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Champions Day: latest on Almaqam, Ten Bob Tony and Zeus Olympios
By Racing TV
Last Updated: Tue 29 Sep 2026
It is a familiar feeling for Ed Walker as he looks to the skies and prays for rain ahead of Almaqam’s intended outing in the Qatar Racing Champion Stakes next month.
Attempting to better last year’s third in Ascot’s 10-furlong showpiece has long been on the agenda for the Tattersalls Gold Cup winner who went so close to supplementing that Curragh Group One in a titanic finish to the Juddmonte International Stakes at York last month.
Walker is open to keeping one eye on the Breeders’ Cup Turf later in the autumn, but is hopeful conditions will fall in his star colt’s favour on British Champions Day.
“At the moment it feels like if he retires it will rain for five years and it’s just brutal,” said Walker.
“We had the option of the Arc but it was never really going to be his race and the Champion Stakes is like his Derby. We just need a bit of luck and he deserves a bit of luck.
“We’ll have to weigh it up and we have the Breeders’ Cup Turf as a plan B but we will run him at Ascot on good, it would have to be good to firm not to run. We just know he can win it on good to soft – he could even win it on good, but a bit of dig in the ground would see him hard to beat.”
Another of Walker’s aces, Ten Bob Tony, will also be in action on October 17 when the Queen Anne winner returns to the scene of his Royal Ascot heroics for the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes having finished second in the Prix du Moulin last time.
Walker continued: “He’s A1 for the QEII touch wood and conditions wouldn’t overly bother him. I would probably question a mile on really heavy ground but he’ll run there regardless.
“He’s fresh as paint and Ascot couldn’t come soon enough. It’s amazing how well he is taking his races this year and he’s in great form. He’s been a legend this year.”
Zeus Olympios set for Queen Elizabeth II Stakes
Zeus Olympios is all systems go for the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes on Qatar Racing British Champions Day, where Karl Burke’s crack miler will attempt to land an elusive top-level success.
Highly progressive when unbeaten last term, victories have come tougher to find when mixing it with the best of his division this term, although after getting off the mark for the year in Ascot’s Summer Mile, he came within a neck of a first Group One triumph in the Prix Jacques le Marois last month.
Freshened up since, he will now return to the scene of his earlier success for a race he is currently as short as 7-1 with some bookmakers.
Flashback: Zeus Olympios wins last year's Joel Stakes
Burke said: “Zeus is in great form and I’m really happy with him.
“We’re aiming at Champions Day and he was in the Group Two in France (Prix Daniel Wildenstein) at the weekend but we’re not going to do that and he’ll go straight to the QEII.”
Yet to finish outside the top four in his five outings this term, Burke believes victory at Ascot would be nothing more than the son of Night Of Thunder deserves following his agonising near-miss at the hands of Rayif in Deauville.
“He’ll do a couple of nice pieces of work over the next 10 days or so and he deserves one,” continued Burke.
“Clifford (Lee) never drops his stick and had to drop it in the Group One last time – he couldn’t have done it at Wolverhampton in the evening could he!
“I think he would have won that Group One in France on another day and he’s a horse you have to get rolling. Hopefully he can get his win at Ascot.”
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