Read our British Champions Day preview part two
Published:Despite the calibre of runners taking part across the whole of the Ascot card, Frankel has taken all of the headlines.
Here we feature his chances in the Champion Stakes, alongside the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes and the Future Stars Apprentice Handicap in the second part of our preview.
15:30 – Carlton House @ 10/1
Excelebration is the obvious selection as Frankel is the only horse to have beaten him since he lost on his racecourse debut 13 starts ago.
Furthermore, Aidan O’Brien’s runner beat leading rivals here Cityscape and Elusive Kate in a Group One in Deauville last time.
The forgotten horse of this race is Carlton House, who has not built on the form from early in his career when sent off favourite for the Epsom Derby last year.
However, he has had excuses in some instances and if the early pace is strong here, he can get involved.
16:05 – Frankel @ 2/9
No doubt this is Frankel’s toughest challenge, but the fact that the ground does not seem too heavy at Ascot should ensure that he can be sent to stud with a record of 14 wins from 14 outings.
The current soft ground is more favoured to defending champion Cirrus Des Aigles and he will pose a strong challenge if the heavy favourite is below par for whatever reason.
Nathaniel is a battler, but these skills may not be much use here and there is certainly little chance of repeating the run that saw him get within a length of Frankel when they both made their debuts in the summer of 2010.
16:45 – Kaldoun Kingdom @ 25/1
29 runners and a bit of a puzzler for punters, although horses weighing 9st3lbs have won the last three renewals.
Atlantic Sport fits this bill this time and is an interesting candidate at 20/1, given that three of his four career victories have been on soft ground and he has been dropped to a career-low mark.
Kaldoun Kingdom is another that may prove overpriced at 25/1 as connections have made the decision to step him up to 7f and assuming his stamina holds out, he will be finishing arguably better than anything.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.
