British Champions Sprint Stakes betting

The British Champions Sprint Stakes is a six furlong race at Ascot which takes place on Champions Day in October. The race was formerly known as the Diadem Stakes before being renamed in 2011 and being awarded Group 1 status in 2015.

British Champions Sprint betting features many of the fastest horses in training, competing to be crowned champion sprinter of Europe. Famous winners of the British Champions Sprint Stakes include Moorestyle (1981), Cadeaux Genereux (1988), Lake Coniston (1994) and Elnadim (1997).

British Champions Sprint Stakes betting tips

All recent winners had raced within the last six weeks and were previous winners over six furlongs. Most winners had raced at least four times during the season and many either won or were placed in their most recent outing.

Gordon Lord Byron (2014) had previously raced over seven furlongs in the Prix de la Foret at Longchamp. Librisa Breeze (2017) had also raced over that trip in the Hungerford Stakes at Newbury prior to winning here. In both instances, the heavy ground at Ascot played to their strengths.

Gordon Lord Byron completed a hat-trick of victories for Irish trained runners following Maarek (2012) and Slade Power (2013). Aidan O’Brien saddled Bianconi to win in 1998 but has had several fancied horses beaten here in subsequent years.

France were successful with Ron’s Victory (1990) and Crystal Castle (2002).

Previous Group-race winning form is a common factor to look for when considering a British Champions Sprint Stakes betting tip. Plenty of previous winners had also raced at Ascot in the past, often at Royal Ascot in June.

British Champions Sprint Stakes betting trends

A fair proportion of recent winners featured in the top three in the British Champions Sprint odds.

Deacon Blues was a well-backed favourite in 2011, as was Muhaarar in 2015. Several winners have been more difficult to find, including King’s Apostle at 12/1 (2008), 11/1 shot Sayif (2009) and Sands of Mali, a hefty 28-1 in 2018.

Three and four-year-olds have the best record in the British Champions Sprint. Gordon Lord Byron broke with the trend when winning as a six-year-old in 2014.

Set Fair (1952 and 1954) and Jack and Jill (1958 and 1959) won the race twice, both horses trained by Walter Nightingall. The Tin Man (2016) and Librisa Breeze (2017) both went in search of a second victory in 2018 but were well beaten behind Sands of Mali.

British Champions Sprint Stakes betting - ante-post pointers

The Haydock Sprint Cup is a race worth studying when calculating your British Champions Sprint bets. Several horses ran in both races in 2018, although it was fifth placed Sands of Mali who came out on top.

The Tin Man’s victory in 2016 was preceded by finishing runner-up in the Haydock Sprint Cup.

The key form races at Royal Ascot are the Diamond Jubilee Stakes and the Commonwealth Cup. Muhaarar won the Commonwealth Cup, July Cup and the Prix Maurice de Gheest in 2015. He justified strong support in the British Champions Sprint betting when beating Twilight Son.

Bold Edge won the Diamond Jubilee Stakes and the British Champions Sprint Stakes in the same season in 1999. Less than half of the recent British Champions Sprint winners raced again that term.

Those that did raced abroad, usually in the Prix de l’Abbaye at Longchamp or the Hong Kong Sprint at Sha Tin. Lady of the Desert came closest to victory when runner-up at Longchamp in 2010.

Check William Hill promotions for the latest special offers and British Champions Sprint Stakes odds.

British Champions Sprint Stakes history and memorable winners

The British Champions Sprint Stakes was originally run as the Diadem Stakes in 1946 when it was won by The Bug. Diadem won the 1000 Guineas in 1917 and was twice a winner of the King’s Stand Stakes at Royal Ascot.

Promoted from Group 3 to Group 2 status in 1996, it was renamed the British Champions Sprint in 2011 and moved from September to the newly created British Champions Day in October. The race was promoted to Group 1 status in 2015.

Lester Piggott is the most successful jockey in the history of the British Champions Sprint with seven winners. They include Swingtime who dead-heated with Roman Warrior in 1975. His last victory came aboard Salieri, owned by Charles St George and trained by Sir Henry Cecil.

Robert Armstrong trained the winner twice with Moorestyle (1981) and Never So Bold (1984). Moorestyle had been the top-rated racehorse in Europe the previous year. Timeform rated him 137, a mark only surpassed by Shergar, Reference Point and Dancing Brave over the next ten years.

Never So Bold was rated 135 and his other career victories included the King’s Stand Stakes, July Cup and William Hill Sprint Championship (now known as the Nunthorpe Stakes).

Cadeaux Genereux was trained in Newmarket by Olivier Douieb when successful here in 1988. Douieb retired from training in 1989 with the horse moving to Alex Scott. He also went on to win the July Cup and the William Hill Sprint Championship.

The victory of Diffident in 1996 was notable as he was one of Frankie Dettori’s “Magnificent Seven”, when the cumulative odds for backing all seven winners on that day at Ascot were 25,095/1. For those who took advantage of the early prices, it paid an astonishing 235,834/1.

Dettori won the first race on Wall Street (2/1) before Diffident (12/1) won by a short-head. Mark of Esteem (100/30), Decorated Hero (7/1), Fatefully (7/4), Lochangel (5/4) and Fujiyama Crest (2/1) completed the rout.

In 2015 Muhaarar was a popular British Champions Sprint Stakes tip. He confirmed his status as the champion sprinter of Europe when he beat 19 rivals as the 5-2 favourite.

British Champions Sprint Stakes betting 2019

Last year’s race was won by Sands of Mali, trained by Richard Fahey and ridden by Paul Hanagan. He was neglected in the British Champions Sprint at 28-1, despite finishing a good fifth to The Tin Man in the Haydock Sprint Cup last time.

Sands of Mali stays in training as a four-year-old and is expected to contest many of the top sprint races. Sprinting stalwarts Brando (4th) and The Tin Man (7th) could also be back again in 2019. The Tin Man won this race as a four-year-old in 2016 for James Fanshawe.

Godolphin’s Blue Point has returned to his best form this spring in Dubai but the likelihood of soft ground at this meeting would be a concern. He was beaten eight lengths into fourth on his only previous run over this distance in soft going.

The French-trained City Light has a return visit to Royal Ascot pencilled in after being beaten a short-head by Merchant Navy in the Diamond Jubilee Stakes. He has won in the soft but showed his best form earlier in the year in 2018.

Three-year-olds are bound to feature prominently in British Champions Sprint bets. The winners of the Commonwealth Cup have targeted this valuable prize since the Royal Ascot race was created in 2015.

John Gosden’s Calyx and Aidan O’Brien’s Ten Sovereigns are both high class colts who could be chasing top sprinting honours in 2019.

Visit news.williamhill.com for the latest big race previews and British Champions Sprint Stakes betting tips.