CLEVER Cookie, the star of Peter Niven's small North Yorkshire stable, can shine brightly on Qipco Champions Day at Ascot this afternoon.

The seven-year-old, who started his career as a jumper and has developed into a high-class Flat horse, is fancied to lift the £300,000 Qipco British Champions Long Distance Cup.

The mount of Graham Lee, Clever Cookie, a Chester and York winner earlier this season, finished fifth in the prestigious King George V1 and Queen Elizabeth Stakes over an inadequate mile and a half on this course in July before finishing fourth at York last month.

Ease in the ground suits Clever Cookie, who should find underfoot conditions at Ascot ideal for him. The two miles is also tailor-made and although the opposition if pretty formidable in this Group 2 contest, he is selected to come up trumps and provide Niven with the biggest success of his training career.

Richard Fahey runs Eastern Impact in the Qipco British Champions Sprint Stakes and this tough-as-teak speedster, a triple-winner this season and most recently successful in Group 3 company, is poised to run his usual rock-solid race. He will, however, need to produce a career-best to lift this Group 1 event.

The most obvious winner is Muharaar, the mount of Paul Hangan and already the winner of three Group 1 showpieces this season. Another top-notch triumph would earn him the 2015 champion sprinter crown, which may be his, even if he fails here. He will be hard to beat if still on song, but respect should be paid to a whole host of his rivals including Twilight Son, Strath Burn and The Tin Man, who steps up into this division for the first time after looking hugely impressive in handicap company on this course a fortnight ago.

Fahey runs Gabrial in the £1.1m Queen Elizabeth ll Stakes, also the target of Brian Ellison's Top Notch Tonto. But both North Yorkshire horses look each-way prospects at best and the winning vote goes to the brilliant Solow, trained in France by Freddy Head, and a colt who has swept the boards in top company since March.

The £550,000 Qipco British Champions Fillies' & Mares' Stakes looks a difficult race to solve, but Simple Verse, winner of the St Leger, should not be overlooked purely on the grounds that she is coming back two furlongs in distance. Ralph Beckett's filly still seems to be improving.

Also worthy of attention on this crackerjack card are Irish Derby winner Jack Hobbs in the £1.3m Qipco Champion Stakes and Merry Me, trained by Andrew Balding, in the Balmoral Handicap.

At Catterick's eight-race programme, Richard Fahey is fancied to complete a hat-trick in the first three races.

Dacoity runs in the opening median auction maiden and is selected to make it third-time-lucky. The Dick Turpin colt has finished third at Pontefract and Nottingham on his two starts to date. This looks a good opportunity for him to break his duck and he is duly awarded the nap vote.

Sunnua, who lines-up in the fillies' maiden, has had several chances already to get off the mark, but she is worth another chance this afternoon. Narrowly beaten at Ayr last time out, the Malton juvenile may be able to go one better.

English Summer has been in cracking form this season and pulled-off the unusual double of completing an Epsom double in the ladies' and gentleman's amateur Derby.

Today he runs in the claimer, which he won twelve months ago. An encore looks on the cards.

The feature at Catterick is the £25,000 totescoop6 Catterick Dash over five furlongs. Adam's Ale is fancied to land the prize after several good efforts including a narrow defeat by Union Rose at York last weekend.

Adam's Ale, trained by Mark Walford, is fancied to turn the tables on his conqueror here and although he's drawn wide on the course in stall 14, that may be a good place to be on the prevailing soft ground as the stands rail often has an advantage under such conditions.