Late Supplements Shake Up Ascot's Mile Showpiece

Talk Of New York has been added to Saturday's Queen Elizabeth II Stakes and now heads the market. Aidan O'Brien is keeping two doors open for Constitution River.

Godolphin paid £70,000 on Monday to get Talk Of New York into Saturday's Queen Elizabeth II Stakes, immediately reshaping the race as he's now seen as the favourite.

He was one of six late additions to British Champions Day at Ascot, and alongside Constitution River he has turned the QEII into a much stronger race than it looked a week ago.

• Track: Ascot Racecourse, England
• Race: Queen Elizabeth II Stakes (Group 1)
• Date: Saturday, 17 October 2026 (early Sunday morning AEDT)
• Distance: 1600 metres
• Prize Money: £1.1 million
• Field: 13 confirmations

Why Talk Of New York Is Suddenly the QEII Favourite

Big races close their entries months in advance. Owners who miss that deadline can still get a horse in by paying a hefty late fee, known as a supplement, and nobody spends that kind of money without real belief.

Charlie Appleby's colt earned it. He bolted in by more than four lengths from The Lost King in the Group 2 Joel Stakes at Newmarket last month, and connections have had the mile showpiece in mind ever since.

The question now is class: Saturday is a Group 1 with 13 confirmations, and that's a far tougher assignment than anything he faced at Newmarket.

Constitution River Gives Aidan O'Brien a Choice

Constitution River was also supplemented for the QEII, but he hasn't committed to it yet. The French Derby and Coral-Eclipse winner is confirmed for the £1.3 million Champion Stakes on the same card too, and O'Brien is yet to say which race he'll run in.

Prize money of that size puts British Champions Day in rare company, and it is well worth seeing how it stacks up against the richest races in the world.

The mile looks the logical call. He has finished third in both the Irish Champion Stakes and the Juddmonte International at around 2000 metres, and the Champion Stakes is shaping as the deepest race of the day, with Calandagan and Ombudsman heading the confirmations. Dropping back in trip sidesteps that and puts him in a race he can win.

QEII Rivals: Rayif, Ten Bob Tony and More Thunder

Francis-Henri Graffard's Rayif is a dual Group 1 winner in France, while Ed Walker's Ten Bob Tony won the Queen Anne at Royal Ascot, a line worth checking against our Royal Ascot form guide.

Irish Guineas winner Gstaad is entered here as well as the Champion Stakes, and William Haggas' More Thunder adds further depth.

Highwayman Takes On the Stayers

The day's other big addition comes in the Long Distance Cup. Joseph O'Brien paid a supplementary fee to add St Leger winner Highwayman, a horse whose connections also considered a Melbourne Cup trip before ruling it out.

Saffie Osborne became the first woman to ride a British Classic winner aboard him at Doncaster, though Dylan Browne McMonagle is expected to ride on Saturday.

It's a step up to two miles against older stayers, including Scandinavia and Caballo De Mar, who beat Scandinavia in the Prix du Cadran at ParisLongchamp on Arc weekend.

Final fields will be locked in at declarations later this week. For the latest British Champions Day odds and markets, check out our dedicated racing odds page here at Sportsbet.