Balmoral Handicap Target for Daysofourlives
It's British Champions Day and fantastic racing to enjoy this Saturday afternoon.
Oisin Murphy will be crowned British champion jockey for the fourth time at Ascot today. He has his demons for sure and fair play to the man for coming back so strong to dominate this seasons jockeys title.
We take aim at the fina race at Ascot which is the Balmoral Heritage Handicap.
Daysofourlives remains lightly races this season off the back of four runs. He has course and distance form having ran a stormer to finish fourth in the Royal Hunt Cup in June. A strong stayer at this trip he returned in September with a win over ten furlongs at Doncaster with Jack Mitchell riding. The runner up at Doncaster was non other than Liberty Lane who went on to win twice at Newmarket including in the Cambridgeshire. Daysofourlives is drawn well in stall 6. He remains unexposed off a light campaign for trainer Marco Botti.
David O’Meara has a good record in winning this race. Two years ago, it was 80-1 shot Shelir that won for the stable. David has three runners tomorrow of which I am keen on Bopedro. This horse finished strongly to claim fourth place last year off a 6lb higher mark. He is the choice of stable jockey David Tudhope and handles testing going fine. Bopedro has run two big races recently when second to Johan over a mile at Goodwood. Last time out he finished strongly here over 7f on soft ground to place third. A return to a mile on testing ground will help Bopedro who looks nicely treated off a mark of 96, carrying 8-12.
Of the rest, both Lattam and Toimy Son were on my shortlist. Lattam is relatively fresh and enjoys cut in the ground. Toimy Son remains in great form running well at Newmarket in the Cambridgeshire.
Ascot 4:35
0.5 point each way Daysofourlives 8/1 Bet365 else 15/2 William Hill, 5 places
0.5 point each way Bopedro 11/1 generally, 5 places
Compare Odds at https://www.oddschecker.com/horse-racing
Best of Luck,
Nicky
Past Results
Click to see past Big Saturday Race Preview Tips results
British Champions Day
History
It was created by drawing together a number of historic races which had been features of Ascot and Newmarket's end of season meetings for many years. These were the Diadem Stakes and Queen Elizabeth II Stakes from Ascot, and the Champion Stakes, Jockey Club Cup and Pride Stakes from Newmarket. In the new fixture, these became the finals of each of the divisions of the British Champions Series.
The Queen Elizabeth II Stakes and Champion Stakes retained their names and became the finals of the Mile and Middle Distance divisions respectively. The Diadem Stakes became the British Champions Sprint, the Jockey Club Cup became the British Champions Long Distance Cup, and the Pride Stakes became the British Champions Fillies' and Mares' Stakes.
Races
| Race Name | Grade | Distance | Age/Sex | Prize Money |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| British Champions Long Distance Cup | Group 2 | 2m | 3yo + | £300,000 |
| British Champions Sprint Stakes | Group 1 | 6f | 3yo + | £600,000 |
| British Champions Fillies' and Mares' Stakes | Group 1 | 1m 4f | 3yo + FM | £550,000 |
| Queen Elizabeth II Stakes | Group 1 | 1m | 3yo + | £1,100,000 |
| Champion Stakes | Group 1 | 1m 2f | 3yo + | £1,300,000 |
| Balmoral Handicap | Handicap | 1m | 3yo + | £250,000 |
Balmoral Heritage Handicap Winners Over The Past 10 years
|
Year
|
Winner [draw]
|
Age
|
WGT
|
SP
|
Trainer
|
Jockey
|
RPR
|
|
The Gatekeeper [4]
|
4
|
8-12
|
25/1
|
105
|
|||
|
Shelir [11]
|
6
|
9-5
|
80/1
|
114
|
|||
|
Aldaary [11]
|
3
|
9-6
|
7/2
|
119
|
|||
|
Njord [4]
|
4
|
9-5
|
15/2
|
113
|
|||
|
Escobar [21]
|
5
|
9-6
|
16/1
|
115
|
|||
|
Sharja Bridge [8]
|
4
|
9-5
|
8/1
|
115
|
|||
|
Lord Glitters [3]
|
4
|
9-3
|
3/1F
|
113
|
|||
|
Yuften [1]
|
5
|
9-1
|
12/1
|
111
|
|||
|
Musaddas [4]
|
5
|
8-2
|
7/1
|
106
|
|||
|
Bronze Angel [10]
|
5
|
9-2
|
20/1
|
116
|
Best of Luck,
Nicky