Solow and Maxime Guyon return to the winners enclosure after the Queen Anne Stakes at Royal Ascot 2015.

By Simon Jackson.

French trainer Freddy Head wants some rain for favourite Solow ahead of the £1million Queen Elizabeth II Stakes on Qipco British Champions Day at Ascot on October 17.

The five-year-old bids to complete a hat-trick of Group 1 wins in the UK this year after victories in the Queen Anne Stakes at Royal Ascot and the Qatar Sussex Stakes at Goodwood in June and July.

Solow’s victory in the £1million Sussex Stakes extended his unbeaten sequence to eight races and was his 11^th win in a career spanning 16 starts that has amassed £3.4million in prize money.

The multiple Group 1 winner continued his preparation for Champions Day with a public gallop at Maisons-Laffitte last week and Head was pleased with the workout.

“Solow is very well, Maxime [Guyon – jockey] was very pleased with him, he was nice and relaxed and he moved well. He has not run since July and I thought that he needed a bit of competition so it was a strong bit of work, they went a good pace.”

“I couldn’t be happier with him and just hope that there is a bit of give in the ground at Ascot, which there usually is come mid-October.”

Solow heads the betting at 10-11 for the Queen Elizabeth Stakes from Gleneagles (9-2) and Kodi Bear (7-1) and the latter’s trainer, Clive Cox, says he is ‘relaxed’ about the ground conditions.

“Kodi Bear is very much on track for the Queen Elizabeth II. I am very happy with him and am thrilled with the way the season has gone for him,” Cox said of his charge who seeks to follow up on his victory in the Group 2 Doom Bar Celebration Mile at Goodwood in August.

“I am quite relaxed about ground conditions for him, he is very versatile in that respect, and it also helps that he won a Listed race at Ascot last year so we know that he acts well on the track.”

“He was very impressive in the Celebration Mile and having a leading contender for a day like Qipco British Champions Day is what you dream about, it’s very exciting.”

Read ‘Horse Talk with Simon Jackson’ at London24 for the latest horse racing news.