THEY’RE not joking when they say that it’s the best renewal of the Qipco Champion Stakes since Frankel’s.

Frankel had an official rating of 140 when he won the race in 2012, and he was chased home by the 130-rated Cirrus Des Aigles. Actually, Cirrus Des Aigles carried the second highest rating of the last decade into the race. He was just unlucky on the day to come up against a horse who was rated 10lb superior. (What were the chances?)