Magical and Mishriff stand out, along with their connections, in Champion Stakes

It’s Magical versus Mishriff in the Group 1 Champion Stakes on Saturday at Ascot.

With the retirement of Enable, Magical assumes the role of top European older female in training, a position she’s favored to maintain in the 1 1/4-mile Champion, headliner on the annual QIPCO Champions Day. Three-year-old Mishriff is based in England but makes his first group stakes start there Saturday, having risen rapidly to prominence this summer winning the Prix du Jockey Club (French Derby) and more recently the Group 2 Prix Guillaume d’Ornano on Aug. 15 at Deauville.

This is not just horse versus horse but top trainer versus top trainer and top jockey versus top jockey. Aidan O’Brien, who trains Magical, has an unparalleled record in highest-level European races, but in recent seasons, John Gosden, Mishriff’s trainer, has proved nearly O’Brien’s equal. Gosden’s number one rider Frankie Dettori will be aboard Mishriff, while Ryan Moore, top jock for O’Brien, rides Magical.

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Mishriff held wagering favoritism earlier this week, but Magical had overtaken him in the markets as of Thursday. Magical is the more proven horse, but Mishriff appears to specialize in 1 1/4-mile races and will get the sort of going he seems to love, with the Ascot course rated soft as of Thursday. Mishriff won the French Derby over soft ground and his most recent race over heavy going, and Gosden long has targeted this spot. Mishriff’s age allowance is slightly more valuable in the weights than Magical’s sex allowance and the 3-year-old colt gets one pound from the 5-year-old mare.

Magical, who could swing back into action next month in a Breeders’ Cup race, was defeated by top older horse Ghaiyyath in the Juddmonte International but reversed that decision last month in the Irish Champion Stakes, where she beat Ghaiyyath three-quarters of a length after being asked to deploy positional pace to a greater extent than usual.

French raider Skaletti has gotten respect from the bettors as a solid third choice. Skaletti is based near Marseille, hardly a Thoroughbred hotbed, with trainer Jerome Reynier and has done his time on the French all-weather circuit, also venturing to Italy last year for a Group 2 win. In August, he beat subsequent Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe winner Sottsass, albeit in a race Sottsass was using as a stepping-stone to his fall campaign, and on Oct. 3 at Longchamp, Skaletti squeezed through a tight spot in midstretch after rallying up the rail and won the Group 2 Prix Dollar by 1 1/4 lengths. That race was contested over heavy ground and part of Skaletti’s appeal is his suitability to softer surfaces.

Gosden has a second starter capable of surprising in Lord North. Lord North finished a soundly beaten third behind Ghaiyyath and Magical in the Juddmonte International, but turned in a spectacular performance winning the Group 1 Prince of Wales’s Stakes at Royal Ascot by more than three lengths over Addeybb, another entrant in the Champions. And while that race came over good going, Lord North twice put forth strong showings over heavy ground last fall, including a second of 20 in the Balmoral Handicap, the traditional final race on the Champions Day program.

Japan and 2020 Derby winner Serpentine, both trained by O’Brien, and capable 3-year-old Pyledriver aren’t no-hopers, either. Extra Elusive, San Donato, and Desert Encounter round out the field.

The Champion, post time 10:40 Eastern, is the last of five group stakes on a card that starts at 8:20 and also includes the Group 1 Queen Elizabeth II over a straight mile.