ASCOT bosses are all set to use the inner track for some races on Saturday’s star-studded Champions Day.

The Long Distance Cup, Fillies and Mares Stakes and feature Champion Stakes will all be diverted if ‘heavy’ appears in the going description.

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With rain set to fall between now and the first race, here are five horses who will relish soft conditions.

Kinross – British Champions Sprint Stakes (Group 1) 6f

Ralph Beckett’s veteran is 4-1 fave for the 6 furlong Champions Sprint (1.55) and loves a bit of juice in the ground.

Rossa Ryan’s mount was second last time out in a quagmire in the Group 1 Prix de la Foret in Longhcamp, Paris.

There has been some speculation about whether he will run, but yesterday Beckett told the Sun that was the plan.

And on Wednesday jockey Rossa Ryan, the other half of the Arc-winning duo, told the Sun: “We aren’t going to Ascot for the fun of it, he’s going with a good chance. 

“He wants soft ground, he just finds it a lot easier going on soft and it looks like that’ll be the case with this weather.”

Unfortunately, he’s pitched up against William Haggas’ Montassib, 5-1, who is also a mud-lover and is in flying form after winning the Group 1 Sprint Cup at Haydock in September.

Tamfana – Queen Elizabeth II Stakes (Group 1) 1m

David Menuisier’s three-year-old impressed when storming up in front of Inspiral in the Sun Chariot Stakes two weeks ago.

The 7-2 shot has form over further than a mile which could stand her in good stead in these testing conditions and she’s proven on heavy ground when winning the Prix Miesque last season.

Sweet William – Long Distance Cup (Group 2) 2m

A 6-1 chance for John and Thady Gosden, he won the Group 2 Doncaster Cup last time out – a 2m2 marathon in good-soft going, so he should be well on track to cope at Ascot on Saturday.

His only other win this season was on soft ground in the Henry II Stakes at Sandown in May over this distance.

However, he looks like he will have his work cut out if Aidan O’Brien’s unstoppable winning machine Kyprios turns up, with him having beaten Sweet William twice this season.

Calandagan – Champion Stakes (Group 1) 1m2f

Francis Henri Graffard’s French hope seriously impressed in the Juddmonte International, finishing only a length behind City Of Troy.

Prior to that he smashed the field to bits in the King Edward at Royal Ascot on good to firm.

But the 7-4 shot for Saturday has previously shown he can handle the mud, specifically when winning the the Group 3 Prix Hoquart at Longchamp in May.

He also has the backing of his connections when it comes to the bog.

Nemone Routh, the Aga Khan’s racing manager, told the Racing Post: “We have no concerns when it comes to the ground. He’s a very clean-actioned horse.

“It was really heavy for his first run this season and he got through it, and he quickened. And he obviously suits the Ascot track.”

On the other hand, his big rival, the Haggas-trained Economics has a bit of a question mark hanging over him as he is untested on this ground – although trainer William Haggas insists he will be fine.

Tiffany – Fillies & Mares (Group 1) 1m3f

Sir Mark Prescott’s 8-1 shot has been stacking up the wins on soft ground – she won a Group 2 in Germany on good to soft last time out.

And she has a Group 3 and Listed win this season both on soft ground.

She’s pitched against Andrew Balding’s brilliant Kalpana, who, at 15-8 will take some beating, but if it’s knee deep who knows what will happen.

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Ilia Topuria has a massive fight ahead of him, but he still has time for a couple of side feuds.

Ahead of his first featherweight title defense against Max Holloway at UFC 308 on Oct. 26, Topuria has found himself embroiled in verbal beefs with welterweight champion Belal Muhammad and now, former two-division champion Conor McGregor.

In an interview with Ariel Helwani, Topuria criticized Holloway for losing to McGregor in 2013, well before the two stars entered their primes. McGregor responded on social media, praising Holloway and warning Topuria that he could lose his title next Saturday in Abu Dhabi.

“Nah, [Holloway is] the real deal,” McGregor wrote in a since-deleted tweet. “Always was, always is. … One thousand percent he became way better after losing to me. He actually became an all-time great fighter after losing to me. This is a stellar fight, folks! He took moves as well with him. He became ambidextrous after fighting me. He can fight in both stances now as good as each other.

“He will be very hard to catch for the little man. Don’t walk into a crushing blow, bro. He is strong, too. And very experienced. One hundred percent! Big fight feel for me here, folks! Oh yes, let’s go!”

Topuria didn’t take kindly to McGregor’s response and while he agreed Holloway has improved since that long-ago fight, he believes it was due to Holloway being ashamed to lose to a fighter of McGregor’s quality.

“One thousand percent Max has improved after fighting you,” Topuria wrote. “He must have realized that if he wanted to make a living from this, he couldn’t be so bad as to lose to someone like you. Nowadays, he beats you easily.

“Dustin [Poirier] knocked you out in the rematches, Nate [Diaz] beat you two times, Khabib [Nurmagomedov] humiliated you, and Floyd [Mayweather Jr.] gave you a master class in boxing at 50 years old. Take a seat, kid. You’re a fake fighter.”

The fighters continued to trade insults on social media, though both later deleted their comments.

Topuria will have to focus on the task at hand with UFC 308 fight week just around the corner. He meets Holloway, a former UFC featherweight champion and the current “BMF” champion in the Oct. 26 main event.

Kelvin van der Linde has insisted he wants to join a manufacturer that has a Hypercar and GT3 programme so he can continue in the DTM when his Abt contract is up, with a Lamborghini LMDh test a possibility.

The DTM championship contender’s future has been the subject of much speculation in 2024, with his two-year contract with Abt Sportsline expiring after this weekend’s final round at Hockenheim, where he will be battling Lamborghini driver Mirko Bortolotti for his maiden title.

Van der Linde has spent much of his professional career racing for Audi, but split with the German marque in 2023 following its decision to terminate its under-development Hypercar programme.

Since then he has become ‘brand neutral’, remaining with Abt Audi in the DTM while adding a new programme in the World Endurance Championship’s LMGT3 class with ASP Lexus.

However, he continues to harbour aspirations of racing in top-level prototype machinery, a goal he first set out when Audi announced plans to return to the WEC with an LMDh car. This would most certainly require him to land a factory deal with a manufacturer.

When asked about his future, van der Linde told Motorsport.com’s sister title Motorsport-Total.com: “Nothing has been signed, and there are currently a few offers.

“My wish was always to go to a manufacturer that has a Hypercar and a GT3 program because I want to continue to be active in the DTM.

“You can think about which manufacturers there are that have both programs: BMW, Cadillac, Lamborghini, and I don’t think any others.”

Abt is ending a long-term association with Audi to join forces with Lamborghini in 2025, which could open up new opportunities for van der Linde.

#63 Iron Lynx Lamborghini SC63: Matteo Cairoli, Andrea Caldarelli, Romain Grosjean

Photo by: Jake Galstad / Motorsport Images

Motorsport.com has learned that the 28-year-old may get an opportunity to sample the Lamborghini SC63 LMDh in next month’s Bahrain WEC rookie test, which would mark his first prototype appearance since a pair of outings in an LMP2 car in the 2021 Asian Le Mans Series.

It’s unlikely this will result in him joining the team in WEC next year, but it would at least mean that a Hypercar programme would be on the table for the future.

This would also allow him to remain in the DTM with Abt, the team he has been racing with since the series switched to GT3 rules in 2021.

Other than Lamborghini, it is understood that van der Linde has two more options. One of those is BMW, whose factory roster already includes his younger brother Sheldon.

Kelvin van der Linde shares a manager with three-time DTM champion Rene Rast, who was also a long-time factory Audi driver prior to his move to BMW in 2023.

When asked about the BMW rumor, Rast grinned and said: “Kelvin at BMW? No idea. We’ll have to talk to [our manager] Dennis [Rostek] about what he’s up to.”

However, Motorsport.com understands that the likelihood of van der Linde moving to BMW is low at the moment.

Similarly, while Cadillac will have an expanded two-car programme with Jota next year, the prospect of sister marque Corvette joining the DTM is implausible.

Toyota could also have been an option as van der Linde races for Lexus in the LMGT3 division, but the Japanese marque has no vacant spots on its Hypercar line-up for 2025.

That leaves Lamborghini as his best bet for a factory programme in 2025.

With so much coverage of this year’s promising class of rookie quarterbacks, it’s easy to overlook the historical aspect of this past weekend. Five rookie starters — Chicago’s Caleb Williams, Washington’s Jayden Daniels, New England’s Drake Maye, Denver’s Bo Nix and New Orleans’ Spencer Rattler — combined for 12 touchdown passes.

That’s as many as they’d thrown in the first five weeks of this season combined, and it’s also the most touchdown passes ever thrown by rookie quarterbacks in one NFL weekend. The old record was 11, set in Week 16 of 2019 when Daniel Jones had five for the Giants, Dwayne Haskins had two for Washington, and four others — Arizona’s Kyler Murray, Detroit’s David Blough, Denver’s Drew Lock and Jacksonville’s Gardner Minshew — added one each.

This past weekend, Williams had four, Maye had three, Daniels and Nix threw two each and Rattler had one. It’s only the second time four rookies have thrown multiple touchdown passes in the same weekend. The other time came in 2011 when Carolina’s Cam Newton, Jacksonville’s Blaine Gabbert, Minnesota’s Christian Ponder and Houston’s T.J. Yates accomplished the feat.

The individual success of this year’s rookie QBs is magnified by their team success. Daniels’ Commanders are 4-2 and surprise leaders atop the NFC East, and Williams’ Bears have the same 4-2 mark to much the same shock. Nix’s Broncos are 3-3, and the rest of the class is still searching for consistent wins.

Will this be a historic class of rookie quarterbacks? They’re on course for 68 touchdown passes, which would be one fewer than last year’s rookies, led by Houston’s C.J. Stroud (23 TD passes). The record for one rookie class of quarterbacks is 101 touchdowns, set in 2012 by a group led by Seattle’s Russell Wilson, Indianapolis’ Andrew Luck and Washington’s Robert Griffin III. And success as rookies doesn’t mean they’ll end up legends: The 2019 class had 90 touchdowns as rookies, with Jones and Jacksonville’s Trevor Lawrence potentially as the only NFL starters left from that group by Sunday.

It used to be a generational class of quarterbacks might not show up much at all as rookies. The 2004 draft yielded three of the top 11 quarterbacks ever in career passing yardage in the Giants’ Eli Manning, the Chargers‘ Philip Rivers and the Steelers‘ Ben Roethlisberger, but that rookie class had only 36 touchdowns total. Manning had six as a rookie, Rivers only one.

Chargers rookies step up vs. Broncos

What NFL team had the most offensive/defensive snaps by rookies in Week 6? It was the Chargers, who got 283 from six rookies in their win over the Broncos. First-round tackle Joe Alt is a mainstay, second-round receiver Ladd McConkey is top-six in catches, receiving yards and touchdowns, and even third-round linebacker Junior Colson (who followed Jim Harbaugh from Michigan) has eight tackles in three games.

The surprise impact Sunday came from three late-round picks. Fifth-round corners Tarheeb Still and Cam Hart both started and played 105 of 110 defensive snaps, and sixth-round running back Kimani Vidal, making his NFL debut, caught a 38-yard touchdown pass from Justin Herbert.

Fourth-round backs shine as injury replacements

Last week, it was the Giants’ Tyrone Tracy Jr. and the Dolphins‘ Jaylen Wright who stepped in as injury replacements and helped their teams to victory. In Week 6, there were three more such spot-start rookie stars.

— Buffalo’s Ray Davis, a fourth-round pick from Kentucky, stepped in for the injured James Cook on Monday, rushed 20 times for 97 yards and caught three passes for 55 yards in a close win over the Jets. Davis had six carries for 48 yards on the opening drive and added a 42-yard catch to set up another touchdown.

— San Francisco’s Isaac Guerendo, a fourth-round pick from Louisville, shined with Christian McCaffrey still sidelined and fill-in Jordan Mason in and out during Thursday’s win against Seattle. Guerendo broke out for a 76-yard run — the second-longest run in the NFL this season — in the final two minutes after the Seahawks had rallied back within five points. He finished with 99 yards on 10 carries, missing the century mark when he lost a yard on his final carry of the night.

— Tampa Bay’s Bucky Irving, a fourth-round pick from Oregon, got his first NFL start with Rachaad White sidelined and was part of the Bucs’ 277-yard day, rushing 14 times for 81 yards and a touchdown in a 51-27 rout of the Saints. Irving also moved ahead of Washington’s Daniels to take over the NFL rookie rushing lead with 328 yards.

Cooper DeJean finally gets to make an impact

Eagles second-round corner Cooper DeJean logged only eight defensive snaps before making his first start Sunday, taking over as Philadelphia’s slot corner. He played well against the Browns, logging six tackles and even sharing in a sack of Deshaun Watson. DeJean made an impact on special teams as well, handling punt returns and getting 51 yards on his four returns.

Tykee Smith keys Bucs’ defense vs. Saints

Only two rookies have both an interception and a forced fumble this season, and Bucs’ third-round nickel Tykee Smith had both on Sunday in Tampa Bay’s win over the Saints. His forced fumble was scooped up by safety Antoine Winfield for a touchdown, and his interception was part of a dominant fourth quarter as the Bucs pulled away. Smith picked off Rattler for the second year in a row, having gotten an interception last year when he was at Georgia and Rattler was at South Carolina.

The other rookie with an interception and a forced fumble this season is Packers safety Evan Williams, a fourth-rounder from Oregon.

NFC North: Division of first-year kickers

The entire NFC North is off to a dominant start, all 4-2 or better, but the unsung common thread in the division: first-year kickers.

Minnesota’s rookie kicker, Will Reichard, a sixth-round pick from Alabama, is 25-for-25 this year, hitting all nine field goals and 16 extra points. Green Bay’s Brayden Narveson, undrafted out of NC State, already has 12 field goals, and Detroit has a first-year kicker in Jake Bates, who is 25-for-26 to open his NFL career. The NFC North has three first-year kickers, while the rest of the NFL has a total of two.

Greg Auman is an NFL Reporter for FOX Sports. He previously spent a decade covering the Buccaneers for the Tampa Bay Times and The Athletic. You can follow him on Twitter at @gregauman.

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ENGLAND will not begin their Ashes 2025-26 challenge in Brisbane – breaking a 40-year tradition.

Ben Stokes‘ men head Down Under next year to battle it out for the famous Urn.

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England have not won an away series against Australia since a famous triumph in 2010-11.

And they have not had their hands on cricket’s most prized trophy in nine years.

Brisbane’s fearsome Gabba has played host to every Ashes opener in Australia since 1982.

But in a change to the schedule, the Gabba has now been moved to second on the billing.

The newly-built Perth Stadium will instead get the tournament going as it hosts its first Ashes match.

Australia welcomes England for the First Test in Perth on November 21, 2025.

Perth Stadium opened its doors in 2018 and replaced the iconic WACA, the Aussies’ former ‘Home of Cricket’.

Dates for the series have been released early to help fans sort out travel arrangements.

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Cricket Australia executive general manager Joel Morrison said: “We are pleased to announce the dates for the five Men’s Tests to enable fans across the world to lock in their travel plans.

“The history and excitement of the Ashes make it one of the world’s most iconic sporting events.

“We are delighted this fierce and electrifying rivalry will extend over two summers in 2025 – commencing with CommBank Women’s Ashes this summer, which includes the historic MCG day-night Test and culminates in the Men’s Ashes next summer.”

Australia won their last Ashes home series 4-0 in 2021-22.

They retained the Urn last year with a 2-2 draw in England.

England have a notoriously poor record at the Gabba, having won there just twice since 1945.

Only seven England players have scored centuries at the iconic ground, which is renowned for its rock-hard pitch and big boundaries.

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Following on from the Tests in Perth and Brisbane, the Christmas Test will be held at the Adelaide Oval from December 17.

From there, the series moves to Melbourne for the Boxing Day Test, starting on December 26.

Sydney will close out the five-game series with the New Year’s Test from January 4.