Shelir came from off the pace having been steadied leaving his stall to win by a couple of lengths, with the runners initially splitting into two groups then congregating on the far rail. Most of the other principals were patiently ridden, less so Tacarib Bay in third, who tracked the pace closer. Montatham shaped nicely on his first run in a while, coming through to dispute the lead approaching the final 1f before fading into sixth. 

A time comparison with the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes shows this to have been 0.84s (about 4.5 lengths) faster, when something approaching the opposite might be anticipated, but markedly slower in the last 2f.  

This, and more besides, will be covered in next week's ATR Sectional Spotlight! Bye for now.

But this time with his 80/1 outsider of the whole field, Shelir. And with some ease too.

That's it for me and I hope to be back for some jumps coverage this upcoming season.

13:25 | Ascot | Saturday 15th October 2022 | At The Races

That "slow" early pace in the Long Distance Cup did not last for long as the mid-section was stronger than ideal.

I did look at this but could not warm to anything in particular, in a race in which pace/draw could count for plenty but is not easy to predict. I did go for Astro King and Montatham in the Dandinap Tipping Competition, but that is mostly because I need something of a Hail Mary to achieve respectability at this late stage!

In addition to Escobar O’Meara also saddles Blue For You (7th two weeks ago after ducking right at the start) and Orbaan who continues to run well since his runaway win in the Golden Mile at Goodwood when beating Blue For You into second who reversed form at York the following month, in the trainer's bid to win a third Balmoral Handicap in six years.

Orbaan was then only beaten a short-head last time out when finishing strongly over 7f and this extra furlong will help. He'd be my pick.

Symbolize finished second in both Ascot handicaps last autumn and is also declared but this time in first-time cheekpieces (one of four in first-time headgear) after he was 16th of 17 behind Escobar a fortnight ago when one of the leading fancies but drawn away from the main action. He is 2lb lower than 12 months ago.

It was the same 1-2 here as over a furlong shorter at the same course a fortnight earlier last year and the evergreen Escobar, who also won this handicap in 2019 and is trained by David O’Meara who has saddled two of the last five winners, is attempting to emulate Aldaary from last year and win both races. He has a 6lb penalty for that success.

I'll leave that Simon who tipped up the 10/1 winner. Well done.

Bay Bridge - Champion Stakes

Bayside Boy - QEII

A thrilling race for the Champion Stakes, but not the outcome most were expecting. Bay Bridge toughed it out to get the better of Adayar and My Prospero, with Baaeed meeting his first defeat in fourth. The last-named travelled strongly and made headway on the turn but things developed in front of him at that stage and he was playing catch-up and never looked like getting there. He is better than this, but it has to be said his International win does not look quite as good as at the time given Mishriff's subsequent efforts. This was also a well-run 10f on a stiffish track and on good to soft going, all of which blunted his main weapon, his speed.

Bay Bridge tracked the pace going well, had every chance from turning in, battled back to head Adayar (who had nosed ahead) and stayed on well for pressure. Let's hope we see Adayar flying the flag abroad in what remains of the season, for he is very nearly as good as he ever was. My Prospero got third at a big price and would have been second in another stride, like the first 2 tracking, but getting a bit tapped for foot in the penultimate 1f before rallying to run the race of his life. Stone Age stuck to his task for fifth having made the running, and probably ran as well as he ever has (115 with me going into this, 116 officially).

Overall time of 2m 09.46s is ok rather than better, with the final 2f of 25.42s giving a finishing speed of 102.2%, slightly faster than par.

Provisional ratings: 122/121/121/118/115. That has Bay Bridge an average winner of this great race and Baaeed around 15 lb below a more conservative assessment of his York form.