Ginger Joe - Betting Tips for Saturday 19 October 2024

Two winners for Champions Day at Ascot

Coming up on Saturday is Champions Day at Ascot, and we have a truly fantastic day of racing on this card. Here I’ll bring you my two best bets and I’m really hoping that we can end the Flat season in style.

I’m starting off with an each way selection in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes, where I’ve found a runner that looks well over-priced to me. This is a horse who has finished incredibly close to Rosallion and a repeat performance will see him go very close. But my NAP of the day comes in the Champion Stakes. This is a gelding who looks more than ready to win in Group 1 company, and has form that commands serious respect here.

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15:15 - Qipco Queen Elizabeth II Stakes (Group 1) 1m - Henry Longfellow @ 7/1 (EW)

My EW selection for the Queen Elizabeth Stakes is an interesting one. And there’s no denying that there are some great horses in this field. Charyn has been a seriously smart horse this year, and has continued to improve all the way too, but the soft conditions will not be ideal for him, and he is much too short in the market because of that factor alone. Then we have Tamfana, who is an outstanding mare and certainly on an upward curve, but this is a much deeper race than her last contest, and I’m not convinced that she has what is needed to win here.

So, I’m going with Henry Longfellow, who looks more than ready to put his best foot forward to me. He has been a shade disappointing in his last efforts I will readily admit, but a return to the mile at Ascot should suit him very well indeed. When he last ran here at Ascot, he finished in second, just a neck behind Rosallion, who is one of the best over the mile. A return to that form could easily see Henry Longfellow very tough to beat here. He is well worth an each way punt here.

15:55 - Qipco Champion Stakes (Group 1) 1m 2f - Calandagan @ 11/8 (NAP)

My NAP bet of the day runs in the Qipco Champion Stakes and what a fantastic lineup there is here. Los Angeles finished third in the Arc behind Bluestocking two weeks ago, and he represents a solid each way bet. He may find one or two too good here, but he is a classy horse who could still have some more improvement to come. Economics has won four on the spin for the Haggas team, and topped it off with a win in the Group 1 Irish Champion Stakes. He was seriously game to get his head in front at the finish and will be hard to beat, but he may be found lacking if tactics come into this race.

The French raider, Calandagan, is my top pick here. He has improved run-for-run and absolutely stands out as the likeliest winner in my eyes. He is a very good traveller and seems to have a better turn of foot than his rivals, which I think is the factor that gets his head in front. Conditions seem to have come in his favour for this contest, and his latest effort (where he finished just a length behind City Of Troy) gives him extremely strong credentials. There is no doubt that this will be a very competitive race, and we will see Calandagan at his best here, making him my best bet of the day. He certainly deserves to get a Group 1 on his already impressive resume.

Betting tips for Ascot Champions Day👇

• 15:15 Ascot - Henry Longfellow @ 7/1 (EW)
• 15:55 Ascot - Calandagan @ 11/8 (NAP)

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