Champions Day 2025 ante post betting tips - Focus on the Flat column – October 9th 2025

Races Now's Adam Smith checks in with the latest edition of his Focus on the Flat column, with Champions Day firmly in his sights.

Adam runs through how the key races are shaping up just over a week out and puts up two fancies including one at a huge price.

Champions Day 2025 ante post preview

Proceed with caution, punters

Champions Day presents me with an annual paradox as a flat racing lover.

It is officially the best day in the British racing calendar with a fantastic five Group One races back-to-back but without doubt a day that I approach with trepidation from a betting perspective.

It’s the end of a long season for a lot of horses, it's middle of October weather, and just two weeks after Arc weekend. Tread carefully.

The Champions Day ground becomes a major talking point year after year and they even have a contingency option of running on the inner jumps track if heavy appears in the description for the usual round track.

But fear not – we are in the midst of an unusually dry October where the Sun Chariot was ran on good to firm at Newmarket last weekend and the Cesarewitch this weekend looks set to be similar. So I’m attacking this from a good ground assumption.

Two significant changes this year to note. The Long Distance Cup has been upgraded to a Group One, rightly so, and a seventh race has been added – a £250,000 two year old conditions race over six furlongs.

No early entries for the latter but it feels like a sales type race rather than a big pot for genuine top level two year olds to compete in. I suppose the proof will be in the pudding in the coming years. 

No clear angle in Long Distance Cup yet

Trawlerman is the shortest price favourite in the ante post markets and for good reason.

Winner of the Long Distance Cup in 2023, unbeaten in three runs on British soil this year including the Gold Cup at the Royal meeting. He’s head and shoulders above his staying counterparts on these shores. It is just a question of which of his six candidates Aidan O’Brien might run against him.

Jan Brueghel should have been campaigned as a stayer this year, for all he did win the 2024 St Leger, but we haven’t seen him since the King George tactical disaster in July.

France have a possible contender in the form of Sibayan for the red hot Francis Henri Graffard yard. With nearly half of the ante post field trained by Aidan O’Brien and the home team not good enough to get near Trawlerman on everything we’ve seen this year, I could see Sibayan going off shorter than 6/1, although he will have to show he can stay the trip.

No bet at this stage for me.

An overpriced runner in the Sprint Stakes

The usual cliches regarding the top level UK sprint division are never more apt than when discussing the Champion Sprint Stakes. Big field, end of season, possible soft ground, etc, giving us a ten year average winning SP of over 15/1.

Wathnan have three of the top five in the market. Lazzat has the single standout piece of form when winning the Jubilee Stakes over course and distance in June, but it's been not so good since. Kind Of Blue won this last year and has taken four starts this year to steadily come to the boil in 2025. And Flora Of Bermuda was third last year and continues to run with credit nearly every time she runs. James Doyle will have a tough decision picking between the three should they all be declared.

The key piece of form is the Sprint Cup, where ten of the first eleven home at Haydock hold an entry here. A race in which we had a borderline farcical and predictable situation where anything drawn low had absolutely no chance of winning. As correctly called by my esteemed colleague on Races Now beforehand. Horses drawn 15, 19, 16 and 13 filled the first four places.

Maybe it is after the Lord Mayor’s Show given she won the July Cup at 66/1 and I didn’t have a penny on, but No Half Measures looks massively overpriced to me here and represents a bet. Hampered badly at a key point in the Sprint Cup. That was on quick ground, the July Cup was on quick ground, but connections have always thought she’d be better on softer ground. I thought she won the July Cup fair and square, subsequent Sprint Cup winner Big Mojo second that day.

I’m happy to put a line through Haydock and cannot have No Half Measures at a bigger price in the market than the likes of Run To Freedom, Quinault, Spycatcher, and even Inisherin. Big Mojo is 8/1 for the record.

Twenty four are currently entered in the Fillies and Mares Stakes and nine of them ran at Longchamp on Arc weekend, meaning this race will cut up for sure. Under the circumstances, Estrange is a fair 3/1 favourite having missed the Arc at the 11th hour, but you wouldn’t be in a rush to back a horse who scoped dirty 15 days before the biggest race of her life.

Last year’s winner Kalpana would be of interest if coming to defend her title, but it’s a big if given she ran in the Arc, a respectable seventh. I don’t think Danielle is a Group One horse and Waardah is the horse on the up for the best trainer in the country Owen Burrows. There is all sorts of water to pass under this ante post bridge between now and October 18th though and it could well be a small field on the day.

Brave bet in the QEII

On to the two biggies, starting with the QEII. First port of call here is Delacroix who proved himself to be properly top class in the Irish Champion Stakes last month and shut up those who doubted him, like myself.

The Ballydoyle star has three options; step back in trip for the QEII, stick to a mile and a quarter in the Champion Stakes, or retire as one of the most important stallions in years to Coolmore. The logical option is ten furlongs but the most exciting option is the QEII.

Field Of Gold is set to make a much anticipated return here following defeat at 1/3 by a pacemaker in the same silks in the Sussex Stakes. There is little doubt he was electric in his Irish 2,000 Guineas and St James’s Palace wins earlier this year, albeit the form of those races might be questionable. Can he prove his quality after a break and against his elders? Hopefully.

I can’t see Fallen Angel running. Her work has been done against her own sex already this year and fair play to her. Rosallion wants properly quick ground. Docklands clearly loves Ascot. Facteur Chaval is usually ridden idiotically in this country. Then we are in the realms of those simply not good enough.

Although I would very much like him to, Delacroix running here must be unlikely. So this is another race where the market on the day will look a lot different to what it does now. 

Never So Brave got his Group One win last time out at York and stepping back up to a mile looks the perfect spot for him. He’ll have to improve again and could, but with question marks over the Field Of Gold (recovery from setback), Delacroix (participation) and the others outlined above, I think he’s a bet at 12/1.

For the record, I can see Field Of Gold going off much shorter than 9/4 if and when the number of runners depletes. Not that I am backing him.

Finally, there's £737,230 to the winner of the Champion Stakes, where Delacoix is between 5/1 and 8/1. With or without him, this should be an absolute belter.

Ombudsman has two ten furlong Group Ones in the bag this year. Calandagan is officially best horse in Europe. Almaqam beat Onbudsman early this year and has threatened to be top class for a while. Plus the well overdue possible return of Economics.

It is a champion line up for a Champion race. Nothing standout in the Champion Stakes ante post market for me at this stage but certainly one I’m looking forward to and will be monitoring throughout race week.

Smido's ante post selections for British Champions Day 2025

0.5pt EW - No Half Measures - Champion Sprint - 66/1 (3 places, 1/5 odds)

1pt win - Never So Brave - QEII - 12/1

Total staked - 2pts

*Prices correct as of 4pm on 09/10/25