Cracksman was narrowly beaten in the English and Irish derbies earlier this year. He lost the English Derby by a length on June 3 and four weeks later was second by a neck in the Irish Derby. Cracksman has not lost since, winning two Group 2 races in England and France which have vaulted him to greater prominence in the European 3-year-old division. Saturday at Ascot Racecourse in England, Cracksman will be favored to win his first Group 1 race in the $1.71 million Champion Stakes at 1 1/4 miles. Trained by John Gosden for Anthony Oppenheimer, Cracksman will race against older horses for the first time in the Champion Stakes, one of four Group 1 races on the six-race Ascot program. Cracksman’s main threat is Barney Roy, who won the Group 1 St. James’s Palace Stakes for 3-year-olds at the Royal Ascot meeting in June. Barney Roy lost two subsequent starts in Group 1 races to Ulysses, a nose defeat in the Eclipse Stakes at Sandown Park on July 8 and a third in the Juddmonte International Stakes at York on Aug. 23. Ulysses was nominated for the Champion Stakes, but was not entered. Ulysses is scheduled to make his next start in the $4 million Breeders’ Cup Turf at Del Mar on Nov. 4. Cracksman, who will be ridden by Frankie Dettori, was the impressive winner of the Group 2 Prix Niel at Chantilly on Sept. 10. Of the 10 runners in the Champion Stakes, there are five 3-year-olds and five older horses. There are two 3-year-olds from France – Brametot, who is rated as a contender, and Recoletos, a longshot. Brametot won the Group 1 French Derby in June and was fifth in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe on Oct. 1. Recoletos has won two group stakes in France this year and was third in the French Derby. The older horses in the Champion Stakes include Highland Reel, the winner of the 2016 BC Turf at Santa Anita, and Poet’s Word. Highland Reel has not raced since finishing fourth behind Arc winner Enable in the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot in July. Highland Reel might start in the Champion Stakes and be sent to Del Mar for the BC Turf. Poet’s Word was second to Decorated Knight in the Group 1 Irish Champion Stakes at Leopardstown last month. Decorated Knight is a contender for the BC Mile. As of Thursday morning, British bookmakers rated Cracksman as a 2-1 favorite in the Champion Stakes, a slight choice over Barney Roy at 7-2. Brametot and Poet’s Word were 13-1, while Highland Reel was a 7-1 chance. Gosden and Dettori have an outstanding chance Saturday in the Group 1 British Champions Filly and Mare Stakes with the 5-year-old mare Journey, the winner of the same race in 2016. Owned by American George Strawbridge, Journey was second to Bateel in the Group 1 Prix Vermeille at Chantilly on Sept. 10 as the 4-1 favorite. Journey is winless in three starts this year. As of Thursday, Journey was listed as the 5-2 favorite, a slight choice over Bateel, at 10-3. Bateel, trained in France by Francis Graffard, is in the best form of her career with three consecutive wins in group stakes in England and France. A 5-year-old mare, Bateel was last of 13 in the 2016 Filly and Mare Stakes at Ascot when trained by David Simcock. Gosden also saddles Coronet, one of four 3-year-old fillies in the field of 10. Coronet won the Group 2 Ribblesdale Stakes at 1 1/2 miles, the leading race for 3-year-old fillies at Royal Ascot. Coronet, rated a 9-2 shot on Saturday, is winless in three subsequent starts, including a second to stablemate Enable in the Yorkshire Oaks in August and a fifth against males in the Group 1 St. Leger Stakes at Doncaster on Sept. 16. The 3-year-old filly Hydrangea is Irish trainer Aidan O’Brien’s leading chance in the British Champions Filly and Mare Stakes. Hydrangea won the Group 1 Matron Stakes at Leopardstown in September, one of O’Brien’s 24 Group 1 or Grade 1 wins this year through Thursday. Going into Saturday’s racing, with runners in Group 1 races in England and Australia, O’Brien was one win shy of equaling the late Hall of Fame trainer Bobby Frankel’s 2003 mark of 25 Grade 1 wins in a single year. Hydrangea, who will be ridden by Ryan Moore, was beaten a head by stablemate Rhododendron in the Group 1 Prix de l’Opera on the Arc undercard at Chantilly.