British Champions Long Distance Cup Betting Tips, Winners & History

Next Race: TBD

The next renewal of this race has not been scheduled yet. We will update this once the schedule has been released for next season. The race info, trends and tips shown below will be updated for the next renewal once the final declarations have been made.

Long Distance Cup Betting Tips

Note: The following tips are from 2020. Tips for the next renewal will be added once the final declarations have been made.

With three previous wins in the race apiece, it is the British and Irish heavyweights John Gosden and Aidan O’Brien who boast the best record of the trainers on show this year. Gosden relies on 2018 champ and 2019 runner up, Stradivarius, whilst O’Brien sends Broome, Dawn Patrol and Sovereign into battle.

The three year old contenders receive a helpful 8lb allowance from their elders in this race, but that hasn’t stopped every renewal since 2008 falling to a runner aged four or older. Will either of Dawn Patrol or Max Vega be able to buck that trend this time around?

There have been only two winners return a double figure SP in this in the past 10 years, but the race nevertheless hasn’t been too kind to supporters of the market leader. Just two winning jollies over this period has resulted in a level stakes loss of -£6.20. We have an odds-on favourite this year but will the brilliant Stradivarius fall foul to the negative trend here?

Stradivarius – 8/11

As has been the case in the vast majority of the top class events for stayers for the past few seasons now, the one they all have to beat - both according to the betting market, and the official handicapper - is John Gosden’s stayer supreme, Stradivarius. It would take a brave punter to oppose him and he is clearly a worthy favourite but is 8/11 decent value?

8lbs clear of his rivals on official ratings, he still comes out best at the weights even after the three year old and fillies’ allowances are taken into account. He also goes pretty well at Ascot with career form figures at the Berkshire venue of 1311121 – with three of those wins coming in the Ascot Gold Cup, and the other in this race in 2018.

His career stats would suggest that he may want quicker ground than this to be seen at his absolute best, but considering he won a soft ground Gold Cup this year by a yawning 10-lengths, it’s pretty hard to argue that he won’t act on the surface. Beaten just a nose by Kew Gardens in the race last year, he may prove tough to stop if over his exertions when finishing seventh in this year’s Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe two weeks ago.

Search For A Song – 6/1

This prize has fallen to an Irish trainer in six of the past nine seasons, and whilst Aidan O’Brien sends three to post, the biggest Irish threat this year – at least according to the betting market– comes in the shape of the Dermot Weld representative, Search For A Song. At odds of 6/1 he will have his backers, especially for those who don’t fancy an odds-on favourite who disappointed last time out.

Master trainer Weld has tasted success in major events all around the world, including two previous triumphs in this race, and will have high hopes of joining O’Brien and Gosden on three successes with this daughter of Galileo. Pretty lightly raced for a four year old, she will be making only her 10th career start here, but has already achieved plenty in those nine previous outings.

Successful in the 2019 Irish St. Leger, when seeing off non-other than Kew Gardens, she then followed up in that Group 1 1m6f event when coming home two lengths clear of the re-opposing Fujaira Prince in this year’s edition. There are however a couple of questions she needs to answer here. Firstly, she is yet to race on anything slower than yielding ground, and secondly she will be stepping up to 2m for the first time. There is no doubt that she’s a very talented filly though, and if handling the change in trip and ground conditions, she looks likely to go very well.

Dawn Patrol – 8/1

And of course we mustn’t forget Aidan O’Brien. Of his trio of contenders, both Broome and 2019 Irish Derby winner Sovereign, do look interesting, but have more to prove in this type of contest than the three year old, Dawn Patrol. There is lots to like about this one and at 8/1 he may just be the value option here.

By Galileo, and a half-brother to Epsom Derby winner, Pour Moi, this one has plenty of class in his pedigree and, whilst he hasn’t quite delivered over middle distances – although he was third in this year’s Irish Derby – he may yet find his niche in the staying division. A running on sixth in a good ground St. Leger at Doncaster two starts back offered plenty of promise, and he duly made his way into the winner’s enclosure when stepped up to this trip for the first time last time out at the Curragh.

This is a rise in class from that Group 3 event, but he did do it really nicely that day – looking all about stamina in powering home for a ¾l success, and still appearing to have a good bit left in the tank. He wouldn’t be as quick as some of these should this be falsely run, but with at least a couple of likely pacesetters in the field – including stablemate Sovereign – we see this turning into a real test of stamina, which ought to suit him well.