QIPCO British Champions Day: Tips and analysis for the Balmoral Handicap at Ascot on Saturday

THERE are five Group races on a star-studded Champions Day card at Ascot this weekend.

But one of the big betting races of the day is the valuable Balmoral Handicap which brings the curtain down on the meeting.

Horses to watch

Lord North heads the betting following his impressive victory in the Cambridgeshire at Newmarket.

John Gosden’s lightly-raced improver will no doubt prove popular with punters under Frankie Dettori, but he has a 12lb higher mark and different ground conditions to defy now.

Kynren finally won his big pot when landing the Challenge Stakes over 7f here earlier this month following several near misses.

He carries a 6lb penalty but the return to a mile won’t be an issue for David Barron’s five-year-old. He was fifth in this last year off 8lb lower, however.

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Amedeo Modigliano and Dunkirk Harbour represent Aidan O’Brien.

The former hasn’t quite lived up to expectations this term but could be dangerous off a mark of 98, while the latter bolted up in heavy ground at Limerick last weekend, though the opposition wasn’t up to much.

Gosden’s Casanova was found out off this mark last time (and he will need quite a few to come out to make the cut), so of more interest is his other runner Kick On who drops into a handicap having won a Group 3 on his last start.

Clon Coulis is a fascinating contender having failed by the width of a fag paper to overhaul Afaak in the Hunt Cup over C&D at Royal Ascot.

Makzeem has an engine and won’t mind a bit of cut, Commander Cole is steadily improving and gets the services of top apprentice Cieren Fallon and mud lover Mitchum Swagger has dropped to a good mark for the red-hot Beckett yard.

How the race will be run

As with most big-field handicaps over the straight track at Ascot, there should be a strong pace.

Turgenev, who so nearly made all in the Britannia at the Royal meeting, Dunkirk Harbour and Coolagh Forest are all potential pace angles.

It’s proven very difficult to lead from pillar to post over the straight mile at Ascot, with these sort of races often won by a fast-finisher.

The combination of a strong gallop and testing ground means the hold-up horses will come into play.

Betting advice

CLON COULIS suffered an agonising defeat in the Royal Hunt Cup over C&D earlier in the season.

She was given a typical Jamie Spencer waiting ride, but she was left with a shade too much to do as Afaak held on grimly.

She loves to get her toe in, so the forecast conditions are no concern, and she will get the strong gallop she craves.

She has slipped back to the same mark that she raced off at the Royal meeting and Spencer, who is different gravy over this trip at Ascot, is already booked to ride.

The Gosden pair Lord North and Kick On look the biggest dangers, with the latter feared most now taking a drop in class for the meeting sponsors.