Stradivarius out to extend winning run at Ascot

Star stayer lines up in the Long Distance Cup

Stradivarius will face nine rivals as he bids to extend his winning run to 11 in the Qipco British Champions Long Distance Cup at Ascot on Saturday.

John Gosden’s top-notch stayer has been in a league of his own since he last tasted defeat in this race two years ago.

He won this contest 12 months ago and is set to go again, as long as trainer John Gosden is happy with track conditions when he walks the course on Saturday.

Gosden has a second string to his bow in September Stakes scorer Royal Line while Bin Battuta, Cleonte, Mekong and Withhold complete the home contingent.

Aidan O’Brien is staging a three-pronged assault with Capri, Kew Gardens and South Pacific while Max Dynamite, trained by Willie Mullins, completes the field.

Dee Ex Bee, runner-up to Stradivarius three times this season, was one of the four withdrawals at the 48-hour final declaration stage along with Pilaster, Delphinia and South Sea Pearl.

Anapurna and Star Catcher, winners of the English and Irish Oaks respectively, give Gosden a formidable hand in the Qipco British Champions Fillies & Mares Stakes.

Both have shown their well-being recently, with Star Catcher taking the Prix Vermeille on her last start and Anapurna the Prix de Royallieu.

O’Brien is responsible for four of the 10 runners – Delphinia, Fleeting, Pink Dogwood and South Sea Pearl – while Dermot Weld provides the other Irish-trained runner in Tarnawa.

The last three winners of the Qipco British Champions Sprint Stakes – Sands Of Mali, Librisa Breeze and The Tin Man – are going for glory again after all 17 five-day entries were declared for the Qipco British Champions Sprint Stakes.

Star three-year-olds Advertise, successful in the Commonwealth Cup and Prix Maurice de Gheest, and Hello Youmzain, winner of Haydock’s Sprint Cup, have headed the ante-post betting with dual Prix de la Foret victor One Master.

Make A Challenge is doing just that for Irish trainer Denis Hogan after being supplemented for £40,000 following an impressive victory at the Curragh on Sunday.

Others in the mix include Brando, Cape Byron, Donjuan Triumphant, Dream Of Dreams and Mabs Cross.

The Gosden-trained Lord North, emphatic winner of the Cambridgeshire, tops the weights for the Balmoral Handicap for which a maximum field of 20 was declared plus three reserves.

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