Expert horse racing betting tips for Saturday, October 18th 2025

Champions Day brings down the curtain on another fantastic flat season this Saturday, with a plethora of top-class fields set to duel at Ascot in front of a capacity crowd.

Our Punters Panel are back to expertly guide you through the action – and also take a look at big pot over at Catterick!

Introducing the Odds Now Horse Racing Punters Panel

Before we get stuck in, here’s a little bit more on the four men answering our key questions this week:

SD - The self-proclaimed ‘star of the show’ on Races Now, who has been going viral with his daily tips and betting ring analysis over the past year.

Adam Smith - A betting industry veteran, flat lover and one half of our Races Now double act.

Harry Fowler - Another of Odds Now’s regular racing contributors, currently working in the industry.

Lee Jones - Racing trader at a leading bookmaker and well-respected judge in betting circles.

Dale Nicholls - Long-term friend of Races Now and all-weather lover who is a regular on the panel. Tipped the 25/1 winner of the Northumberland Plate this summer.

Only one place to start! Can you give us your best bet in the Catterick Dash (1.20 pm)?

SD: A fascinating renewal of Saturday’s feature contest. Vintage Clarets is, of course, bidding for the hat trick in this great race, but the ground is vastly different in this year's absorbing affair. The one on the up is Lexington Blitz, who was most unfortunate to face an enterprisingly ridden Copper Knight last time and offers an upside in terms of being unexposed. He looks equal to the task.

AS: Absolutely no idea on this one. One to follow SD!

HF: Fair to say this race wasn’t at the top of my list on Saturday's action, but I thought Venture Capital had a good chance. Won back in April off this same mark of 90, has been running well in races, last time I thought the ground may have just been slightly too testing.

LJ: Ask SD! The race is an average handicap which wouldn't look out of place on a Wolverhampton evening meeting to be honest.

DN: Curious Rover has shown course and distance form, has beaten some at the head of the market, and has been ridden somewhat suspect the last twice to potentially preserve a mark. It’s not a race I will play as there are claimers all over the shop.

Let's get into the Champions Day action, then. Who wins the Long Distance Cup (12.55 pm)?

SD: Trawlerman is the most likely, but value is a pursuit that is never-ending. The advantages of backing Sweet William, a horse who is in the form of his life, has less runs and is a year younger than Trawlerman, are that he is a much bigger price than his stablemate. He was in front of a jaded Trawlerman in this last year. Stay True is promising, but may lack stamina.

AS: Trawlerman is head and shoulders above these. Sweet William was in career-best form last time, to be fair, and will chase him home. Stay True could well be a very good animal next year. Is he ready for this on his fifth career start? Probably not.

HF: I’m not going to try to be creative. Trawlerman will win; he’s been dominant in this division, and I don’t expect that to change. Sweet William looked good in the Doncaster Cup, but I think he needs softer ground to overturn this favourite like he did last year. I think Sweet William without Trawlerman at 13/8 looks a fair bet and expect him to go off second favourite.

LJ: I think Trawlerman will win, but the bet for me is Sweet William in the 'without the favourite' market. I think he can sit off a strong pace and pick up the pieces when the rest have had enough.

DN: Trawlerman was mighty impressive at the Royal meeting, and you can’t see past him. Stay True needs a proper ride, and they are likely testing the waters here heading into next year, but Illinois will be their leading charge in the staying division, so I think they are probably just throwing him in based on a depleted field size. Nonetheless, tick this one off for team blue. Maybe Sunway can try hurdling with Ambiente Friendly after this.

The Champion Sprint (2.05 pm) looks competitive as ever. What's your fancy?

SD: It’s tricky. I know Lazzat is seen by many as top-notch, but the form of his Cork and Orrery wins isn’t great. The second was beaten at a short price in Japan last time, and those behind aren’t much cop. It makes a change things going from Britain to France, rather than vice versa, albeit not on a dinghy this time, but Rayveka has had his best performance here and might just surprise a few in a division where they all seem to beat each other. His unexposed nature and best run being here offer hope.

AS: Lazzat is the class act here. You could spend an hour trying to find an angle against him, but then be surprised when you see they let the best horse in the race go off at 4/1 (current odds) and you didn't back it. Lazzat's Jubilee win over course and distance in June is by far and away the best bit of sprinting form in Europe this year; he's a bet at 4/1. I tipped No Half Measures last week at 66/1, so I will cheer that in hope rather than expectation.

HF: I like last year’s 5th Montassib. I think he was a tad unfortunate last year, the only horse drawn in single figures to finish in the top 7. He has only had the one run this season, and that was last month, where he was eye-catching coming from out the back and staying on strongly over the shorter 5 furlongs. It looked like a clear prep run for this, and with the way this division has been this season, you can’t be confident in the ones that have run more than once.

LJ: In what is a really tough race, I'd side with Kind Of Blue, who along with Motassib are the only two horses in the field where this has clearly been their major target all season long.

DN: Montassib blew off the cobwebs last time out and may have been angled towards this. Big Mojo got the golden highway at Haydock last time, but one who has been unlucky in running a few times this year is Flora of Bermuda. I have said for some time now she will land a big one, and does have Oisin steering here, so will be well fancied in the market.

Who rates as the best bet in the Fillies and Mares Stakes (2.45 pm)?

SD: I thought it was fairly simple. For all the cries from the cheap seats about Kalpana wanting soft ground, it certainly wasn’t the case when she ran so well in the King George. She has a significant class edge on some of these and has less to prove than all.

AS: This is a no-bet race for me. Some ran just two weeks ago at Longchamp, including the favourite. Estrange wants soft ground; Wardaah might be good, but is unproven.

HF: Kalpana to me looks a solid favourite, she may prefer softer ground, but unlike the likes of Estrange and Waardah, she doesn’t depend on it. Second in the King George on rattling ground doesn’t to me look like she depends on softer ground. A good run in the Arc last time, where she was wide, and it’s one of the biggest draw races around, and she wasn’t drawn great. I do also fancy Bedtime Story at a price each way. Given some strange rides this season when second string.

LJ: Kalpana. I think she will get to the front in what is a race lacking pace. She should be able to quicken when she likes and win it as a result.

DN: I’ve been dead against Kalpana at every turn this year. But I actually thought the Arc run showed some promise. Barely had any cover all race, then stayed on reasonably well for a respectable 7th. Giavelleto solidified their form, finishing further up the pack. Kalpana can retain her crown.

Field Of Gold heads the market for an intriguing QEII Stakes (3.25 pm). How are you playing this one?

SD: Field Of Gold is the most likely, but it is a race complicated by a conundrum for well-being for him. If he’s somewhere near his best, he ought to win. Rosallion has had more excuses than a Labour government, so maybe Factor Cheval, ridden in most unpleasing fashion here latest and Never So Brave can offer some resistance. But the question marks mean I’m unlikely to bother wagering.

AS: A massive field of 16. Field Of Gold is the headline act, but he needs to prove his fitness after a setback and his form against older horses. Nonetheless, he's the one to beat. I'm taking a swing on January at 100/1. Should have won the Falmouth, a head behind Fallen Angel (8/1 for this) in France, very flat in the Matron, then mullered at Longchamp two weeks ago on ground that was too soft and a trip too far. Her dam was second in this at 33/1 seven years ago. Tongue tie on. Worth a go at a whopping price.

HF: I have to be with Field Of Gold; he produced one of the performances of the season here in June. He had excuses at Goodwood, but we haven’t seen him since, so well-being could be an issue. The one I think will win has to be him; the rest of the field doesn’t exactly excite me.

LJ: No major opinion on this race but I do fancy Alakazi to run well and I'll end up playing him in the place markets.

DN: I think Rosallion at 5/1 Monday was a steal. He underperformed at York, but that was over seven after a setback in France the week prior. Field Of Gold, I think, may be preserved for a 4yo campaign and therefore also may not run to his peak; it’s been unusually quiet from the Gosden yard. Rosallion, in what will inevitably be his swan song appearance, will finally bag that elusive Group One as a four-year-old.

Finally, can you give us your winner of the Champion Stakes (4.05 pm)?

SD: A three-horse race may be a folly summary. Ombudsman is probably the best of the big three, albeit with finite margins. Fox Legacy is largely unconsidered, but he is improving at such a rate of knots that he might well surprise the lot of them all.

AS: The best race on British soil this year. I cannot split the big three. Sit back and enjoy.

HF: This looks like an absolute classic. I've been backwards and forwards with Ombudsman and Calandagan. I’ve landed on the latter. He’s a horse that struggled with seconditis, as he did in this race last season. That was on softer ground, and connections have always said he is better on a better surface. He drops in trip, but this will surely be a well-run race with the pacemaker/s in the race, and I go back to his Juddmonte run last season. The winner, City Of Troy, broke the track record, and this lad was only a length back. It’s going to be some race between the top 3 and the race of the season for sure.

LJ: Delacroix is extremely well fancied and the fact they are opting to run him here should be taken note of. I think in what could be a tactical race, he will go forward and ask the rest to try and quicken past him.

DN: Ombudsman for me. I’m dead against Delacroix, given that he was trounced in his two biggest races this season on UK soil, I struggle to make a compelling case. He beat Anmaat by only a length in an Irish Champion that is being hyped up beyond belief. Calandagan will be the closest pursuer. But another one for the boys in blue here for me.