Key Jockeys to Watch This Weekend at Ascot and Leopardstown British Champions Day at Ascot takes centre stage this weekend, the big meeting set to hog the limelight on Saturday with five Group 1s on the agenda. Alongside Ascot, Leopardstown and Limerick boast decent cards on Saturday in Ireland, while on Sunday the same Irish venues race, with Listed and Group-race action on the Flat and over jumps. Here's three jockeys worth looking out for during a stunning weekend of racing. Christophe Soumillon The Ballydoyle supersub has stepped in to fill Ryan Moore's shoes while the latter recovers from a stress fracture of the femur. The French ace has already helped himself to major successes in the Irish Champion Stakes on Delacroix, the Prix Marcel Boussac on Diamond Necklace, the Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere on Puerto Rico and the bet365 Fillies' Mile on Precise. He also rode Minnie Hauk to finish a head second in the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe. Now he's got a Champions Day line-up at Ascot that will be the envy of any rider alongside him in the weighing room, including in four of the Group 1s on the card. He will partner Stay True in the Long Distance Cup, Bedtime Story in the Fillies & Mares, The Lion In Winter in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes and Delacroix in the Champion Stakes. Aidan O'Brien is seven wins shy of beating his world record of 28 Group or Grade 1 victories in a year and a big afternoon at Ascot could really help. Oisin Murphy Oisin Murphy will collect a fifth British Jockeys' Championship at Ascot on Saturday afternoon. The Kerry-born rider has endured what he calls a 'rollercoaster' year, but he has knuckled down and faced his demons, whilst navigating his way to another jockeys' title. "I always want to ride better, and I'd love to be riding at a 25% strike-rate every month," he said this week. "But I can pick up that trophy on Saturday with some sort of pleasure and I can be proud of what I've done since the 1st of May." Champions Day hasn't always proved the happiest hunting ground for Murphy, who says the occasion is typically dominated by Coolmore or Godolphin. This time around his mounts include the Andrew Balding-trained Never So Brave, one of his Royal Ascot winners this summer, in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes where Field Of Gold is favourite. He starts off on Sir Albert for Balding in the Qipco British Champions Day Two-Year-Old Conditions Stakes, before getting the leg up on Flora Of Bermuda in the Champions Sprint Stakes for the Clarehaven handler. John & Thady Gosden's Danielle is Murphy's partner in the Fillies & Mares Stakes and he'll be on Almeric for Balding in the Champion Stakes, the least exposed runner in the race and winner of three of his four stars so far. The champion jockey rounds off by partnering Shout for Simon & Ed Crisford in the Balmoral Handicap. Joey Sheridan Across at Leopardstown Joey Sheridan has a fine book of rides, notably partnering a few for Willie Mullins. In the last 12 months Sheridan has ridden two winners for the Closutton chief, doubling his tally of rides for the yard along the way. The Tipperary-born pilot will have a chance to shine at Leopardstown this weekend. He's on Sharkeyboy in a valuable maiden early on for Mullins and then partners once-raced winner Thread Of Gold in the Group 3 Eyrefield Stakes. Sheridan also has chances on debutante Croi Gra for Natalia Lupini in the 7f maiden and in the concluding nursery on last-time-out winner Iamimmaculate for Gerard O'Leary.
