Champion Stakes Trends

A stellar cast head to Ascot this Saturday for Champions Day and armchair fans are in for a real treat with the ITV Racing crew covering all six contests.

With four Group Ones on the card there’s bundles to look forward but surely the race of the afternoon has got to be the Qipco Champion Stakes. Okay, with just eight runners the race might lack in quantity, but it certainly makes up for that in quality.

Last year’s hero, Cracksman, heads the line-up as he looks to become the first ‘back-to-back’ winner since Twice Over (2009/10) – however, with this year’s King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes runner-up, Crystal Ocean, also heading to post he won’t have things all his own way. Add in recent Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe fifth – Capri – then it really is set to be a heavyweight contest that’s not to be missed.

You can get more help finding the winner of the Champion Stakes on our ITV Tips page

Plus, to help pin-point the best winning profile of the 2018 Champion Stakes we are on-hand with some key trends and statistics.

We hope they help you find the winner, but if you fancy a horse we’ve not featured below then simply apply these stats to that runner.

• 15 of the last 16 winners finished in the top three last time out
• 15 of the last 16 winners were aged 5 or younger
• 15 of the last 16 winners had won between four and eight times before
• 12 of the last 16 winners raced within the last six weeks
• 12 of the last 16 winners had raced five or more times that season
• 10 of the last 16 winners won their last race

Trends – Key Runners

Cracksman ✅✅✅❌❌❌

Crystal Ocean✅✅✅✅✅❌

Capri❌✅✅✅❌❌

Monarchs Glen✅✅✅❌❌❌

Trends Analysis:

Cracksman will be looking to cap-off what’s been another remarkable season for trainer John Gosden and jockey Frankie Dettori by winning this race for a second year in-a-row. If he can, he’ll be the eleventh horse since 1900 to do so. We last saw him running below-par in the Prince Of Wales’s Stakes at Royal Ascot back in June, but he did have his excuses after betting a bit excited – shall we say – before the race. He actually did well to get within two and a quarter-lengths of the winner – Poet’s Word – that day and with that horse since franking the form by winning the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes then it wasn’t all bad. Cracksman also hated the quick ground last time, so he’ll be much more at home on softer surface the Ascot track will provide this Saturday – his form with some degree of ‘soft’ in the going description reads 1-1-1-1-1! He looks sure to go off as the favourite but it’s worth noting the market leaders of this race have only won four of the last sixteen, while those looking for something else to take him on with will also notice he actually falls down on three of our six key trends. He’ll need to overcome a four-month absence but the Gosden camp are sure to have him spot-on, while despite having fifty percent of our trends against him the fact he’s unbeaten on soft ground will be a huge positive for his backers.
Age: Four, Weight: 9st 5lbs

Crystal Ocean will be hoping to give trainer, Sir Michael Stoute, his third winner in this race and being the top-rated in the field (129) he’s surely got a big say. He only got run down in the final stages in the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes back in July and wasn’t disgraced last time when runner-up to the subsequent Arc winner – Enable – at Kempton, also giving her eight pounds. From his ten starts on the turf he’s yet to finish out of the top three (five wins), plus has winning form with give in the ground. Those looking for something against his chance might cling to the fact he’s yet to win a Group One race (two tries), but his supporters will glean hope that he only gets a thumbs-down on one of our six trends – and that’s having not won last time out.
Age: Four, Weight: 9st 5lbs

With the array of talent, they’ve had over the years, it’s hard to believe that trainer, Aidan O’Brien, is currently winless in this race. They will be trying to put that right again this year with several entries, but their main hope looks to be Capri. Last year’s St Leger winner was last seen running a blinder in the Arc at Longchamp (fifth) and was leading the field until the final few furlongs. He only went down just over three lengths to the classy Enable, while the soft ground here will bring his stamina into play. He landed a Group Three over this trip at Naas earlier in the season on soft/heavy ground, so we can expect connections to race her up with the pace to try and run the finish out of the main players. The trends suggest he’s got a bit to do as he only gets positive on half of our six, plus, he’s also rated 118 so has between 7lbs and 11lbs to find with the horses already mentioned above.
Age: Four, Weight: 9st 5lbs

Monarchs Glen is also rated 118 and, therefore, has a fair bit to find with the likes of Cracksman and Crystal Ocean too, but you feel there might just be a bit more to come from this other John Gosden-trained runner in the field. He’s won three of his last four, with the most-recent of those successes the Listed Wolferton Stakes at the Royal Meeting here so we know the course suits. He’s also got a four-month absence from the track to overcome but he’s sure to be well prepared for this, while with winning form in soft ground then underfoot conditions will be fine. It really is just a case if he’s up to this level. The trends suggest he’s got a bit to find as he only ticks half of our six, but with three of the last nine winners priced between 10/1 and 14/1 then it doesn’t always pan out as the betting suggests. If all eight runners head to post, then of the slightly bigger-priced entries he could be the most interesting one.
Age: Four, Weight: 9st 5lbs

Every Ascot race covered live on ITV can be found on our Ascot Racing Tips page, with runner by runner previews for each contest.