QIPCO British Champions Day at Ascot is the finale of the European Flat racing season. It's the richest raceday in the British racing calendar and some of the finest horses from the UK, Ireland and France will battle it out on Saturday afternoon.

The best horses and jockeys will be in action to compete for a record-breaking £4.3 million purse as they bid to follow in the hoof prints of former series stars. The presentation for the Stobart Champion Flat Jockey will also take place on Saturday before the opening race.

The fixture features the end-of-season championship races for Ten-furlong horses (The Champion Stakes), Milers (The Queen Elizabeth II Stakes), Sprinters (six furlongs), Long distance horses (two miles) and Fillies and Mares (one mile and four furlongs).

This really is a meeting for the connoisseurs of Flat racing!

1.25pm - Long Distance Cup (2m)

ORDER OF ST GEORGE comes here on the back of his fourth place in the Arc at Chantilly and could help Aidan O’Brien equal or even surpass the number of group races won in one season set by Bobby Frankel. Big Orange faces a rematch with Order Of St George following their thrilling duel for the Gold Cup back in June.

St Leger third Stradivarius, Doncaster Cup winner Desert Skyline and Mount Moriah represent the younger crop of stayers. Duretto, the Queen’s horse Dartmouth and last year's winner Sheikhzayedroad are also among a strong field of 13 for the opening contest of the day.

2.00pm - Sprint (6f)

Thirteen runners including five Group One winners go to post again in this fascinating renewal of the Champions Sprint. Harry Angel has already beaten his elders twice this season, in the July Cup at Newmarket and the Sprint Cup at Haydock however the only three defeats of his career have interestingly enough all been at Ascot.

Last year's winner The Tin Man, Commonwealth Cup hero CARAVAGGIO and Karl Burke's Quiet Reflection are all in there with a fighting chance. Aidan O’Brien, the trainer of Caravaggio, will also be represented by Alphabet, Intelligence Cross and Washington DC.

2.40pm - Fillies and Mares (1m 4f)

Journey will aim to defend her crown in the Champions Fillies & Mares Stakes but she has the most to fear from BATEEL, who had her measure in the Prix Vermeille. The Juliet Rose and Left Hand add to the French challenge in the race whilst John Gosden also runs Coronet and The Black Princess in addition to Journey.

Aidan O'Brien saddles L’opera runner-up Hydrangea and Wild Irish Rose, with Park Hill winner Alyssa and Andrew Balding's Horseplay making up the ten-runner field.

3.15pm - Queen Elizabeth II Stakes (1m)

The eagerly awaited dual between Ribchester and CHURCHILL is on the menu here after both horses featured among 15 declarations for the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes on Thursday. Richard Fahey’s runner has been the strong favourite for the straight-mile Group One, having won three times at the top level this season.

Aidan O'Brien who won this prize for the fourth time 12 months ago saddles 2000 Guineas hero Churchill as well as Lancaster Bomber and Sir John Lavery. Andrew Balding sends out Here Comes When and the fast-improving Beat The Bank. Others with live chances include Saeed bin Suroor's Thunder Snow, the Andre Fabre-trained Al Wukair plus Zonderland and Persuasive.

3.50pm - Champion Stakes (1m 2f)

Cracksman will face nine rivals in the Champion Stakes with one of his main rivals, Ulysses, an unsurprising absentee. The John Gosden-trained colt missed a clash with stablemate Enable in the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe and he instead drops to a mile and a quarter for this feature race.

In the absence of Ulysses, Sir Michael Stoute places all his faith upon Irish Champion Stakes runner-up Poet’s Word. Barney Roy, trained by Richard Hannon for Godolphin, was runner-up to Churchill in the 2000 Guineas before exacting his revenge in the St James's Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot. Aidan O’Brien’s Highland Reel will be seeking a seventh career Group One success on Saturday afternoon.

He will be joined by stable companion Cliffs Of Moher. French raiders BRAMETOT and Recoletos, Ken Condon's Success Days, David Simcock's Desert Encounter and the Gosden-trained outsider Maverick Wave complete the line-up.

4.30pm - Balmoral Handicap (1m)

Just the twenty plus runners to round off the afternoon and it is never an easy task trying to find a big handicap winner. Prominent in the betting are Zabeel Prince and Lord Glitters.

The former was an impressive winner from Bravery at York last time out and has lost only one of his four starts, while the latter made an eye-catching British debut for David O’Meara when splitting Accidental Agent and at this track earlier in the month.

Firmament made his presence felt in last year’s renewal of the Balmoral, won by Yuften, while Master The World, winner of the Betfred Mile Handicap at this year’s Qatar Goodwood Festival, is one of two runners runners for the David Elsworth stable, the other being the Jim Crowley ridden Speculative Bid.

The entries also include GM HOPKINS, who was the runner-up two years ago. Stamp Hill and Withernsea, who featured in the first three home in the Gigaset International Stakes at Ascot in July, are also engaged.

Summary

All too often over the years this fixture has been the victim of some pretty atrocious going conditions due to the unpredictable autumnal weather, however this time around it appears the races will be run on some decent raceable ground.

Here are the horses we think will be crowned “Champions” on Saturday:

1.25 Order Of St George 2.00 Caravaggio 2.40 Bateel 3.15 Churchill 3.50 Brametot 4.30 GM Hopkins

*Odds subject to change - correct at time of writing*

Steven is a sports and horse racing enthusiast and is a member of the Horseracing Writers and Photographers Association (HWPA) in the United Kingdom.

He is a regular visitor to Paris Longchamp for the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe and a lifelong fan of the Aintree Grand National, a subject he writes about 52 weeks of the year. Last year he reached the impressive milestone of attending the last 30 renewals of the Grand National.