The best race in Ireland so far this year takes place Saturday at Leopardstown with Nathaniel, Snow Fairy, and St Nicholas Abbey the main attractions among six horses entered in the Group 1 Irish Champion Stakes.

Danedream won Germany’s most important race for older horses, the Group 1 Grosser Preis von Baden, for the second straight year on Sunday at Baden-Baden, but her workmanlike half-length victory over Ovambo Queen bore little resemblance to the six-length waxing she put on her nearest pursuers in the race’s 2011 edition.

After turning over the possibility of sending Frankel to the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, the connections of the world’s best horse have decided to stick to their original plan and run Frankel in the Champion Stakes on Oct. 20 at Ascot.

First Cornerstone, recently acquired by the Kentucky-based Team Valor Partnership, won Sunday’s Group 2 Futurity Stakes for 2-year-olds at the Curragh in Ireland in his group stakes debut.

Ridden by Chris Hayes for trainer Andy Oliver, First Cornerstone, a 7-2 shot, closed from third in a field of four to take the lead in the final furlong and win by 1 1/4 lengths over Flying the Flag, the 7-4 co-favorite.

Premio Loco, an 8-year-old gelding and 20-1 shot, scored a surprise win in Saturday’s Group 2 Celebration Mile at Goodwood Racecourse in England, leading throughout.

Ridden by George Baker for Chris Wall, Premio Loco held off a late threat from Thistle Bird to win by a neck. Aljamaaheer, the 7-4 favorite in a field of five, closed well through the final furlong, but finished third, a head behind Thistle Bird.

Ortensia, the 7-year-old Australian mare, won the Group 1 Nunthorpe Stakes for sprinters at York on Friday, her second consecutive group stakes win in England.

It may not be long before she tries for a third. Trainer Paul Messara mentioned the Group 1 Sprint Cup at Haydock on Sept. 8 as her next goal.

Ridden in the five-furlong Nunthorpe by William Buick, Ortensia, the 7-2 joint favorite, closed from 17th in a field of 19 to win by a neck over Spirit Quartz, a 14-1 shot ridden by Frankie Dettori. Hamish McGonagall, a 14-1 shot who set the pace, finished third.

Frankel, who stretched his unbeaten streak to 13 with a convincing win in the Group 1 Juddmonte International Stakes at York on Wednesday, has been given an official rating of 140 for the second time in his career.

Frankel was given a 140 rating after his win in the Queen Anne Stakes over a mile at Royal Ascot in June and was awarded the same mark for his seven-length win in the Juddmonte over 1 1/4 miles. He is the first horse to be assigned 140 at two distances.

Official ratings are assigned by Phil Smith, the British Horseracing Authority’s head of handicapping.

Shareta, runner-up in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe last October, won for the first time this year in Thursday’s Group 1 Yorkshire Oaks at York, England.

Ridden by Christophe Lemaire, Shareta fought off a stubborn challenge from The Fugue, the 7-4 favorite, to win by a neck in the race over 1 1/2 miles.

Frankel seems capable of accomplishing anything on a racecourse.

Wednesday, in the Group 1 Juddmonte International Stakes at York, England, Frankel raced at about 1 5/16 miles, the first time in his career he had gone beyond a mile, and won by an easy seven lengths, extending his unbeaten streak to 13 races.

For all he has accomplished in his unbeaten 12-race career, Frankel has only run two distances – seven furlongs and a mile.

That will change Wednesday, when the 4-year-old Frankel starts at a middle distance for the first time in the Group 1, 1 5/16-mile Juddmonte International Stakes at York, England.

While the distance may be different, other trends are the same: Frankel will be a very heavy favorite. As of Monday, Frankel was 1-8 with British bookmakers to win the Juddmonte. The race is sponsored by Khalid Abdullah, the owner of Juddmonte Farms and the owner of Frankel.