Fillies & Mares Stakes Preview: Sparan Nua Can Deny Kalpana The Hat-Trick

The British Champions Fillies & Mares Stakes is the race for the girls on Champions Day at Ascot, and it looks a very strong renewal. Thirteen runners go to post at 2.40pm over a mile and a half for £500,000, on ground that is good.

Kalpana is a short-priced favourite at around 6/4 as she goes for a hat-trick in the race, but I think the three-year-old who nearly beat her last time is the one to be on at 8/1.

There is no doubt Kalpana is a very good filly. Andrew Balding's five-year-old won this race in 2024 and 2025 and she has also won the King George and the Yorkshire Oaks this year. She is the top-rated runner on 124 and she has won three of her six starts at Ascot, so it is no surprise that she is the one to beat.

My worry is the price. She was only fifth in the Arc two weeks ago. Balding said earlier this week that she would be given a gallop to see if she was ready to run, and she has only had a 13-day turnaround. I am quite happy to take her on at 6/4.

SPARAN NUA is my selection at 8/1. Jim Bolger's three-year-old is rated 118 and she receives 6lb from Kalpana here. She was beaten a short head by Kalpana in the Yorkshire Oaks, and Bolger has said he thought she ran close to a winning effort that day.

Her last run was a below-par one in the Prix Vermeille at Longchamp, but Bolger has put that down to the ground, saying she did not handle the uphill finish into the straight. I am happy to forgive it. He thinks Ascot will suit her, and it is a very sound reason to think she can bounce back. Bolger is 84 and is leaving his Coolcullen base after 44 years, so a Group 1 win would be a great story.

Of the rest, Minnie Hauk was third in the Yorkshire Oaks and is 8/1 for Aidan O'Brien, while Lilt is 7/1 for William Haggas and Johanna Walsh is 10/1 after being well held behind Kalpana in the Yorkshire Oaks. Danielle is 12/1 for the Gosdens and See The Fire has been supplemented by Balding for her first try over a mile and a half.

I am happy to take 8/1 about SPARAN NUA to win. Kalpana is the one they all have to beat, but at 6/4 I do not think she has any margin for error, and I think my filly has the better price.