Top Yorkshire courses included in Change list

Yorkshire racecourses feature among the 10 venues for the new British Champions' Series, announced as part of the Racing For Change initiative.

Races such as the Yorkshire Cup, Yorkshire Oaks, Nunthorpe Stakes and Juddmonte International on the Knavesmire, as well as the Doncaster Cup and St Leger, have been included among a 35-contest programme which culminates in the newly-created British Champions' Day at Ascot on October 15 – the richest day in British racing history.

More than 3m in prize money will be on offer on a card that will feature the Champion Stakes, controversially transferred from Newmarket, the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes, Diadem Stakes, Jockey Club Cup and Pride Stakes and a high-profile handicap.

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The flagship meeting will launch on 2000 Guineas day, April 30, and will comprise of five separate championship categories – Sprint, Mile, Middle Distance, Long Distance and Fillies and Mares.

The six highest-rated races in each category will feature in the series "to create easy-to-follow storylines for a wider audience".

Over 13m will be up for grabs at showpieces such as Doncaster's St Leger meeting and the Ebor Festival, which will start at York on Wednesday, August 17, reaching its climax with the Ebor itself on the Saturday.

This year's Ascot Festival lost some of its star quality with the news that Canford Cliffs will miss tomorrow's Queen Elizabeth II Stakes.

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Despite reports of a scintillating gallop on Wednesday morning, the Sussex Stakes winner produced an unsatisfactory scope just hours before declaration time yesterday morning.

"Basically he hasn't scoped 100 per cent and we took advice from our vet, Mick O'Gorman, and he said with a horse like him you can't take the risk," said Hannon junior, son and assistant to his father, Richard. "It's a massive shame obviously, and it might cost us the trainers' championship but there you go. If the horse isn't right he can't run. It's a massive blow to the race in fact. Makfi, Rip Van Winkle and our lad would have been a hell of a race.

"At the end of the day he hasn't broken down, it's a massive shame we are not going to get to the race on Saturday but we are still looking at other options at the end of the year and if that doesn't pan out we'll put him away until next year. There is the Breeders' Cup but that is a long shot."

A field of eight will go to post for the QEII, with Rip Van Winkle and Poet's Voice heading the opposition to 2000 Guineas hero Makfi, who is now expected to go off an odds-on favourite in the absence of Canford Cliffs.

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Henry Cecil's highly-touted Frankel will face just five rivals in the Royal Lodge Stakes on the same card.

Owned by Prince Khalid Abdullah, who sponsors the race through his Juddmonte Farms breeding operation, the colt has created a huge impression on his two starts to date, most recently at the St Leger meeting.

White Moonstone also rocketed into Classic calculations at Doncaster and is one of a select field of six in the Meon Valley Stud Fillies' Mile. Godolphin's unbeaten juvenile looked a hot prospect when winning the May Hill Stakes by five lengths.

The Dubai outfit have also revealed they have recruited Mark Johnston's Park Hill Stakes winner Eastern Aria to carry their colours in the Emirates Melbourne Cup in November.

The Middleham handler will carry on training the progressive filly, with Godolphin's main trainer Saeed Bin Suroor represented by Holberg and Campanologist in the big race.