The idea motivating the creation of British Champions Day at Ascot was to bring together the best horses in Europe for one last late-season day of championship-level racing, and in Saturday’s Queen Elizabeth II Stakes, that idea has largely come to fruition.

The QE II, a Group 1 mile with a purse of about $1,614,700, drew a final field of 12, among them several of the best milers in the world. The antepost betting favorite is Dawn Approach, but Maxios, Soft Falling Rain, Olympic Glory, and Gordon Lord Byron all are qualified to have an impact.

Hawkspur, a 7-1 shot to win the Melbourne Cup next month, will be favored to win Saturday’s $2,387,250 Caulfield Cup at 1 1/2 miles on turf at Caulfield Racecourse in Australia.

Trained by Chris Waller, Hawkspur won the Group 1 Queensland Derby in June, and a Group 2 race on Sept. 7, but has been fourth and fifth in two subsequent starts in Group 1 races.

A 4-year-old Australian-bred gelding by Purrealist, Hawkspur is part of a field of 18. He will be ridden by Jim Cassidy and will carry 120 pounds under the handicap conditions of the Caulfield Cup.

The Group 1 Dewhurst Stakes headlines a big day of racing on Saturday at Newmarket in England. The $559,055 Dewhurst is the richest of four group races for 2-year-olds on a program that also includes the $400,000 Cambridgeshire Handicap, which drew a mind-numbing field of 36.

The Dewhurst offers far fewer options, with a mere six juveniles entered to race seven furlongs down a straight course. The favorite is War Command, trained by Aidan O’Brien and owned by the Coolmore group as well as the American Joe Allen.

Purses on the wintertime all-weather circuit in England will be increased by $3.1 million this winter, culminating in a day of stakes for six divisions on Polytrack at Lingfield Park near London in April.

The All-Weather Championships was announced on Wednesday by Arena Racing Company, which operates 15 tracks in the country, including the all-weather venues at Lingfield Park, Southwell, and Wolverhampton.

As flashy as Treve looked winning the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe on Sunday, Moonlight Cloud might have been her equal winning the Group 1 Prix de la Foret 1 1/2 hours later.

[bc_video_id:306516:]Treve blew away an elite field and now has a chance to go down as one of the best fillies in recent history after winning the Group 1, $6,254,439 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe on Sunday at Longchamp by five lengths.

Cirrus des Aigles won the Group 2 Prix Dollar for the third consecutive year at Longchamp Racecourse in Paris on Saturday, becoming the first horse to achieve the milestone.

Ridden by Christophe Soumillon, Cirrus des Aigles, the 7-5 favorite, stormed home with a wide rally to win the $272,000 race by 1 3/4 lengths over 13-1 Mandour. Petit Chevalier, a 14-1 longshot, finished third in the field of 13.

If Orfevre were a professional athlete of the human rather than equine variety, a full year of dark brooding would be ending Sunday. It was one year ago that Orfevre reached out and took firm hold of the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, one of the world’s great races, only to let the Arc slip away for no good reason with yards to go.

Moonlight Cloud was eighth in the Breeders’ Cup Mile at Santa Anita last year. This year, she is a different mare.

Moonlight Cloud is unbeaten in three starts this year, all in France, a winning streak that makes her a heavy favorite in Sunday’s $408,000 Prix de la Foret at Longchamp Racecourse in Paris.

Group 1 winners Leading Light, Meandre, and Treve were supplemented Thursday for $136,000 to Sunday’s $6.5 million Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe at Longchamp Racecourse in France, a race that will not include jockey Frankie Dettori for the first time in 25 years.

Dettori suffered a fractured ankle at Nottingham, England, on Wednesday. Dettori, who has won the Arc three times, most recently on Marienbard in 2002, is expected to be out for the rest of the year.

The Arc, run over 1 1/2 miles, will have a maximum field of 19 after Thursday’s supplementary stage.