Jack Hobbs, the winner of the Irish Derby in June and runner-up behind his stablemate Golden Horn in the Derby at Epsom, is the 11-8 favourite for the £1.3m Qipco Champion Stakes on Saturday after 15 horses were declared for the Group One feature of Champions Day at Ascot.
Found, who finished ninth behind Golden Horn in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe this month after having little luck in running, is the only possible runner from Aidan O’Brien’s stable in Ireland and a 5-1 chance while Vadamos, a lightly raced four-year-old trained by André Fabre in Chantilly, can be backed at 9-1 with Coral. The Corsican, a Group Three winner at Newbury last month, is 12-1 and it is 14-1 bar the four.
Found struggled to find a run from a wide draw in the Arc and a big field in Saturday’s race could make starting positions a factor once again.
“When you put that kind of race on for that kind of money you’ll get a lot of really classy and tough horses,” John Gosden, the trainer of Jack Hobbs, said on Monday.
“I think the key thing is the draw. If you’ve ever stood at the mile-and-a-quarter start at Ascot, if you get drawn wide, you hit that bend in Swinley Bottom pretty fast, so we’ll all be hoping to be drawn one to about eight.
“There won’t be room for all of us there, so let’s hope nobody feels hard done by with the draw.”
Dave Simcock, trainer of The Corsican, is also hoping for a low number when the stalls are drawn on Thursday.
“He’s come out of his last race very well and we’re very happy with him,” Simcock said. “I think he’s at his best on fast ground but he does handle ground on the soft side. We had lots of options after Newbury but we thought we’d roll the dice. The draw is massive. I would certainly like a one-to-five draw.”
Gleneagles, the 2,000 Guineas winner, and Solow, who took the Group One Sussex Stakes at Glorious Goodwood, are among 12 possible runners in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes, although once again the ground will determine whether Gleneagles takes his chance.
Aidan O’Brien’s colt has missed the Sussex Stakes, the International Stakes at York and the Irish Champion Stakes at Leopardstown due to unsuitably soft ground since winning the St James’s Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot in mid-June. The ground at Ascot is currently described as good-to-soft on the straight course, and soft, good-to-soft in places on the round course.
“He’s in very good form and obviously it’s all eyes on the weather,” Kevin Buckley, the UK representative of Coolmore Stud, where Gleneagles is expected to stand next year, said on Monday.
“He’ll do another little piece of work in the week. We have our fingers crossed. There is very little drying going on at Ascot but we hope he shows up.”
Kodi Bear, winner of the Celebration Mile at Goodwood in late August, has been confirmed as an intended runner on Saturday by Clive Cox, his trainer.
“He’ll be very much at home on the ground,” Cox said. “He’s had a nice chance to freshen up from the Celebration Mile. I’ve been thrilled with his progress throughout the year, so I’m very much looking forward to Saturday.”
Two of 2015’s Classic winners are among the declarations for the British Champions Fillies & Mares Stakes. Covert Love, who took the Irish Oaks in July, would be making a swift return to the track after winning the Prix de l’Opera at Longchamp on Arc day, while Secret Verse, who was initially disqualified and then reinstated as the winner of the St Leger at Doncaster last month, is also a possible runner.
Emperor Max, one of the leading sprinters in Singapore, is on course to take his chance in the Qipco British Champions Sprint.
“To travel a horse from Singapore is a big thing,” Stephen Gray, Emperor Max’s trainer, said on Monday after watching his six-year-old exercise at Newmarket, where he is stabled at the yard of Jane Chapple-Hyam. “Not many people do it as the prize money is so good there.
“It is a different track and way of racing. The biggest negative is running in that straight line but he has got the temperament to cope with it and he will like cut in the ground. If the same field was in Singapore, he would be very competitive and give them a good shake-up.”
