Stradivarius heads the pack

Stradivarius and heads a field of ten entries for the QIPCO British Champions Long Distance Cup at Ascot on Thursday.

The four-year-old has been flawless this season with consecutive wins in the Mansionbet Yorkshire Cup, Gold Cup, Qatar Goodwood Cup and Weatherbys Hamilton Lonsdale Cup.

That run of wins in the QIPCO British Champions Series earned connections a £1m bonus from Weatherbys Hamilton and now Stradivarius has his eyes set on another win for trainer John Gosden in the British Champions Long Distance Cup.

Should the talented runner claim the victory, he will become just the second horse in history to have won five races in the QIPCO British Champions Series in one season, with the famous Frankel being the other.

Stradivarius was third in the QIPCO British Champions Long Distance Cup in 2017 and has not tasted defeat since.