Delacroix and Ombudsman were a neck apart when first and second in the Group 1 Eclipse Stakes at Sandown Park in England in July, and separated by 3 1/2 lengths when the order of finished was reversed in the Group 1 Juddmonte International at York in August. Consider Saturday’s Group 1 Champion Stakes at Ascot to be the 2025 series decider between the accomplished pair with one important caveat – the French shipper Calandagan is on a two-race winning streak, adores Ascot, and has outstanding credentials of his own. They are the principal runners in a field of 11 in the $1.9 million Champion Stakes at 1 1/4 miles, the richest of five Group 1 races on a seven-race program at Ascot that begins at 9:55 a.m. Eastern or 6:55 a.m. Pacific. As of Thursday, Ombudsman was the 2-1 favorite, with Calandagan at 11-4 and Delacroix at 3-1. The Champion Stakes is England’s leading race at 1 1/4 miles, and the top race of the autumn for 3-year-olds and older horses. :: Access the most trusted data and information in horse racing! DRF Past Performances and Picks are available now. The winner receives a fees-paid berth to the $5 million Breeders’ Cup Turf at Del Mar on Nov. 1. Ombudsman is the only prominent runner in the Champion Stakes under consideration for the BC Turf, run at 1 1/2 miles, despite all three already gaining berths into the race. Ombudsman earned his spot in he BC Turf by winning the Prince of Wales’s Stakes at Royal Ascot in June. Ombudsman, trained by John and Thady Gosden, has won 6 of 8 starts, with two second-place finishes. In the International Stakes at 1 5/16 miles, Ombudsman stalked the pace, took the lead in the final sixteenth and pulled clear for a convincing win. In the Eclipse Stakes, Ombudsman reached the front with a quarter-mile remaining and could not hold off Delacroix, who overcame trouble on two occasions to win narrowly. Following the loss at York, Delacroix rebounded to win the Group 1 Irish Champion Stakes at 1 1/4 miles at Leopardstown Racecourse in Ireland on Sept. 13, closing from the back of a field of eight to win by three-quarters of a length. Both Delacroix and Ombudsman have thrived at 1 1/4 miles. Ombudsman ran in the longest race of his career in the Juddmonte. A 4-year-old colt, Ombudsman has won four times at 1 1/4 miles. Delacroix, trained by Aidan O’Brien, was ninth by 16 lengths as the 2-1 favorite in the Group 1 English Derby at 1 1/2 miles in June, failing to overcome trouble midway through the race. The comprehensive loss seems long ago considering the way he has performed against older horses in three subsequent starts. Delacroix has a fascinating pedigree. He is by Dubawi and is out of Tepin, the champion turf female in the United States in 2015 and 2016. Calandagan has started at 1 1/2 miles in four races this year, and on Saturday will run at 1 1/4 miles for the first time since a second in the 2024 Champion Stakes. Trained by Francis-Henri Graffard, Calandagan won the Group 1 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes at 1 1/2 miles at Ascot in July as the 11-10 favorite in his last start. Calandagan is a gelding and therefore was ineligible to run in the Group 1 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe at 1 1/2 miles held in Paris earlier this month. Calandagan has raced more in England than any other country this year, including a second in the Group 1 Coronation Cup at 1 1/2 miles at Epsom in June. In France later in June, Calandagan was the easy winner of the Group 1 Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud as a heavy favorite against four rivals. Calandagan consistently runs from off the pace. In the 2024 Champion Stakes, the closing style was costly when the gelding raced in traffic with more than a quarter-mile remaining. Calandagan recovered to lead, but was caught late by Anmaat, a 40-1 outsider. Anmaat is not part of Saturday’s field, but was second to Delacroix in the recent Irish Champion Stakes. On Saturday, the 4-year-old colt Economics is a potential upsetter in his first start since a sixth-place finish in the 2024 Champion Stakes as the 2-1 second choice. Economics was found to have bled in the race. The 2024 Champion Stakes was run on soft turf. Conditions are expected to be good on Saturday. Economics was set to run at Royal Ascot in June until he was found to be unsound after a workout, trainer William Haggas recently told the press. Economics, a winner of 4 of 6 starts including the 2024 Irish Champion Stakes, was 16-1 in early betting on Thursday. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.