Muhaarar heads vintage Classic crop in #ChampionsDay sprint

Muhaarar will bid for his fourth consecutive Group 1 victory in the QIPCO British Champions Sprint Stakes over six furlongs – a race which has attracted 21 entries including Muhaarar’s Charlie Hills-trained stablemate, Strath Burn.

Other notable entries here include the horse who touched off Strath Burn in the Group 1 Betfred Sprint Cup, Twilight Son, and the first ever QIPCO British Champions Day runner from outside Europe, the Singaporean-trained Emperor Max. The Tin Man has been supplemented at a cost of £40,000, taking the race’s overall value to £632,505.

Charlie Hills, trainer of Muhaarar and Strath Burn, said:

“Muhaarar needed a break, he had three pretty hard races in quick succession so we’ve freshened him up and I couldn’t be more pleased with him. We took him to Lingfield for a spin over 6 furlongs and Paul [Hanagan] was very happy. We’re going in pretty confident.

“He’s physically come on well and has a huge amount of talent, we know he likes Ascot. We’re happy with conditions, it’s on the slow side of good but a dry forecast will help.

“Strath Burn has thrived since Haydock. I couldn’t be more pleased with the way he looks. He did a great bit of work and will get better with age. He could run a big race on Saturday.

“Strath Burn and Muhaarar have never work together but I’m looking forward to Saturday. Whatever Strath Burn does this year is a bonus.”

Stephen Gray, trainer of Emperor Max, said:

“He turned up in England last Saturday (October 3^rd) and has been fantastic. It’s a new experience for us all and a big challenge but he’s the sort of horse who can do it. He has a great temperament and has settled in better than we did.

“We don’t know how his form will stack up but he’s a very good horse and has come second in two international sprints. We’ve taken our time with him and he’s had an English preparation with just three starts.

“Corey Brown rides him in Singapore and when you come on these ventures you come as a team. He’s ridden some fantastic races on him and if this works out we want Corey to be the one who was with him.”