TONY CALVIN: CHAMPIONS DAY details at Ascot on Saturday

STATS/INFO SECTION

1.COURSE DETAILS

ASCOT

GOING :  Good

Going Stick: Straight: 8.2, Round: 7.1. Soil Moisture: 34% readings (Monday 10am)

The next readings will be taken on Thursday then daily readings will be taken.

Rails: Approx 10yds of the stands side of the Straight course has been railed off from the 1m start to approx the 3f marker. The far side of the straight course will be used for this meeting.

Stalls: Straight Course: Farside. Round Course: Inside

WEDNESDAY COURSE UPDATE: 0.6mm rain recorded through the past 24 hours to 8am Wednesday. 2.5mm rain recorded through the past 7 days to Wednesday. Today and Thursday are forecast to be generally dry and warm. Then showers are due Thursday evening and overnight through Friday morning. Saturday currently looks dry and cooler. Total rain forecast through to next Saturday is predicted to be 2 to 5mm. For access to our live weather station and for the latest Going info please go to www.ascot.com/thegoing

Weather (8.39am Wednesday):   Wednesday:  dry and 18 degrees; Thursday; 0.6mm; Friday 2.8mm (constantly changing); Saturday: dry and sunny but chilly (13 degrees)

2.BALLOTED OUT HORSES (get your money back on these – and don’t take No for an answer from your bookmaker)

4.35pm:

3.FIRST-TIME HEADGEAR STATS

4.FIVE DAY PACE MAPS

12.55pm: Bengal Tiger, Carry The Flag, Confucius, Crusherman, Marco Polo, Oakford, This Moment, Victory Gold, Speed Of Sound

1.30pm: Queenstown, Quickthorn

2.05pm: Marvelman, Prince Of India, Coppull (prominent), Into The Sky, Soul Love

2.40pm: Sugar Island (pacemaker), Johanna Walsh

3.20pm:  Zeus Olympios (prominent), Hawk Mountain (pacemaker?)

4pm: Bay City Roller, Devil’s Advocate (pacemaker), Hotazhell?, Hawk Mountain?

4.35pm (54 entries for a maximum field of 20, so this is a pace map of the first 32 in the weights – be very surprised if any below the top 32, or indeed the top 25, get in ):  Diego Ventura , Crown Of Oaks (prominent) , Bullet Point (prominent), Classic?, River King, Mr Swivell

5.TRAINERFORM

Good: Charlie Appleby, Clive Cox (double on Wednesday), John and Thady Gosden, Joseph O’Brien , George Scott, James Fanshawe, Jim Bolger (small sample), Kevin Philippart De Foy, Tony Martin (2 from 8), David Menuisier

Fair: Aidan O’Brien (moderate for him), Richard Hannon, Eve Johnson Houghton, Hugo Palmer, George Boughey, Brian Meehan, Saeed bin Suroor, Sean Woods, Andrew Balding, William Haggas, Alan King (fair/good), Ralph Beckett, Hughie Morrison, Karl Burke, F-H Graffard, Marco Botti (winner on Wednesday), Jim Boyle (fair-moderate), Johnny Murtagh, Ed Walker, Harry Eustace, Jessie Harrington, David O’Meara, Jim Goldie, Roger Varian (double on Wednesday), Kevin Ryan, Richard Hughes, Muir and Grassick, Hamad Al Jehani, David Simcock, Stephen Thorne

Moderate: Michael Dods, Roger Teal, Nick Scholfield, Richard Spencer, Ed Bethell, Robson De Aguiar, Charles Hills (9-2 winner on Wednesday, though), Jack Channon, Jennie Candlish, Julie Camacho, William Knight, George Baker, Stan Moore, Jamie Osborne

Don’t know: Bent Olsen, George Margarson