Cracksman and Roaring Lion set to headline and race separate at Ascot’s British Champions Day

It had been hoped that the pair would get to race each other in Saturday’s feature race but Roaring Lion, the winner of three successive Group One races, has instead been entered to compete in the shorter Queen Elizabeth II Stakes thanks to the softened ground at the Berkshire course.

Cracksman, who will most likely be running for the last time, is aiming for a repeat of last year’s success in the race for what would be a fitting finale. The horse will face other Gosden runners in the shape of Monarchs Glen and Maverick Wave, however the biggest threat is likely to come from Sir Michael Stoute’s Crystal Ocean.

As always though it would be wrong to rule out Irish trainer Aidan O’Brien having a say in the matter and he runs last year’s St Leger winner Capri and the Lockinge Stakes winner Rhododendron. Jim Bolger’s Verbal Dexterity, also a Group One winner, and Subway Dancer from the Czech Republic complete the field.

Now in its eighth year, British Champions Day is the richest race day in the British horseracing calendar with more than £4.5million in prize money on offer. The six-race card has been held at Ascot each October acting as the end-of-season highlight fixture of British Flat racing season. It also brings to a close the season’s QIPCO British Champions Series and will feature the end-of-season championship races for ten-furlong horses (The Champion Stakes), milers (The Queen Elizabeth II Stakes), sprinters (six furlongs), long distance horses (two miles) and fillies and mares (one mile and four furlongs).

The Queen Elizabeth II Stakes promises to be just as much an intriguing contest despite the absence of Cracksman. Roaring Lion may have taken a little time to show his full colours this season, but has recently scored a Group One hat-trick taking out the Eclipse Stakes at Sandown, the International Stakes at York and the Irish Champion Stakes, Leopardstown. On board will be a jockey enjoying a great of success to date too. Oisin Murphy not only partnered Roaring Lion to those Group One victories but has also won top-level races in Dubai, France and Germany.

One of the main challenges will comes from multiple Group One-race winning filly Laurens who will have PJ McDonald back in the saddle. McDonald missed top-level wins at Leopardstown and at Newmarket on the Karl Burke-trained filly after injuring his left ankle and the heel on his right foot in a pre-race fall at Newcastle, but he rides after Laurens was added as a late entry for the race at a cost of £70,000. Another horse to watch out for will be the French-trained Recoletos who attempts to take the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes prize to France for the third time in five years.

In the Long Distance Cup, Irish St Leger winner Flag Of Honour will be out to inflict a first defeat of the year on Gosden’s Stradivarius, whilst the trainer’s Lah Ti Dar is expected to be a prominent contender in the Fillies and Mares contest.