Ascot Champions Day Tips 2024: Six for Saturday’s Flat finale

The curtain closes on the British Flat season at Ascot on Saturday with its annual six-race card - running from 13:20-16:35 - featuring four Group 1s, a Group 2 and a £200k handicap.

Testing ground is expected at the Berkshire venue, which could lead to some 'shock' results. That's the angle into the majority of my Ascot Champions Day tips for 2024.

13:20 - Burdett Road e/w @ 25/1 

Kyprios and Trawlerman are much the best of this eight-strong field for the Long Distance Cup, but the former is having his seventh start of the season after running over 2m4f on soft ground at Longchamp just two weeks ago and the latter returns from a 122-day break. With that and likely conditions in mind, I think it's worth chancing an upset.

BURDETT ROAD appeals at 25/1 providing the eight stand their ground.

James Owen's gelding posted a clear career-best in a Listed affair at Newmarket late last month, beating John & Thady Gosden's odds-on shot Military Academy by a widening eight and a half lengths, with useful rivals trailing even further behind.

A change in tactics - allowing him to go off in front - on soft ground seemed to bring out the best of him, persuading connections to delay his return to the National Hunt sphere.

Although this will be the furthest he's tried on the level, it's got to be likely Harry Davies adopts the same approach at Ascot on Saturday and it wouldn't be a surprise if he's not for catching.

13:55 - James's Delight e/w @ 12/1

A surprise result, at least according to the betting, wouldn't surprise me in the Sprint Stakes even if it was taking place on a sounder surface. It's an extremely muddling division, and the expected going creates even more temptation to look further down the list.

My eyes are drawn to Clive Cox's JAMES'S DELIGHT, the mount of Ryan Moore.

He's won two of his last three races on soft or worse, including a narrow defeat to Karl Burke's Spycatcher in a Group 3 at Deauville last time out. He started slowly in France and was staying on strongly at the finish, suggesting a stiff six on this ground will be right up his street.

The selection's rating (110) suggests he has a bit to find on the market principals, but he's got lots going for him, including the best jockey in the game, and is worth an each-way dart.

This is a Super Extra Place Race, with five available instead of three at 1/5 the odds for all each-way bets.

14:35 - Doha e/w @ 12/1

DOHA can provide Ralph Beckett another top-class success in the Fillies & Mares Stakes to cap off an outstanding season.

The four-year-old Sea The Stars filly was a good second to Tamfana - more on her shortly - in the G3 Atalanta Stakes at Sandown at the end of August, form that received a serious boost when David Menuisier's three-year-old won the G1 Sun Chariot Stakes at Newmarket the other week with ease.

She then went to France and claimed Listed honours, once again showing her aptitude for soft ground and suggesting an even greater test of stamina, which she gets here, can bring out more improvement.

She's only six pounds inferior to market leader Kalpana on official ratings and doesn't have much at all to find on the likes of Tiffany and Time Lock, so she's another each-way suggestion from me on Champions Day.

This is an Extra Place Race, with four available instead of three at 1/5 the odds for all each-way bets.

15:15 - Tamfana @ 10/3

Charyn is a warm order for the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes, but I think TAMFANA can lower his colours.

David Menuisier's three-year-old filly was unlucky not to win the 1000 Guineas at Newmarket back in May, before a couple of fine efforts over longer trips across The Channel.

Dropping back to a mile on these shores brought out the best of her, though, as she subsequently bolted up in a Group 3 at Sandown before a career-best performance in the G1 Sun Chariot Stakes at Newmarket just weeks ago, beating the 117-rated Inspiral by two lengths.

She's developed into a very good miler who goes well on any ground and she's taken to provide her trainer more Group 1 glory.

Get your stake back (up to £10) as a free bet if your selection in this race finishes 2nd.

15:55 - Calandagan @ 6/4

What a renewal of the Champion Stakes, billed as a mouth-watering clash between Economics and CALANDAGAN.

I'm firmly on the side of the French horse, who comes here fresh after giving the imperious City Of Troy a bit of a scare in the Juddmonte International at York in August. That freshness can count for a lot at this time of the year.

I think that Juddmonte form is as good, if not better than anything Economics has achieved to date and the ground is a question mark for William Haggas' colt. It's not for the selection.

It's Francis-Henri Graffard's three-year-old taken to win one of the most-anticipated races of the entire Flat season.

16:35 - Toimy Son e/w @ 14/1

Finally, we've got the Balmoral Handicap - a 20-runner contest over the straight mile.

Small stakes are advised on TOIMY SON for David Menuisier and Oisin Murphy, who are hopefully full of confidence after Tamfana in the QEII.

This five-year-old was disappointing last season, but following a gelding operation last summer he's been in top form this year, culminating in an excellent third - of 31 - in the lucrative Cambridgeshire Handicap at Newmarket the other week.

His mark of 95 is unchanged, he's in the form of his life and has form in deep ground. That'll do for me.

This is an Extra Place Race, with five available instead of four at 1/5 the odds for all each-way bets.

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