Ascot has switched races on Champions Day to its jumps track but the supreme Flat jockey may come out on top
When the Queen’s procession made its way down Ascot’s straight mile during the Royal meeting in June, the hurdles course on the inside of the main Flat track was a brown, parched desert. Four months later, the same strip of turf will ride to the rescue on Saturday, in an unexpected but vital role as the stage for Britain’s most valuable day at the races.
There is nearly £4.5m on offer in the six races here on Champions Day, the only British card all year which has two contests with seven-figure prize funds. Had it not been for the fallback of shifting the meeting on the hurdles track, however, then at best we would have been waking up on Saturday morning with no certainty that the card would go ahead, or make it through to the final race if it did.
Related: Oisin Murphy: ‘Now I’m champion jockey, I want to do it again’
Related: Frankie Dettori wins Gold Cup on Stradivarius for four-timer at Royal Ascot
Ascot 1.35 Mabs Cross (nb) 2.10 Stradivarius 2.45 Delphinia 3.20 Happy Power 4.00 Magical 4.40 Lord North
Continue reading...