QIPCO British Champions Day — Copybet

We won’t get rich at the price, but John and Thady Gosden’s TRAWLERMAN is very hard to oppose in the opening Group 1 Long Distance Cup, a race the gelding won in 2023.

The seven-year-old has looked better than ever this season and ran out an imperious winner of the Ascot Gold Cup over 2m4f at the Royal Meeting in June, finishing a long way ahead of his reopposing stablemate Sweet William, whom he also defeated in the Group 2 Lonsdale Cup at York under a 3lb penalty.

He has no penalty to overcome on this occasion and looks a real standout, both on the ratings and on form.

Stay True, one of two three-year-olds in the race for Aidan O’Brien and third in the St Leger on his last start, is a potential fly in the ointment in receipt of his weight-for-age allowance, but stamina isn’t assured over this far, particularly on a track as stiff as Ascot.

It’s hard to know just how much the Arc took out of Kalpana, but with less than a fortnight between her seventh in Longchamp and this Champion Fillies And Mares Stakes, she might just prove vulnerable.

Estrange missed the Arc after scoping dirty, but there are doubts about her too, given that she really looks in need of soft ground. The same can be said for the lightly raced Waardah, so it may pay to take a chance on Aidan O’Brien’s BEDTIME STORY.

The three-year-old was hugely impressive when running away with Listed Chesham Stakes here last season before landing successes back in Ireland in both Group 3 and Group 2 company.

She has yet to add to those victories in six outings this year, but she’s run some excellent races, including when second in a French Oaks and when third in the Prix Vermeille.

Bedtime Story gets weight from her elders and returns to Ascot for the first time since her Chesham romp.

Andrew Balding’s FLORA OF BERMUDA is an infrequent winner (2-17), but she’s generally very consistent, her only poor run this season coming in the July Cup at Newmarket when rearing at the start and losing all chance.

She tends to do her best work in the closing stages and this stiff track should play to those stamina strengths, as it did when getting up for third behind the reopposing Lazzat in the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes over course and distance in June.

That form leaves her with a good bit to find with the French raider, but the ground won’t be as lively as it was at Royal Ascot and that should benefit Flora Of Bermuda, who was only beaten half a length behind Kind Of Blue when third in this last year.

Oisin Murphy is reunited with the daughter of Dark Angel for the first time since and should give us a run for our money at big odds.