Nick Luck
Nick Luck’s William Hill blog: British Champions Day 2026 Best Bets
William Hill ambassador Nick Luck delivers his best bets for Ascot’s British Champions Day.
Saturday, Ascot
The opening race (12:55) on British Champions Day can go to Speed Of Sound, who’s a pretty big price. I thought she ran an extremely good race in the Rockfel Stakes at Newmarket, looking like the winner deep inside the final furlong, but just failing to get home. This stiff six furlongs, by contrast, should be perfect for her. And on her previous sales race form, she doesn’t have too much to find with a couple who are much shorter in the betting. Clearly Arapaho Gold sets a good standard, but he’s a short enough price for a horse who’s not entirely straightforward, and I think at each-way play on Speed Of Sound may be more rewarding.
It’s each-way at big odds again in the Long Distance Cup (13:30). Loads of horses can be given a chance here, but the pin has fallen on Amiloc to finally deliver on last season’s promise after what’s been a stop-start season. It must be pointed out that his best efforts in his career have come at Ascot, at the Royal meeting in 2025 and at the corresponding fixture this year when he was rather unlucky not to finish a good bit closer in the Hardwicke. Everything about his career has suggested he wants a trip and whilst he’s not conclusively proven as a stayer, I thought he gave enough notice earlier in the campaign that he could excel over a distance. Now, he’s got headgear on, something that he’s always looked like he wants, and he’s coming into the race with a confidence-boosting win under his belt. He might well be able to deliver quite a bit more.
Again, I’m going for a big price each-way pick in the Sprint (14:05) in the shape of Samangan, who I thought, on the face of it, was a bit disappointing in the Prix de la Foret. Closer inspections suggest he was too far back in a pace-led affair. His earlier win in the Prix Maurice de Gheest owed more to his speed than his ability to stay any sort of distance, and therefore I think that a drop back to six furlongs will suit. I don’t expect him to be too far away from the pace here in a race where, unusually, there aren’t too many obvious trailblazers. I suspect that he’ll be ridden a bit more prominently than he was at Longchamp. He’s a talented horse, he’s a Group One winner, and he’s too big a price.
It’s really hard to get away from Kalpana in the Fillies and Mares (14:40). I appreciate that she’s a very short price, but that was another excellent run in the Arc on a track that I don’t really think plays to her strengths. She’s been brilliant here the last two years and her Ascot record exceeds her form anywhere else. This could easily and should be a glorious swansong for her.
I like the claims of Zeus Olympios in the QEII (15:20). He’s been campaigned at Group One level all season and he’s not yet run a bad race. It should be noted that he really flourished come the autumn last year and he could be one of those horses that just gets better as the year progresses. He probably should have won the Prix du Moulin last time, and was beaten by a talented horse, but his rider lost his whip about a furlong out and if he had won that he’d be a much shorter prize here. Ascot seems to hold no fears for him judged on the way he ran in the Queen Anne. He’ll get a stronger pace to aim at here which will suit too. He looks a real staying miler to me, and I think finally he’ll get the test that he wants and he’ll get the reward that his talent warrants.
I’m big on Bay City Roller in the Champion Stakes (16:00). I think he’s a huge prize for what he’s achieved. He put in a brilliant run in the Arc – there was no fluke about it. He did it from a wide draw and he did it on a sound surface. The idea that he’s just a one-dimensional mudlark has been well and truly blown out of the water and you could make a strong case that he’s the only horse who actually comes here in the form of his life and at the peak of his powers. I don’t think Calandagan’s been quite the same this season, notwithstanding sinking in the mud at Epsom. Ombudsman was clearly brilliant at Royal Ascot but has to put a dull effort at York behind him. I’m pretty sure that the selection is going to make this a significant enough test that it could just find out any lack of stamina in one or two of the principles.
I’ll give Colori Forever a sporting shot of landing the Balmoral (16:35). He’s been campaigned in Group races since he bolted up here in the spring and this is his first run in a handicap since. Still, I don’t think he’s badly treated off a mark of 103 and he has Ryan Moore’s services today. He probably should have won or gone close to winning a Group Three at Haydock a couple of starts ago but was given too much to do and you can easily forgive his latest effort at Newmarket where he got detached from in a very early stage and was never really in the hunt. Albeit he was completely outclassed. This is a much, much more suitable race for him. I think he’ll appreciate the likely set-up and clearly has the right man on board to execute the tactics required.
