Paul Mulrennan Column: Thunder ready to rumble on Champions Day

Aidan O’Brien hasn’t saddled a winner at QIPCO British Champions Day since 2019, but I can’t see beyond KYPRIOS in Ascot’s opener. Trawlerman held the upper hand last year, but Kyprios is an impressive 6-6 in 2024, with his Ascot Gold Cup win confirming his superiority over both the Godolphin runner, and Sweet William.

Kinross ran well in defeat at Longchamp, and I don’t think that dropping back to six furlongs will prove problematic. However, I prefer the William Haggas trained MONTASSIB who has already beaten Kinross at Newcastle, and continued his progress, accounting for Kind Of Blue and stablemate Unequal Love, in the Betfair Sprint Cup. He won on soft ground at Doncaster (Cammidge Trophy) in March, so looks guaranteed to handle these conditions.

Andrew Balding’s Kalpana has done nothing but improve all year but could prove vulnerable in these conditions. Sir Mark Prescott’s TIFFANY is an equally progressive filly, with her Baden-Baden form suggesting she’ll be ideally suited by this soft ground.

Things didn’t pan out for CHARYN in the Prix du Moulin, but Roger Varian’s Dark Angel four-year-old  has won two Group One races already this year, is effective on soft ground, and has had time to freshen up since Longchamp, so it’s difficult to look elsewhere. This represents a swift turnaround from the Sun Chariot for Tamfana.

I like CALANDAGAN. Ryan (Moore) dictated on City Of Troy in the Juddmonte International and, making good headway from a fair way back, I thought that Calandagan did incredibly well to finish runner-up. The fourth-placed horse Bluestocking has gone onto win the Arc, so the form is rock-solid. The ground is perfect, he has a good draw (stall 1), the track should suit, and I think he’ll win!

Acknowledging that the soft ground is a slight unknown, I still really like the chances of THUNDER RUN. I know that the stable think a lot of this horse. Karl (Burke) has booked Ryan Moore for the ride, and neither usually go a Saturday without having a high-profile winner. Stablemate Holloway Boy (William Buick) confirmed the overall strength of that York form by winning a Group race at Haydock subsequently, and rates as the likeliest threat.

I’m heading to Catterick on Saturday for three rides. As expected for this stage of the season, we’ll also be competing on soft to heavy ground.

The feature is the William Hill Catterick Dash (4.45pm) where I’m nicely drawn in stall 6 on Changeofmind. It is a competitive affair, but Declan Carroll’s four-year-old is a course and distance winner who possesses a lot of speed, so I’m hopeful he’ll run a big race.

Lucinda Russell is doubly represented in the seven-furlong maiden (2.05pm). My mount Balmerino has work to do with stablemate Canavan (Oisin Orr) from Musselburgh, but it is a positive that form has been boosted through the exploits of Antonin Dvorak (winner), and Kirkdale (runner-up).

Bodorgan is set to tackle a new trip in the Download The Raceday Ready App Handicap (2.42pm). He was doing well through the summer, and his run style – likes to race prominently – is ideal for Catterick. I’ll be looking to keep it nice and simple, and we’ll see how we fare on the rain-softened ground.

I’ve managed to notch three more winners this week, and I’m moving ever closer to the 100-mark. I’d love to get it done again and, touchwood if I can stay away from suspensions and injury, it should prove achievable. It was great to ride a second winner for JP McManus at Musselburgh on Monday. Reel Her In is a filly who just does enough in her races.

I was at Newcastle on Tuesday evening when young Rhys Elliott took a horrible fall from Masterpainter in the penultimate race. I went to see Rhys following his fall, and even though he’s going to be out of action for a while as he recovers from the various injuries sustained, luckily, he’s okay. It could have been a lot worse. Best wishes Rhys!

takes place at York Racecourse on Saturday 9th November. The event, organised by family and friends, is a fundraiser for the Injured Jockeys Fund (IJF). As part of the fundraising, there is a live online auction offering some fantastic racing, and non-racing, experiences on which anyone can make a bid. Please do look in support of both Graham and the IJF: