British Champions Day, sponsored by QIPCO and run at Ascot in England in the second half of October, is a racing programme that is now almost five years old. Given the packed calendar for top class international racing in the Fall each season, bookended by the "Arc" meeting in France at one end and the Breeders' Cup in the USA at the other, this is the only slot available for a British end-of-season championship.

Since the series commenced, there has been mixed luck with the ground conditions – last year it was heavy – but fortunately it seems that the weather gods are inclined to be relatively benevolent on this occasion and little rain is forecast between now and when the card gets away on the afternoon of Saturday, October 17^th. It will however be cloudy and somewhat chilly at around 13° Celsius.

As before, the opening contest, scheduled this year at 12:45 p.m. local time (5:15 p.m. in India) is the Gr.2 Qipco British Champions Long Distance Cup over 2 miles, which has drawn 13 runners. The event bears an open look, with nothing shorter than 5 to 1. John Gosden's Flying Officer (by Dynaformer) has been consistent barring his flop in this very event in 2014, but as that effort came on bottomless ground, he can be excused the failure. Qatar Racing's Pallasator (by Motivator), who comes off a win in the Doncaster Cup, and Agent Murphy (by Cape Cross), with Jimmy Fortune up, are others which enjoy some support.

Thirty-five minutes later, the £600,000 Gr.2 Qipco British Champions Sprint Stakes (6 fur.) has 20 declared to run, one of which, at 16 to 1, is Dr. Cyrus Poonawalla's Gordon Lord Byron (by Byron) who is back for another crack. However, he will find it hard at his age to cope with the progressive three-year-olds Muhaarar (by Oasis Dream), who is a triple Group 1 winner and hence a hot fancy at 2 to 1, and the unbeaten Twilight Son (by Kyllachy), who brings along the added attraction of Ryan Moore in the saddle, all for the generous price of 5 to 1.

The third race, due off at 1:55 p.m., is for the females of the species, who square off in the Gr.1 Qipco British Champions Fillies & Mares Stakes (12 fur.). Three four-year-olds, including last year's heroine, Madame Chiang (by Archipenko), join nine younger fillies to make up the dozen contestants, half of which have a realistic chance. The only horse to beat Golden Horn, namely Arabian Queen (by Dubawi) is weak in the market at 14 to 1, perhaps because the trip may be further than she likes. Joint favourite at 9 to 2 is the Aga Khan's Candarliya (by Dalakhani), who brings a stellar record into the race but will have to cope with a mighty challenge from the equally well-fancied Covert Love (by Azamour). Winner of the disputed St. Leger – Simple Verse – will be aiming to enhance her reputation over a shorter trip, while it would be risky to ignore the consistent Sea Calisi (by Youmzain) or Aidan O'Brien's Tapestry (by Galileo), who mixes up excellent efforts with some stinkers.  

Just nine high-class milers clash for the £1,100,000 Gr.1 Queen Elizabeth II Stakes (8 fur.) sponsored by Qipco at 2:30 p.m., but the prospect of seeing a pair of the best milers in Europe should keep racegoers enthralled. The English and Irish 2000 Guineas winner, Gleneagles (by Galileo) has missed several engagements due to ground conditions on the day and has not been seen in public for 123 days. That said – if he runs – O'Brien's pupil (and Ryan Moore's mount) is sure to be fit and well and gunning to dethrone his chief rival, the French-trained Solow (by Singspiel).

That is a task that is not going to be so easy as Freddie Head's ward, with Maxime Guyon up, is in scintillating form – the grey has not lost in eight outings since May 2014! Another from across the Channel will be Andre Fabre's Territories (by Invincible Spirit), to be ridden by Mickael Barzalona, but unless he has made unsuspected improvement, a "place" may be the most he can hope for. Integral (by Dalakhani), with Frankie Dettori up and Kodi Bear (by Kodiac), for whom Gerald Mosse has been booked, constitute the chief elements of the "home" defence.

Saving the best for last – following that dictum, the afternoon's piece de resistance is the £1,300,000 Gr.1 Qipco Champion Stakes (10 fur.) at 3:05 p.m., for which thirteen have been declared. Overall, the field lacks quality – only one of the runners has an Official Rating in excess of 120 and that is John Gosden's Jack Hobbs (by Halling), with William Buick at the controls. Not surprisingly he is the 5 to 4 favourite though his team is not happy with the wide draw.

His rider said: "In a field of 13, we have drawn 12, near the outside. I have to agree with John Gosden, who described the draw as 'disappointing'. John knows, as well as anybody, that the first bend comes up very quickly, and there will be a real jostle for an early position. You need some luck."

Should luck desert the best runner in the field, the 4 to 1 Ballydoyle hope Found (by Galileo), runner-up to Golden Horn in the Irish equivalent last month, could be there to pick up the pieces and give trainer O'Brien what would be his first ever victory in this event. Veteran Andre Fabre has not missed the chance for a tilt at such a juicy prize and sends forward Vadamos (by Monsun) from France to bat for him. "Vadamos has been in good form since his Baden-Baden win. He has been working well, that is why we have let him take his chance on Saturday. This is a big step up in class but he goes well enough at home to suggest that he should be competitive." The four-year-old is at 6 to 1.

Dermot Weld's Fascinating Rock (by Fastnet Rock) was a visually-impressive and facile winner of a Group 3 event on a sunny afternoon at Leopardstown last month, and his form was franked when runner-up Panama Hat won at the same level next time out. Because of the jump in class the Irish hope, with Pat Smullen astride, is at 16 to 1 but not in any way out of the reckoning.

All the other participants appear below the level of the principals on form, though one must take note that Godolphin, part-owners of Jack Hobbs, have supplemented Racing History (by Pivotal). The improving three-year-old has won all his three starts this term.

In countries with competitive racing, favourites do not win more than about a third of all races, so some upsets could be on the cards. Nevertheless, as most of the participants are really high-class Thoroughbreds, form should prevail in the end.