Ascot ITV Saturday Preview

The first race of the day on this action packed Group One flooded race card is the British Champions Sprint Stakes over six furlongs and with the ground conditions heavy we fancy One Master.

The William Haggas trained five year old is a very experienced mare who revels in muddy underfoot conditions landing both her Group One wins in those conditions.

She has not raced at six furlongs much in her career with seven furlongs to a mile being her stand out trip but this stiff test in what looks like a bog at Ascot will suit.

Last time out she landed the Group One Prix de la Foret for the second very running on very soft ground, overall there are horses more astute to this trip but no one in the field who will handle the ground better.

The British Champions Long Distance Cup is looking for out and out stayers and there is only one horse who looks like taking the contest for the second year running.

Gosden's stable star is unbeaten in his last 10 races and was last seen having a challenger pass him back in October 2017 on British Champions Day but the five year old stayer is looking to keep his winning run going.

Stradivarius in the last two seasons has scooped the Weatherbys Hamilton Stayers’ Million and was sure not be seen again until Ascot where he would round off his season in style but the horse came out of the Lonsdale Cup at York in good order and headed to Town Moor for the Doncaster Cup where again he won with ease.

The horse of a lifetime is now said to be right on track ahead of his run in the Group Two contest where he is looking to extend his unbeaten run to 11 but his trainer is very wary of how the ground will look on the day.

He is odds on favourite to take the spoils for the second season in a row and did win the race last year on soft ground, overcoming not his ideal surface to prevail in what looked one of his toughest wins for a while and surely he goes on to do it again.

The British Champions Fillies & Mares Stakes sees 12 bright runners go to post and we fancy the John Gosden trained Star Catcher who looks the pick of the bunch.

This three year old is a very familiar filly for her rider with him being on board him in her last three victories with two of them coming in Group One compnay.

She made a great start to the season when landing a decent contest at Newbury but made her name for herself when landing the Group Two Ribblesdale Stakes at Royal Ascot.

From there she has took back to back Group One contests with the Irish Oaks at the Curragh and the Prix Vermeille at Longchamp.

She has proven she handles soft ground and if getting a lead at the front like she has in her previous contests she will be very hard to catch.

Arguably the trickiest race of the day to call on the day is the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes over one mile and another race that will be on heavy ground could bring a big priced winner.

We are hoping this is the case as we are selecting the outsider of the field in Happy Power for trainer Andrew Balding who has spoken keenly about this three year old in the run up to this race.

On paper the son of Dark Angel does not display the greatest form line but in soft conditions comes into his own and he should handle the surface better than most.

On his less than preferred good ground he finished fourth behind Too Darn Hot and Circus Maximus at Goodwood in the Group one Sussex Stakes and if getting back to that form can be a real handful.

The feature race on the Saturday at Ascot is Qipco Champion Stakes and this Group One over 1 mile 2 furlongs has seen some stand alone winners in the past and we believe Coronet will be that horse this season.

The five year old heads to Champions Day fresher than many of the other horses missing a lot of the Autumn events with her main target being this race.

Her last two performances put her in good stead to go well this weekend with two starts ago landing the Group One Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud over in France.

She backed that up over there again in the Prix Jean Romanet at Deauville on heavy ground showing she will revel in the muddy conditions if the rain continues and is a big player if being on her game after a small break.

The final contest of the afternoon is the big fielded Balmoral Handicap over one mile and we have two selections that both look good each way prices.

The first horse we like the look of is the David Barron trained Clon Coulis who has been below par recently but is a course and distance winner.

He needs to get back to his early season form when a narrow second in similar conditions at the royal meeting and now back at the same mark as that win he could spark a big revival.

Our other selection is Biometric who was also a winner at Royal Ascot in the Britannia Stakes over course and distance, that was his only run with cut in the ground and he gave his best performance.

He needs to get back to that form and has a bonus of his trainer Ralph Beckett being one of the most inform trainers in the sport at the moment.