Mostahdaf new Champion Stakes favourite after Ascot switches three Champions Day races to inner course

Mostahdaf has shortened into favourite for the Qipco Champion Stakes (3.45) following confirmation the race would be one of three switched to the inner course after another overnight deluge turned the round course heavy in places.

A change of course can be made if heavy appears in the going description and, following verification from an independent panel, Saturday's £1.3 million feature, along with the Long Distance Cup and Fillies & Mares Stakes, will be run on the inner circuit, which is good to soft, soft in places. It will be the first time Champions Day races have been run on the inner course since 2019.

Friday morning's news has resulted in a major swing in the betting with Prince of Wales's Stakes and Juddmonte International winner Mostahdaf being cut to 11-4 (from 11-2) with Sky Bet. The John and Thady Gosden-trained five-year-old was last of 20 runners when previously experiencing testing ground in the Arc last October and connections strongly favour a quicker surface.

French challenger Horizon Dore is out to 9-2, having been the 3-1 market leader, although his recent progress has come in better conditions.

The going on Ascot's inner track is good to soft, soft in placesCredit: Edward Whitaker

Ascot's clerk of the course Chris Stickles said: "We made the call because it's gone heavy and it's not going to improve before Saturday. We're now on the inner track which is good to soft, soft in places.

"We had 18mm overnight, which is a bit more than we expected, and we've had over 40mm since Wednesday. It's only showers forecast on Friday and into Saturday, bringing 5-8mm possibly. That may change things, but it depends when it comes."

The switch means the race distance for the Long Distance Cup has been decreased by 82 yards and the Fillies & Mares by 78 yards, although the showpiece 1m2f Champion Stakes is unchanged.

It comes as Storm Babet has battered Britain, forcing meetings at Uttoxeter and Fakenham on Friday and Market Rasen and Stratford on Saturday to have already been called off. Stickles expressed no worries about Champions Day becoming another victim of the weather.

Read more: 

'Paddington or Tahiyra for the QEII? I wouldn't back either of them' - your Champions Day questions answered 

The prospects for upcoming race meetings in Britain and Ireland with Storm Babet blowing in 

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