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Two years ago, the 10-furlong contest provided a compelling duel between Kalanisi and Montjeu, a victory the former was able to augment three weeks later in the Breeders’ Cup Turf.That double is virtually impossible to achieve now as the Breeders’ Cup will be held in Chicago in seven days’ time. And when it comes to a duel between Britain and the States, it is the kudos of success on a foreign field which is more alluring.We could have hoped for Rock Of Gibraltar, Hawk Wing or High Chaparral as Ballydoyle’s combatant here. They are all packing for Arlington and we are left instead with Sholokhov, who has been mainly used as a pacemaker this season.Indeed, the Champion has the appearance of a Group Two race. That is demonstrated by the fact that Noverre, a good horse yet one below the highest level, is joint-favourite.Saeed bin Suroor, Noverre’s trainer, also saddles Moon Ballad and Equerry as he chases his first win in this race and the pick is Moon Ballad, who is challenging Noverre for favouritism even though he has been rejected by Frankie Dettori.

Moon Ballad (4.00), who broke the course record in the Select Stakes at Goodwood last time, has been ridden by Jamie Spencer on all four occasions since he returned from Dubai. It is a partnership we will see in front early and the chances are they will still be there late too.There are wisps of cloud too over the Dewhurst Stakes, which often provides the winter favourite for the 2,000 Guineas. It is a contest which used to be a magnet for Ballydoyle in the reign of Vincent O’Brien, who won it seven times with the likes of The Minstrel, Storm Bird and El Gran Senor.These days, though, the Irish cream is reserved for the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile. A year ago it was Johannesburg who was transported across the Atlantic and, while Rock Of Gibraltar was not the poorest substitute to leave behind, a statement had been made.This time Hold That Tiger and Van Nistelrooy go west, while eastbound is the quartet of Tomahawk, Great Pyramid, Marino Marini and Ontario.The race should still be quite a barometer, as the Guineas favourite Trade Fair, and several pretenders, are among the contestants.

Some sages talked down last year’s race, but Rock Of Gibraltar’s defeat of Landseer, with Where Or When in fourth, looks better now.Saturn’s connections paid a £15,000 fee to get him into the race but are confident of repayment. “He’s in great form,” Tim Jones, of the owners, Highclere Racing, said yesterday, “and seems to have improved since his win at Newbury.”Saturn (next best 3.25) is persuasively priced on the strength of his run in Newbury’s Haynes, Hanson and Clark Stakes, the cradle of champions. The runner-up in Berkshire, Cat Ona High, has already franked the form.The pen is poised over the record books in advance of the Cesarewitch, in which Ian Balding runs last year’s first and second Distant Prospect and Palua, as he tries to collect a fourth yomp across the flatlands and become the most successful trainer in the race’s history. Alternatively, Mary Reveley, who has won with Old Red (1995) and Turnpole (1997), could join Balding on three if the favourite, Tees Components, goes in.There is also the prospect of Gerard Butler becoming the first trainer since Sam Darling in 1925 to complete the autumn double. Beauchamp Pilot won the Cambridgeshire and part two is left to Conquestadora.It might seem absurd for a race over 2m 2f, but the key to this could be the draw. Last year the race was fought out largely by those drawn very high, those that did not have to make their efforts through horses or from the wide outside.Thus we can distil the field to two. Dermot Weld’s Direct Bearing ran his best race for some time at Tralee recently, but for the bet we go for a seven-year-old who showed improvement when stepped up in trip at Ascot last time.