In-form Quinn double-handed for Balmoral Handicap on QIPCO British Champions Day

Trainer John Quinn will aim to sign off his most profitable year by winning the £200,000 Balmoral Handicap (sponsored by QIPCO) at Ascot on QIPCO British Champions Day with former Queen Elizabeth II Stakes third Safe Voyage.

Quinn, whose Malton stable has won over £1 million this year thanks to the exploits of triple Group 1-winner Highfield Princess, has entered Safe Voyage and the improving Empirestateofmind in the 1m contest.

Safe Voyage signalled he was returning to form when overcoming a bad draw to finish half a length second in a valuable handicap at Leopardstown during Irish Champions Weekend. Meanwhile Empirestateofmind, who races in the same Ross Harmon colours as Safe Voyage, has finished first or second in his last four starts and was runner-up to another Balmoral Handicap entry Atrium on his latest run at Doncaster.

They feature among 68 entries for the race which was run for the first time in 2014.

The entry for the only handicap run on QIPCO British Champions Day, which carries total prize money of £4.1m when it is staged for the 12th time, also includes three possible runners from Ireland and one from France.

Safe Voyage has won more than £500,000 in his career and until this season was a regular in pattern races over 7f and a 1m.

In 2019, he finished third behind King Of Change in the Group 1 Queen Elizabeth II Stakes (sponsored by QIPCO) and the following season won the Group 2 Boomerang Mile, finished third in the Prix de la Foret and ran in the Breeders’ Cup Mile. Now aged nine, he has returned to handicaps and produced his best performance of the year last time out.

“The Balmoral is a target for both Safe Voyage and Empirestateofmind,”

“The Balmoral is a target for both Safe Voyage and Empirestateofmind,” said Quinn. “Safe Voyage ran very well in Ireland. He has run well at Ascot in the past and soft ground is very important too. We will certainly be hitting Ascot with him.

“A lot of his form is over seven furlongs but he won the Boomerang at Leopardstown, so the trip is within his compass.

“Empirestateofmind [rated 95] might have to go up a little bit in the handicap. I have him in at Haydock on Saturday, which we are keeping an eye on. He will probably need to win to get in [at Ascot] but he is a horse that goes well on soft ground and he is fairly versatile at seven furlongs to a mile.”

William Haggas, who won last year’s race with Aldaary, has chosen QIPCO British Champions Day for Baaeed’s final start in the QIPCO Champion Stakes.

It won’t be the only race he is targeting, having entered six horses for the Balmoral Handicap. As well as Protagonist, a leading candidate for the bet365 Cambridgeshre, and Baaeed’s lead horse Montatham, he has engaged Bashkirova, Millebosc, Montassib and Sweet Believer.

The David Menuisier-trained Migration, with a mark of 109, is the highest-rated horse in the race for which the weights will be published on September 28th.

David O’Meara, who has won the race twice, with Lord Glitters in 2017 and Escobar in 2019 is well stocked again with candidates having entered Blue For You, Bopedro, Escobar, Orbaan, Rhoscolyn and Shelir.

Escobar and Shelir finished sixth and seventh in the race last year with Rhoscolyn ninth behind Aldaary, who beat Symbolize and Magical Morning, who are both engaged again.

Magical Morning was yet another near-miss for the stable of John & Thady Gosden which has sent out five second-place finishers, Maverick Wave (2014), GM Hopkins (2015 and 2017), Remarkable (2016) and Lord North (2019) in this race. Al Rufaa and Moon Watch are their other entries.