In all honesty, it appeared all Camelot had to do to win the Epsom Derby was show up and run his race. The competition this year looked weak, Camelot strong. But Camelot did more than merely go through the motions. Rating beautifully near the back of a short field under 19-year-old Joseph O’Brien, Camelot found a gear in the final quarter-mile of the race that none of his eight rivals could dream of hitting, and he powered home to a five-length victory on Saturday, giving Aidan O’Brien his first Derby win in 10 years.

A day after the Epsom Derby in England was to run with Camelot as an overwhelming favorite in a short field, the Prix du Jockey Club, or French Derby, presents an entirely different look, with 20 horses, none of them anything like an apparent standout, set to face the starter on Sunday at Chantilly.

The Group 1 Coronation Cup, a race with a rich history, typically is run on Friday, Oaks Day at Epsom Downs Racecourse, but in 2012, because of the Queen of England’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations, the race has moved to Saturday, Epsom Derby Day. And that shift is perfectly fitting, since most in the European racing realm have all but crowned Camelot the winner of the Group 1 Epsom Derby before the race is even run.

Maybe, only third as the favorite in the English 1000 Guineas on May 6 in her first start of 2012, is one of six runners trained by Aidan O’Brien in Friday’s Group 1 English Oaks at Epsom Downs.

Maybe, a filly by Galileo, won four stakes in England and Ireland last year, including the Group 1 Moyglare Stud Stakes on Aug. 28, her final start of the season.

In the English 1000 Guineas, Maybe was beaten 10 lengths by stablemate Homecoming Queen.

Black Caviar, the undefeated Australian sprinter, will not face the unbeaten miler Frankel in England this summer, a spokesman for trainer Peter Moody said on Monday.

Jeff O’Connor, speaking on behalf of Moody, was quoted in a press release issued in England saying that Black Caviar will not run in the Sussex Stakes over a mile at Goodwood Racecourse on Aug. 1.

There was widespread speculation earlier this year that Black Caviar, a winner of 21 races, would start in the Sussex, which is expected to include the European star miler Frankel, who is unbeaten in 10 starts.

The stallion Deep Impact continued his domination of the Japanese classics this spring when the colts Deep Brillante and Tosen Homareboshi finished first and third in Sunday’s $3.9 million Japanese Derby at Tokyo Racecourse.

On May 20, the Deep Impact fillies Gentildonna and Verxina finished first and second in the Japanese Oaks. Gentildonna won the Japanese 1000 Guineas in April.

Golden Lilac’s 4-year-old debut Sunday at Longchamp in the Group 1 Prix d’Ispahan produced a three-quarters length victory over top-class Cirrus des Aigles and pointed the filly out as one of the best middle-distance runners in Europe.

Power, ridden by Joseph O’Brien for his father, trainer Aidan O’Brien, came off the rail about a furlong from the finish and finished well enough to capture the Group 1 Irish 2000 Guineas on Saturday at the Curragh.

Frankel and Black Caviar, those towering unbeatens, dominate international racing headlines, but how can there be a more admirable racehorse than Cirrus des Aigles? On Sunday at Longchamp, the best older middle-distance horse in Europe will try to win his third Group 1 in a row, and he’ll be favored to beat seven rivals in the Group 1 Prix d’Ispahan.

Bogeyman, an Argentine-bred 6-year-old who was a Group 1 winner earlier this year, is part of a field of 14 in Friday’s Gran Premio 25 at San Isidro Racecourse in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The race offers an automatic Win and You're In berth to the winner for the Breeders’ Cup Turf at Santa Anita on Nov. 3.

Bogeyman, by Editor’s Note, won the Group 3 ClasicoPorteno over about 1 1/2 miles on turf on April 21. The Gran Premio 25 is run over the same distance. In February, Bogeyman won the Group 1 Gran Premio Miguel Martinez de Hoz, his first win at that level.