Champions day at Ascot: Who might ship to the Breeders' Cup?

Champions day at Ascot on Saturday, designed as the great end-of-year showcase for the sport in Britain, is separated by only three weeks from the Breeders’ Cup, an interval that does not make it particularly suitable for horses to recover, travel and acclimate.

Here's a look at the likely contenders to travel.

Champion Stakes (G1), 11 a.m. EDT

This has been designed as the swan song for the great Baaeed, off to stud after bidding to stretch his unbeaten record to 11 races and giving the Breeders’ Cup a miss.

His main rival for Saturday’s centerpiece is certainly a contender for Keeneland, though, with last year’s Epsom Derby (G1) winner Adayar fresh after a troubled season with minor injuries. The 10 furlongs of Saturday’s big race, even on the stiff circuit at Ascot, is probably insufficient for an enormously talented colt who won the Derby and King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Stakes (G1) over a mile and a half last year, as well as finishing fourth in a high-class edition of the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe (G1).

He is likely to have no answer to the raw miling speed of Baaeed, but the race could be the ideal way to set Adayar up to stretch back out in the Breeders’ Cup Turf. It would be his third race of the campaign, ideal timing to perform at his peak, and he would bring more class to the table than any of Charlie Appleby’s other contenders for the race.

“If he gets beat and finishes second (at Ascot), do we look towards the Breeders’ Cup as well? It wouldn’t worry me traveling with him and he has fresh legs, but we’ll get Champions Day out of the way first,” Appleby said in the build-up to Saturday’s contest.

Appleby also could call upon Nations Pride, winner of two legs of the Turf Triple – the Saratoga Derby (G1) and Jockey Club Derby (G3) – and Rebel’s Romance, who has been making hay after a switch to the lawn, winning four straight including two Grade 1s in Germany over a mile and a half.

If the best of the home defense is the admittedly wonderful mare War Like Goddess, it’s not hard to see Appleby going back-to-back after Yibir’s victory 12 months ago with any of his options. And there’s always time for a pop quiz: who was the last Epsom Derby winner to win at the Breeders’ Cup? High Chaparral, in the 2003 Turf.

Given that he runs in the familiar two-tone green silks of owner Peter Brant, there is a chance that Champion Stakes long shot Stone Age also will come over for the Breeders’ Cup Turf. Stone Age finished ahead of Nations Pride in the Belmont Derby (G1), and although he hasn’t looked a natural 1 1/2-mile runner, it would be no great surprise to see him accompanying last year’s Turf runner-up Broome across the pond.

Queen Elizabeth II Stakes (G1), 10:20 a.m. EDT

What is arguably the mile championship of Europe can be easily perceived this year as a match between 3-year-olds Inspiral and Modern Games, although there are obviously alternatives. But no matter what the outcome is, only the latter has relevance for the Breeders’ Cup.

Inspiral needs time between her races and suffered the only defeat of her life off a three-week break; next year’s Breeders’ Cup is the long-term plan. She is regarded as the best that the powerful Cheveley Park Stud machine has ever bred, so she’ll be worth the wait.

Short-term, Modern Games is expected to take his chance in the Breeders’ Cup Mile and earned a golden ticket to the race when romping in last month’s Woodbine Mile (G1) by 5 1/2 lengths ahead of Ivar, who did his bit for the strength of the form when runner-up to Annapolis in last weekend’s Turf Mile (G1) at Keeneland.

Modern Games is of course famous/infamous for winning last year’s Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf after being withdrawn because of an incident in the gate, then reinstated and running for purse money only. If Annapolis can be regarded as the best of the home team, then his Keeneland conquering of Ivar and Irish challenger Order Of Australia gives him plenty to find on form with Modern Games, who is 3-for-4 at a mile with his only defeat coming behind the outstanding Baaeed in the Sussex Stakes (G1) at Goodwood in July.

“He’s been there and done it as a juvenile and been over to Canada as well,” Appleby told Sky Sports. “If we take in Champions Day, then that would be an extra race for him, and perfectly doable, but his main target is the Breeders' Cup Mile.”

The other main European hope for the Mile is Kinross, who was entered for Saturday’s race but withdrawn at the first forfeit stage, although he still holds an entry in the British Champions Sprint (G1).

He resembles last year’s Mile winner Space Blues in that he’s a seven-furlong specialist who can stretch out, and he is coming off an impressive success over that distance in the Prix de la Foret (G1) in the mud at Longchamp.

“I’ve always fancied him for the Breeders’ Cup Mile,” said trainer Ralph Beckett, and a rainy race-week at Keeneland would increase his chance considerably.

British Champions Sprint Stakes (G1), 9 a.m. EDT

European champion sprinter-elect Highfield Princess is an absentee as she is heading straight for the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint, giving Saturday’s race at Ascot a second-tier appearance.

Charlie Appleby has not mentioned his fancied pair Creative Force and Naval Crown in dispatches for the Breeders’ Cup, and multiple Group 1 winner Perfect Power wouldn’t be suited by cutting back to 5 1/2 furlongs at Keeneland, although he has had a reasonably light campaign and it could be an option.

It would be quite something to see Temple Stakes (G2) winner King’s Lynn represent King Charles III at the Breeders’ Cup, but even if he performs well on Saturday it’s very hard to imagine him troubling last year’s winner Golden Pal and Highfield Princess.

British Champions Fillies & Mares Stakes (G1), 9:40 a.m. EDT

It’s a similar story among the distaffers, with the disparity in distance between Ascot (1 1/2 miles) and Keeneland (1 3/16 miles) meaning that there is not a lot of crossover potential between the two.

Saturday’s field is generally deep in stamina, and it’s difficult to see anything having the speed to lay up in and figure prominently in the relative speed test of the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf. Perhaps Mise En Scene – on the also-eligible list – might be considered, given that her best recent form has come at a mile and a quarter and that she travelled to Del Mar last year for the Juvenile Fillies Turf, coming home 10th behind Pizza Bianca but not beaten far in a blanket finish, a fair effort from the 13 hole.

The future-book favorite Nashwa is going straight to the U.S. after finishing runner-up to upset winner Place Du Carrousel in the 1 1/4-mile Prix de l’Opera (G1) at Longchamp and a place ahead of Above The Curve, both of whom are also candidates for the transatlantic trip.

Her trainer, Andre Fabre, said of Place Du Carrousel that “the Breeders’ Cup is an option,” and Joseph O’Brien is ‘thinking’ about the Breeders’ Cup for the Coolmore-owned Above The Curve, who wasn’t best suited by the quagmire at the Paris track.

Steve Dennis is a free-lance racing writer based in the U.K. He was a senior writer for Racing Post for 16 years and is the author of the book The History of Horse Racing in 100 Objects.