Champions Day at Ascot Racecourse promises to be an electric day of racing this weekend, and yes we can’t wait! Make sure you tune in to see our ITV Racing tips which will be live on the website by Friday afternoon.
It promises to be a great day for trainer William Haggas as Baaeed puts his unbeaten record on the line before he retires. But Haggas is also going for the trainer’s championship and a good day on Saturday will ensure that he wins it!
With that in mind, let’s take a look at Adrian Wall’s fancy for the Balmoral Handicap and she is a massive 14-1.
Sporting the very familiar colours of Cheveley Park Stud, Bashkirova is my fancy for the Balmoral Handicap. This Pivotal filly was last seen running a poor enough race in the Group 3 Strensall Stakes at York but she was a winner of the Group 3 Elizabeth Stakes at Epsom back in June on decent ground.
With rain forecast at Ascot all week, it is important to look for a horse that enjoys the mud. On her only handicap start which was at Newmarket this time last year, she won comprehensively on soft ground that day. She ran off a mark of 92 that day and was clearly ahead of her mark. Running off 104 will be a lot tougher in this company but she is a Group horse in a handicap.
The Haggas stable have had an incredible season and after Baaeed strolls to victory on Saturday, this would be the icing on the cake. Best of luck if you have a play.
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