares' Stakes Tips
3:15pm Ascot - Queen Elizabeth II Stakes Tips
3:55pm Ascot - Champion Stakes Tips
4:35pm Ascot - Balmoral Handicap Tips

The ITV Racing team will be positioned at Ascot on Saturday afternoon, as all six races on British Champions Day will be shown live on the main ITV channel. Four excellent Group One races headline the Champions Day schedule, which is bookended by the Long Distance Cup and the ultra-competitive Balmoral Handicap.

We've taken a look through the full card on British Champions Day and picked out our best betting tips.

2024 British Champions Day Card

Time	Track
1:15pm	Qipco British Champions Long Distance Cup (Group 2) 2m
1:50pm	Qipco British Champions Sprint Stakes (Group 1) 6f
2:25pm	Qipco British Champions Fillies & Mares Stakes (Group 1) 1m4f
3:05pm	Queen Elizabeth II Stakes (Sponsored By Qipco) (Group 1) 1m
3:45pm	Qipco Champion Stakes (British Champions Middle Distance) (Group 1) 1m2f
4:25pm	Balmoral Handicap (Sponsored By Qipco) (Class 2) 1m

Champions Day Tips - Saturday 19th October

1:20pm Ascot - Long Distance Cup Tips

Kyprios is the best stayer that I've ever seen. Aidan O'Brien's star never usually wins by an emphatic distance, but he's always in full control of his races. Even last year, when he made a remarkable recovery from a near fatal injury, Kyprios finished second to Eldar Eldarov in the Irish St Leger and was only beaten a neck by a race-fit Trawlerman in this contest.

I'm expecting Kyprios to win on Saturday and I'll be cheering Ryan Moore's mount home. However, British Champions Day is often a graveyard for favourites and the ground is treacherously tricky once again. I won't be backing anything at a short price.

I'm a big fan of Al Nayyir, who will be suited by both the ground and the trip. In truth, he's the only runner I'd consider backing against Kyprios, but odds of 7/1 aren't exactly appealing from an each-way standpoint.

1:55pm Ascot - Champions Sprint Stakes Tips

As I haven't had a bet in the opener, I can afford to take two against the field in the Champions Sprint. I backed BUCANERO FUERTE (25/1) at the ante-post stage and Adrian Murray's raider still represents good value.

Murray's raider went into the Sprint Cup on the back of a lengthy break and ran too keen, fading back to sixth as the hold-up horses powered home to challenge. Bucanero Fuerte stayed on again after getting outpaced to finish a four-length seventh in the Flying Five Stakes last time out. The form of that Group One was boosted massively in the Abbaye, with all of the six horses who finished ahead of him recording top-seven finishes at Longchamp.

Bucanero Fuerte is one-from-one on heavy ground and was only beaten a length in last year's Coventry Stakes on his only previous trip to Ascot. The 2023 Phoenix Stakes winner is yet to produce his best form this term. Hopefully that will change on Saturday.

Most of the pace looks to have been drawn on the high side of the track. So, at a shorter price, I'm going to back KIND OF BLUE (10/1), who's been drawn two stalls outside of Bucanero Fuerte in stall 17.

James Fanshawe's three-year-old is yet to make the breakthrough at pattern level, but placed efforts in the Commonwealth Cup and the Sprint Cup suggest that a Group One win could be just around the corner. Blue Point's progeny boast an excellent strike-rate on all kinds of ground and Kind Of Blue handled the track well during the Royal Meeting. He'll be my second selection.

2:35pm Ascot - Champions Fillies' & Mares' Stakes Tips

WAR CHIMES (25/1) ended her two-year-old campaign with a five-length demolition job in the Prix Isonomy, thrashing Sosie, who has gone on to achieve great things this season.

After two low-key performances in France, I backed War Chimes at 100/1 in the Oaks at Epsom and was delighted to see Tom Marquand's mount see out the trip well to finish third ahead of future Irish Oaks winner You Got To Me. Menuisier's raider then struggled on quicker ground in that Irish Classic, where Seamie Heffernan didn't give his filly the greatest ride from a wide draw.

After that contest, Menuisier said that War Chimes would be given a holiday and this race was her return target. Billy Loughnane rides this strong stayer on Saturday and War Chimes is sure to relish the extra cut in the ground.

kyprios ascot — Kyprios and Trawlerman square off again in the Qipco British Champions Long Distance Cup. (Getty)

3:15pm Ascot - Queen Elizabeth II Stakes Tips

CHECKANDCHALLENGE (25/1) has finished fourth in the last two renewals of the QEII and the 50/1 that I took at the ante-post stage disappeared quickly after Christophe Soumillon was confirmed in the saddle.

After a poor start to the season, William Knight decided to geld his stable star at the start of July. Since then, Checkandchallenge has only been beaten by two progressive three-year-old fillies, losing out to See The Fire in the Strensall Stakes before suffering a neck defeat to Skellet in the Fortune Stakes at Sandown.

Soumillon's mount is at his best when there's plenty of ease in the ground and the stiff mile at Ascot clearly suits him well. He's an each-way player once again.

3:55pm Ascot - Champion Stakes Tips

Read our full guide to the 2024 Champion Stakes to find out who we've backed in Saturday's main event.

If you want to watch any of Saturday's races live from Ascot, visit our British Champions Day Live Stream page.

4:35pm Ascot - Balmoral Handicap Tips

I backed Wigmore Street for Saturday's card closer at the ante-post stage, but sadly he's been kept in Ireland to target a Listed prize on Sunday. STATE ACTOR (8/1) was narrowly beaten by Wigmore Street after being backed into favouritism for the Irish Cambridgeshire and Bill Farrell looks to have laid his four-year-old out for this trip to Ascot.

State Actor bolted up in a heavy ground maiden at the Curragh in April, before following up in a £52k handicap. It was only a Ryan Moore masterful that stopped Farrell's budding stable star from landing another big pot and Chris Hayes' mount will run off just a four-pound higher mark on Saturday.

On the other side of the track, I'm going to give another chance to GODWINSON (25/1). I fancied William Haggas' star in the British Cambridgeshire, after he landed what looked to be a kind draw on the stand's side of the track. As it turned out, everyone drawn high that day was massively inconvenienced and, although Godwinson was the third to pass the line on his side, Tom Marquand's mount could only finish 15th.

Godwinson has run all of his best races over a mile this season and Haggas' star loves plenty of juice in the ground. Cheek-pieces go on for the first time and I'd be happy to see Silvestre De Sousa give this strong stayer a more positive ride.

Verdict

2024 British Champions Day

Best bets on British Champions Day 2024:

State Actor

4:35pm Ascot

@8/1 - 5 Units

Bet £10 Get £30

with bonus code NEWBONUS

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Bet at bet365

Kind Of Blue

1:55pm Ascot

@10/1 - 5 Units

Bet £10 Get £40

in free bets

18+. New UK customers (Excluding NI) only. Min Deposit £10. Min stake £10. Min odds Evs. Free bet applied on 1st settlement of any qualifying bet. 30 days to qualify. Free bets expire in 7 days. Cashed out/Free Bets won’t apply. Account & Payment method restrictions apply. 1 Free Bet offer per customer, household & IP Address only. 18+. T&Cs apply.

Bet at BOYLE Sports

Bucanero Fuerte E/W

1:55pm Ascot

@25/1 - 5 Units

50% back up to £25

Racing Specialists

18+ New UK Customers Only. Bet £10+ on any sportsbook markets at odds of evens (2.00) or greater. No cash out. Get 50% back of your first day’s losses (from first bet settlement until 23:59) as a Free Bet up to £25, valid for 7 days. Min. 3 bets on different events required, with 2 bets being at least 50% of your largest stake. Place at least 1 bet of £10+ at odds 2.00+ to receive a £5 Free Bet even if your account is up or losses are under £5. T&Cs Apply. GambleAware.org

Bet at QuinnBet

War Chimes E/W

2:35pm Ascot

@25/1 - 5 Units

Bet £10 Get £30

with bonus code NEWBONUS

Bet at bet365