Balding v O'Brien: Trainers' title goes to an Ascot showdown

The Flat trainers' title is still alive going into Champions Day at Ascot on Saturday.

Andrew Balding and Aidan O'Brien arrive at the final day of the big-money season with the championship undecided. Both have already passed John Gosden's record prize-money total of £8.52m from 2017. O'Brien is chasing a third straight title and a ninth in all. Balding is chasing his first The Guardian.

The championship is decided on prize money won from January to December, not on number of winners. That is why one placed runner in a rich race can swing it. Paddy Power made O'Brien 1-2 and Balding 6-4 in the week of Champions Day.

Numbers favour the champion. After the five-day entry stage, Balding had four entries likely to go to post. O'Brien had 15 possible runners from 20 entries.

Saturday's card gives them plenty to aim at. There are five Group Ones, the highest level of Flat racing, plus a £250,000 juvenile race. The £1.3m Champion Stakes is the feature. The Queen Elizabeth II Stakes is run over a mile for £1.1m.

The names in the frame include Gstaad, winner of the Irish 2,000 Guineas, and Constitution River, who won the Eclipse Stakes in July. William Haggas sits third in the table ahead of the day, clear of the duel at the top.

Balding took over the licence at Park House Stables from his father Ian in 2003. The yard now holds a 250-horse string. O'Brien's operation works on a different scale, with strings in Ireland and England and runners shipped to all the big festivals.

What makes this stand out is the timing. Most titles are settled long before Ascot. This one will be settled in front of a full house, race by race, with every place cheque counting.