Champions Stakes - Sporting Index Preview

"Azamour is bidding to complete a Champion Stakes double following a neck victory in the Irish equivalent. That victory at Leopardstown, combined with success in the St James' Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot make Azamour's credentials very solid. However, the Irish Champion Stakes was equally notable for the flop of Doyen who went into the race as the 4/5 favourite, following an impressive victory in the King George and Queen Elizabeth Diamond Stakes. Doyen could only finish seventh of eight. Ignoring the fact that the shorter trip of the Irish Champion Stakes would have been against him, the disappointment remains a mystery. Without the Irish race, Doyen would be a short favourite here but it is impossible to ignore what happened."The third favourite, Lucky Story, has been making headlines for the wrong reasons. It has been claimed that his owner, Ahmed Buhaleeba, has been spending too much time in casinos and consequent loses have led to his horses being transferred to the Maktoum family. The horse would appear to have a fine chance and there was no shame in being beaten a neck by an on song Rakti at Ascot. The extra two furlongs here will be very much in his favour, but personally I would not back him."We're seeing some interesting money on Haafhd, who would have a fine chance if able to return to the form of early May. He beat Azamour (who finished third) by 2 ¾ lengths to win the 2000 Guineas, and someone out there believes that his past two poorer runs can be considerably improved upon."A final mention should be made for one of the outsiders, Salselon. He made few friends two weeks ago when well backed for a group 3 race, only to attempt to pull up in the final 100 yards. The horse's talent is apparent, but jockey Johnny Murtagh will have his work cut out to ensure that Salselon runs all the way to the line. Salselon's trainer, Luca Cumani puts it down to generosity; "he is a very generous horse who likes to give other horses a chance to win". Could be worth an each way punt at the right price."The Biggest Free BetsSporting Index are currently offering the biggest free bets available, including:Free £200 per Goal spread bet, orFree £25 per Length Racing Match bet, or £100 Cashback! Just open an account today and place five bets to claim your choice of free bet. Sporting Index is the only spreads firm to offer prices on every race, every day, and they'll be running some special Champions Day offers for all clients on Saturday.Match BetsOne of the most popular spreads markets is match betting, which is based on the distance between two horses as they cross the line. For example, for the Champion Stakes at Newmarket, Sporting Index might predict that Azamour will beat Doyen by 0 to 1 length - this is the spread. If you fancy Azamour to win by more than a length, then you would "Buy" (bet high) at 1 length, for a stake of say £10 per length. If you're right and Azamour wins by 5 lengths, then you would win (5 - 1) x £10 = 4 x £10 = £40. If, however, you're wrong and Doyen beats Azamour by half a length, you would lose (1 - -0.5) x £10 = 1.5 x £10 = £15. On the other hand, you can bet against Azamour by "Selling" (betting low) at 0 lengths - this means that you're backing Doyen to do well. If Doyen goes on to beat Azamour by 3 lengths, and you sold at 0, you would win (3 - 0) x £10 = 3 x £10 = £30!One of the best things about match betting is that it doesn't matter where the horses finish in the context of the race - it is only the distance between them that counts.Free £25 Per LengthThat's all there is to spread betting - Sporting Index make a prediction, and you Buy or Sell depending on what you think will happen. If you choose to take the free £25 match bet, then you could win up to £300 with no risk to you. For full details, and to open your account, click here