The Irish Contenders at Ascot's Champions Day It's Qipco British Champions Day at Ascot on Saturday afternoon and there will be lots of Irish interest on a card featuring a stunning quintet of Group 1 races. Here's a look at the Irish contingent headed for Ascot's big autumn card on Saturday. 12:55 Qipco British Champions Long Distance Cup - Saratoga & Stay True Two for Aidan O'Brien in the Stayers' race as he seeks a fifth win since 2011. Stay True was third in last month's St Leger at Doncaster and gets the 3YO allowance, as does Saratoga - though he is well behind these rivals on ratings. Ascot Gold Cup winner Trawlerman is the one to catch. 1:30 Qipco British Champions Day Two-Year-Old Conditions Stakes - Kansas & Mission Central Another double helping for Ballydoyle. Wootton Bassett colt Kansas has been running well in pattern-race company and joins Mission Central as a key player on ratings. The latter is a Group 3 winner on home soil and ran well at Doncaster in last month's Flying Childers Stakes. The return to 6f should suit Christophe Soumillon's partner. 2.05 Qipco British Champions Sprint Stakes - King Cuan Paddy Twomey sends King Cuan to this Group 1 sprint off the back of a personal-best when a neck-second to Art Power — the 2023 winner of this race - in the Renaissance Stakes at the Curragh last month on soft ground. 2.45 Qipco British Champions Fillies & Mares Stakes - One Look, Ballet Slippers, Bedtime Story & Wemighttakedlongway Four Irish contenders for the Fillies' & Mares' Group 1 over a mile and a half. Ballydoyle are represented by Bedtime Story (Soumillon) and Ballet Slippers (Wayne Lordan), though both have some improvement to find on ratings. Joseph O'Brien looks to Wemighttakedlongway, the Australia filly having finished second to Minnie Hauk at the Curragh in the Irish Oaks in July and then denied just a neck in a six-way dive for the line in the Prix de l'Opera at Longchamp earlier this month. Joining them is One Look for Twomey. She was also right there in that Longchamp contest 13 days ago and gets a pair of first-time cheekpieces now with James Doyle on board again in the Wathnan silks. 3.25 Queen Elizabeth II Stakes - Alakazi, The Lion In Winter, Exactly & January Another trio of contenders for Ballydoyle. Fillies Exactly (Lordan) and January (Billy Lee) are amongst the lowest-rated in the field, while Soumillon is on The Lion In Winter, an unbeaten 2YO last season but for whom this season has been a letdown as he is winless in five. The most encouraging of those runs came last time in the Prix du Moulin - now he must back that up. 4.05 Qipco Champion Stakes - Delacroix & Mount Kilimanjaro Again, it's Aidan O'Brien at the double. Mount Kilimanjaro looks to be here on pacemaker duty for Delacroix. Winner of the Eclipse at Sandown and the Irish Champion Stakes this season, he was put in his place by Ombudsman in between at York in the Juddmonte International. The score is one-one between that duo and they meet again now. 4.40 Balmoral Handicap - Orandi The sole handicap on the card rounds things off and it is Orandi for Tony Martin that brings Irish interest. The seven-year-old won the Irish Lincolnshire in March on soft ground and was only denied a half-length at Doncaster a couple of weeks later, also on soft. He ran another big race at Galway in July off 1lb higher than this, and can be forgiven a lesser effort at Ballybrit a few days later. Comes here fresh, which is ideal.
