Churchill Can Help O’Brien Beat Record

If Champions Day is where champions are crowned then it would be fitting if Aidan O’Brien was to break Bobby Frankel’s record at Ascot on Saturday and it is possible.

There’s a short price double that makes appeal but it is the dual Guineas winner that is picked to restore all our faith.

Stick with Winston
Ribchester would be a stable star in most yards around the world.

He’s a proven Group 1 performer who has danced the dance and walked the walk when asked by his trainer. For some reason though he never seems to be a horse that punters want to plunge in on and again on Saturday in the QEII we will side with Churchill.

The dual Guineas winner has disappointed on his last three starts now and while excuses can be made for those outings, you can’t but say they were disappointing efforts. Hopefully that changes today.

The rain is going to have a massive bearing on the day and it could well turn into an afternoon where the bookmakers go from running scared to celebrating some strange outcomes, however…

Churchill will hopefully handle the conditions better than he is given credit for.

This is likely to be as bad as Churchill has raced on, but this season and last he was winning on ground easier than ideal and if connections let him take his chance he’ll have to be a major player here. He surely shouldn’t be 4/1 on his best form.

Opening Race Double
Favourites are often too good to be true but that wasn’t the case at Punchestown this week.

The opening six races on Wednesday went to the favourites and Gordon Elliott got a nice touch on Thursday by backing six of his, so hopefully that run will continue in the first two races of Champions Day.

Order Of St George is the class act in the Long Distance Cup.

A valid case can be made for Big Orange but there’s a lot of things different here from the time they met in the Ascot Gold Cup and it would be with massive confidence that…

Order Of St George will reverse that form if Big Orange is allowed run on the ground.

The biggest fear here would be the 8lbs Order Of St George has to concede to the progressive Stradivarius who is an each-way steal for the race at 9/1 for people who don’t want to back Order Of St George at a shade of odds-on. However, the market leader is rock solid and should be doubled up with second race favourite Harry Angel.

To have a proven Group One performer versatile on bad ground is a major plus this afternoon and Harry Angel is that.

He’s just a very, very special sprinter who is proven against this opposition and although he needs to go and prove himself on the track, the fact that he has won on varying ground means he is picked to see off the mud-loving Quiet Reflection, who is sure to be the subject of much support throughout the day.

Recommended Bets:
Churchill (4/1) – 3.15 Ascot
Order of St George (5/6) & Harry Angel (11/10) – 1.25 & 2.00 Ascot

*Prices correct at time of publication.