Champions Day proves Derby crop were top notch - but it's a shame we never got an epic clash between the two winners

If there are two horses in training whose performances in 2023 deserved reward in a Group 1 contest ahead of Qipco British Champions Day, they were surely Big Rock and King Of Steel. 

That is to take nothing away from either Poptronic or Art Power, both of whom thoroughly merit their titles and who most owners would count as the horse of a lifetime should they be lucky enough to have them run in their silks. 

However, the winners of the QEII and Champion Stakes have both hit the bar on more than one occasion in the very deepest races run in Europe this year.