1pt win Kind Of Blue @12/1, 1pt win Elite Status @14/1, 13:55 Ascot, Saturday

6f Qipco British Champions Sprint Stakes (Group 1) (British Champions Series) (Class 1) (3yo+)

The sprinting division may be devoid of a real superstar at the moment, but you could hardly have asked for a more competitive Champions Sprint here at Ascot. I could have a shortlist as long as my arm here, but the unexposed three-year-olds make the most appeal for me.

KIND OF BLUE looks like an animal that has been getting better and better with each sprint start. Despite being unraced as a two-year-old, Kind Of Blue has been running in all the major top-level sprints for his age group and did well to finish 4th in the Commonwealth Cup at Royal Ascot. Since then he finished 3rd in the Hackwood Stakes before finishing a staying on second in the Phoenix Sprint Stakes at The Curragh.

Last time out Kind Of Blue had his first attempt in a Group 1 against experienced sprinters where he looked the winner from a furlong out. Granted there was a draw bias that day at Haydock, but Kind Of Blue travelled beautifully and may just have gone too early for the line. James Fanshawe said that he appreciated the slight give in the ground and with his pedigree being from the same family as The Tin Man (who won this race) he could potentially thrive in the soft ground conditions.

I do like the Prix De La Foret form here with both Kinross and Beuvatier likely to see out this trip well. But on his penultimate start ELITE STATUS looked like a horse to be getting hugely excited about. It seems far too soon to write him off having won two Group 3’s earlier in the season by some margin. He travelled well for a long way in the Sprint Cup before possibly being undone by the draw bias. Still he finished better than anything else that raced up with the pace on the near side and he still has the potential to be a top class sprinter.

I am also encouraged by the fact that Elite Status won twice on soft ground as a two-year-old so he should be ok on the ground and might be drawn in a good position in stall 3 given that he is next to front-running Audience who could give him a nice toe into the race. At the odds, Elite Status feels like a decent bet to me.

1pt win Kind Of Blue @12/1, 13:55 Ascot, Saturday
1pt win Elite Status @14/1, 13:55 Ascot, Saturday

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